For the 11th time in the last 12 years, Michigan State University has been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, ranking among the colleges and universities with the highest number of faculty and administrators selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Eleven scholars from MSU were selected for Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards for academic year 2025–2026. Three of those faulty members are in the College of Arts & Letters. They are:

• Scott Boehm, Associate Professor in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies
• Caitlin Kirby, Academic Specialist in the College of Arts & Letters and College of Natural Science and Associate Director of Research and Interim Co-Director of the Evidence Driven Learning Innovation research center
• Deric McNish, Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre

Scott Boehm

Boehm has received a Fulbright Scholar Award to produce a feature-length film, “2015: Spain’s Year of Change?” The film will look back, a decade later, at the legacy of 2015 when Spain’s two-party system came to an end and there was a cultural shift that demanded more open political styles and debates. Expected to be released in 2027, the film will be the first in-depth critical examination of this historic moment in Spanish politics and culture in any format, including academic scholarship, television, and cinema. 

Boehm’s Fulbright Scholar Award supports a four-month stay in Spain hosted by the Spanish National Research Council [El Consejo Superior de Investigacionews Científicas (CSIS)] for him to carry out extensive interviews and to record additional footage for the film.

Caitlin Kirby

The Fulbright Scholar Award is supporting Kirby’s travel to Germany to the Tübingen Center for Digital Education where she is researching the impacts of artificial intelligence assistance in problem-solving on students’ self-regulated learning skills for her project, “Impacts of Adaptive Intelligent Tutoring Systems on Self-Regulated Learning Skills.”

Kirby conducts higher education research with emphasis on undergraduate courses, educational technology, and educator professional development. She engages in mixed-methods research and values the integration of nuanced experiences with quantitative data.

This is the second time she is traveling to Germany with support from the Fulbright Program. In 2020, she went to Germany as a Fulbright research student and explored the social impacts of urban agriculture.

Deric McNish

In March 2026, McNish will travel to Israel as a Fulbright Scholar where he will be in residence at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv and will work on his project, “Global Voices: Theatre and Cross-Cultural Connection,” which explores how performance can foster dialogue, empathy, and mutual understanding.

During his residency at Bar-Ilan University, McNish will teach a course in the Department of Comparative Literature, conduct performance skills workshops, lead a collaborative process to create theatre based on short stories by American and Israeli writers, and lead conversations for a podcast focusing on cultural and artistic exchange.

Fulbright Program

Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s premier international academic exchange program. Each year, it provides opportunities for exceptional Americans and participants from 160 countries and locations to study, teach, and conduct research abroad, advancing knowledge, science, and industry through international exchange and collaboration. Fulbright alumni achieve distinction and are recognized as leaders in government, business, science, technology, research, education, and the arts.

“Congratulations to our MSU scholars who have accepted this opportunity to engage in this prestigious program,” said MSU Provost Laura Lee McIntyre. “Their dedication to intercultural relationship-building and collaboration represent the university’s longstanding commitments in these areas, fostering international exchanges driven by curiosity and innovation.”

Titus Awokuse, Vice Provost and Dean for International Studies and Programs at MSU, said MSU’s Fulbright Scholars exemplify how global engagement leads to local impact.

“Through research and partnerships abroad, Spartan Fulbrighters bring back new knowledge and global perspectives that strengthen the university and benefit our classrooms, local partners, and communities across Michigan.”

Titus Awokuse, Vice Provost and Dean for International Studies and Programs

“Through research and partnerships abroad, Spartan Fulbrighters bring back new knowledge and global perspectives that strengthen the university and benefit our classrooms, local partners, and communities across Michigan,” Awokuse said.

Awokuse will represent MSU, one of three institutions invited to serve on the panel, “Building Campus Excellence Through a Fulbright Strategy: Insights from Top-Producing Institutions,” when he speaks at the Association of International Education Administrators Annual Conference held Feb. 16-19 in Washington, D.C.

Michigan State will be hosting the second annual Michigan Fulbright Symposium March 21. The one-day event is open to Fulbright alumni, Fulbright visiting students and scholars, friends of Fulbright, and potential future Fulbrighters. The university also has nine students participating in the Fulbright Student Program during the 2025–2026 academic year, two of whom are recent College of Arts & Letters graduates:

• Kayla Gantz, who earned a B.A. in French from the Department of Romance and Classical Studies in Spring 2025, currently is working as an English Teaching Assistant in Switzerland through the Fulbright program.
  
• Ivy Ly, who has a B.A. in Secondary Education with a focus on Mandarin and who recently graduated with an M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) from the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at MSU in Spring 2025, currently is an English Teaching Assistant in Taiwan through the Fulbright program.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and partner institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program.

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world and have included 44 heads of state or government, 63 Nobel laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, 83 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders in all sectors and industries across the United States and around the world.

Applicants to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program at MSU are supported by Joy Campbell, MSU’s Fulbright Program Advisor. More information is available at the Fulbright Program website.

By Beth Brauer and Kim Popiolek