UCI Named Fulbright HSI Leader by State Department for Second Consecutive Year

Dear campus community,

I am pleased to share that UCI has been named a 2022 Fulbright HSI Leader by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Last year, UCI was an inaugural recipient of the designation, which was created to recognize the engagement that selected Hispanic-Serving Institutions have achieved with the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. UCI is one of 43 HSIs to receive this year’s distinction.

Since 2017, UCI has held the federal HSI designation – given to colleges or universities at which Hispanic students make up at least 25 percent of the full-time-equivalent student body and at which at least half of all students receive financial aid. UCI is one of only four member campuses in the Association of American Universities to be named an HSI, a status that enables UCI faculty, staff and students to apply for Minority-Serving Institution grants, internships and partnerships.

UCI also is a Hispanic-serving research university that aspires to double the number of Latino doctoral students and increase Latino faculty by 20 percent by 2030. Chancellor Howard Gillman is a founding member of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities and the first UC chancellor elected to the governing board of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. UCI recently announced the formation of the UCI-OC Alliance to engage and support Latino students, staff and faculty through a university-driven strategy to advance UCI as a Latino-thriving institution.

Since its inception over 75 years ago, the Fulbright Program has given more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad, exchanging ideas and contributing to finding solutions for complex international challenges.

UCI students are encouraged to explore international opportunities to help them gain global awareness and intercultural competence, which are both in high demand by employers.

For faculty and staff, a Fulbright HSI Virtual Workshop will be held on Nov. 7. The session will feature representatives of Fulbright HSI Leaders sharing best practices for leveraging Fulbright Program engagement to support students and faculty, increase campus internationalization and build global networks. Those interested can sign up at https://apply.iie.org/register/HSIWorkshop2022.

Congratulations to our U.S. and foreign students and scholars who have participated in the Fulbright Program.

Sincerely,

Victoria Jones
Chief Global Affairs Officer
Global Engagement Office