Four Dartmouth alumnae are among the 1,099 Fulbright Award recipients now pursuing research and studies in locations around the world thanks to the prestigious federal grants, which Secretary of State Colin Powell announced Oct. 15.
Frankki Bevins '02, Julia Fuld '01, Anna Hrachovec '04 and Stephanie Movahhed '04 all received the federal grants, meant to allow recipients to engage in academic pursuits, immerse themselves in foreign cultures and foster international understanding.
Although the recipients were not announced until recently, several are abroad pursuing their grant projects already, having found out about their awards much earlier.
Of the 130 doctoral and research Universities with Fulbright recipients, Dartmouth ties with 20 other institutions for 45th place in number of award recipients this year. Columbia University leads the pack, with 31 students receiving Fulbright grants.
Bevins sad she was thrilled with the award, but hadn't expected to hear about it so soon.
"I was elated when I found out -- especially that I got one to Spain," Bevins said.
"I found out much earlier than I thought I would and it came in an envelope on a, single piece of paper, so I was convinced it was bad news," she added. "Needless to say, it was a very pleasant surprise."
Bevins is in Barcelona studying the affects of the recent increase in immigration on the healthcare delivery system.
She is also comparing Catalonia's allocation for general preventative well-being healthcare versus its hospital expenditures to consider how such funds compare with the number of people aided in the region by those measures.
Movahhed, whose grant period in Chile will begin in March, said her time there will provide hands-on experiences difficult to match in Hanover.
"I think the experience will be the perfect opportunity to spend a year immersed in the culture and language that I studied from a distance at Dartmouth," she said, "and expect the perspective that I will gain from it to be immensely valuable."
She will examine how Chilean playwright Isadora Aguirre and others use popular theater to circumvent censorship.
The project is a continuation of the work she started with Dartmouth Spanish professor Francine Ness on the idea of theater as a politicizing agent in Latin America.
Movahhed is working part time as a teaching assistant for an English department in northern Chile until her grant begins.
Fuld and Hrachovec, studying in Germany and Japan, respectively, could not be reached for comment.
Since the program's inception in 1946, over 100,000 distinguished scholars have crossed the globe.
The Fulbright Program counts economist Milton Friedman, opera singer Renee Fleming, Intel CEO Craig Barrett and Brown University President Ruth Simmons among its distinguished alumni. This year, American students will travel to 110 different countries.
