Lincoln University Announced as Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader 2023
OXFORD, PA, October 3, 2023 — Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), has been once again declared a Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader for 2023. This is the fourth consecutive year of receiving the Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader distinction.
“To be recognized as a Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader for the fourth year in a row is a reaffirmation of Lincoln University’s distinctive legacy of global engagement, social responsibility, and leadership development,” said Dr. Nora Lynn Gardner, Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant Coordinator, Fulbright Program Advisor, and Fulbright Scholar Liaison. “Our Fulbright programs bring global perspectives, world languages and cultures, and new ideas into our students’ classrooms, our faculty’s research, and our campus community.”
The Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) program, a permanent feature of international and intercultural exchange on campus, connects Lincoln students with scholars and language instructors from all around the globe. The FLTAs teach foreign language classes, lead language labs, and help students develop knowledge of international cultures. This exchange fosters a true understanding of people of different nations within the campus community while also allowing the FLTAs to discover American life through the HBCU experience.
This year’s FLTAs include Haythem Chiboub from Tunisia, who teaches Arabic, Gustavo Burgos Medina from Argentina, and Rebeca Benítez Tamara from Spain, who teach Spanish. The past academic year’s FLTAs included Salah-eddine Oukhssane, an Arabic teacher from Morocco; Océane Picard, a French teacher from France; Mauricio Ramírez, a Spanish teacher from Colombia; Lucía Sánchez Mendoza, a Spanish teacher from Spain and Yuri Shitogiden, a Japanese teacher from Japan.
Associate Professor, Department of Mass Communications, Dr. Nicole Files Thompson says, "I'm delighted that Lincoln is an HBCU Institutional Leader yet again. Being a Fulbright US Scholar changed my life and career, opening up so many opportunities for myself and my students. I am proud to have served Fulbright in numerous capacities and look forward to continuing to encourage scholars of color to pursue Fulbright grants,"
Each year, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) recognizes the strong engagement of select HBCUs with the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship international academic exchange program. Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders support Fulbright exchange participants and promote Fulbright program opportunities on campus. The initiative encourages administrators, faculty, and students at HBCUs to engage with Fulbright. It also highlights the strength of HBCUs as a destination for international students and scholars and showcases their deep intellectual traditions and proud history to audiences abroad.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program. Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided over 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and in all fields the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. The Fulbright Program implements a wide range of initiatives to ensure that its participants reflect all aspects of the diversity of U.S. society and societies abroad. To achieve that goal, the program collaborates with external stakeholders, including the White House Initiative on HBCUs, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, the American Association of Community Colleges, Mobility International, and Diversity Abroad, among many others.
About Lincoln University
Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), educates and empowers students to lead their communities and change the world. Lincoln offers a rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse student body of approximately 2,200 men and women in more than 35 undergraduate and graduate programs.
