News Release

Local Angles: Charlotte; Seattle; Suwanee, Ga.

Three UNC students tapped for Fulbright Scholarship

CHAPEL HILL – Three University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students have received 2007-2008 awards from the Fulbright Program for U.S. Students, enabling them to participate in the country’s largest international exchange program.

Each student will use the award for research, study or teaching in another country about a personally chosen topic.

The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the Department of State, operates in more than 155 countries. Fulbright recipients are graduating seniors and master’s and doctoral degree candidates, chosen for academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential.

Established in 1946 with legislation introduced by the late Sen. J William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program’s purpose is to build understanding between the people of the United States and those in the rest of the world.

“The Fulbright program is first and foremost a cultural exchange,” said Beth-Ann Kutchma, UNC-Chapel Hill Fulbright program adviser. “Students will often bring that experience back to the U.S., and that seems to be the main goal of the Fulbright.”

This year’s UNC student Fulbright scholars and their projects are:

Christine Boyle of Seattle, a doctoral candidate in city and regional planning, who will research northern China’s irrigation systems. She hope to use her findings to increase farmers’ influence on irrigation policy planning.

Vernon Cathcart, a May 2007 graduate and sociology major from Charlotte, who will teach English as a second language in South Korea and research the social experiences of lesbians and gays in Korea. His research will focus on the intersection of ethnicity and sexuality and the challenges these identities present to traditional Korean culture.

Jennifer Cimaglia, a May 2007 graduate and classical archeology and anthropology major from Suwanee, Ga., who will explore Roman archeology in Bulgaria. Her research will focus on cultural exchanges in the eastern Roman Empire. Cimaglia was a National Merit Scholarship recipient and a Morehead-Cain Scholar at UNC. The Morehead-Cain is a full merit scholarship for four years of undergraduate study at UNC-Chapel Hill plus four summer enrichment experiences.

Note: Boyle can be reached at cboyle@email.unc.edu; Cathcart, at vcath15939@hotmail.com; Cimaglia, at cimaglia@email.unc.edu

Web sites:
Fulbright Program for U.S. students: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html
Morehead-Cain Foundation: http://www.moreheadfoundation.org/

Fulbright Program contact at UNC-Chapel Hill: Beth-Ann Kutchma, (919) 843-6842, bkutchma@email.unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589