MICA Named Top Producing Institution for 2017-2018 Fulbright U.S. Student Program

Ryan Schroeder

MICA was included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2017-2018 Fulbright U.S. Students, among special-focus four-year institutions, as recently announced by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The recognition marks the fifth time in six years that MICA has been named a top producer for the program, according to Erin Treacy, the College's Fulbright program advisor.

"MICA has a long history of educating Fulbright students in fine art, design, art history and other disciplines, with a total of 19 MICA grantees in the last 10 years alone," said Treacy.

MICA Fulbright students have received fellowships to study in India, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Hungary, Colombia, Peru, Turkey, Tanzania and other countries around the world.

The two MICA recipients for the 2017-2018 academic year, Mark Isaac '08 (Photography and Digital Imaging M.F.A.) and Ryan Schroeder '09 (Painting B.F.A.), were each awarded fellowships in the field of research/creative arts.

"We are so excited for Mark, Gabriela and Ryan, who will pursue impactful research as Fulbright Fellows. They, along with the many previous fellows from MICA, exemplify our educational mission of forging purposeful and creative practices and making the world we imagine," remarked MICA President Samuel Hoi.

Isaac, along with his wife and collaborator Gabriela Bulisova '03 (Photography B.F.A.) and '05 (Photography and Digital Imaging M.F.A.), will travel to Ukraine to conduct a photography- and video-based study of the culture and traditions of the diverse ethnic minorities who have lived in the country's southern regions surrounding the cities Mykolayiv, Odessa and Kherson.

A painter by training, Schroeder, who will be based in Germany at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf and Foundation Insel Hombroich, Neuss, will research how the global energy shift away from fossil fuels to sustainable resources has affected the inhabitants of Immerath, a condemned mining community near the Garzweiler mines. Schroeder also plans to explore the historical significance of the Ruhr region in developing German industry, and the impact these changes had on European art and culture.

In addition to the two Fulbright grant recipients, MICA also had six semi-finalists and two alternate awardees for the 2017-2018 academic year.
   
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education.
   
For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit eca.state.gov/Fulbright.