College of St. Benedict Earns Highest Ever Ranking Among Top Producing Schools for Fulbright Scholars in U.S.

(KNSI) — For the seventh time in nine years, the College of St. Benedict has been named a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students by the Department of State – and this time, it was the highest CSB has landed in the rankings.

Eight St. Ben’s students were offered Fulbright awards in 2022. According to a press release from the school, of the eight awards, five students accepted the appointment – including Valerie Doze ’21, who received a rare open study/research award to work at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Gottingen, Germany. Doze, from Grand Forks, North Dakota, was a double major in biochemistry and German at CSB.

Also accepting Fulbrights was Sarah Broghammer of Winona. She majored in English and communications and served as an English Teaching Assistant in Norway. Regan Dolezal of Woodbury majored in political science. After graduation last year, she left for the Czech Republic to be an English teaching assistant. Kate Schiltz of Minnetonka majored in Hispanic Studies and communication and worked as an English Teaching Assistant in Spain. Brigid Smith, who lived in Fargo, North Dakota, and attended international schools as a teen, majored in political science. She went on to be an English Teaching Assistant at a university in Colombia.

In addition to those CSB graduates, Noah Knapp ’21, an English major from Aberdeen, South Dakota, represented Saint John’s University by accepting a Fulbright to be an English Teaching Assistant in North Macedonia.

Those eight students were good enough to place the school in a tie for 18th among 42 schools with the designation. Nineteen St. Ben’s students applied. None of the schools ahead of CSB had fewer than 24 applications.

St. Ben’s had six Fulbright offers in 2021, the school’s previous highest ranking at number 24. In 2020, the school was number 30. Since 2021, the data reflect awards offered rather than only those accepted, which was the case before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our success is built on the quality of our students, the hard work they put into their applications, and the strength of our global and language programs,” said Dr. Phil Kronebusch, professor of political science and coordinator of competitive fellowships at CSB and SJU.

From 2014-21, 39 Fulbright U.S. Student awards were offered to students at Saint Ben’s and another 11 to students at Saint John’s.

Fulbright is the flagship international exchange program of the U.S. government. About 2,000 recent university graduates receive Fulbright U.S. student awards each year. Approximately 9,000 merit-based scholarships are awarded in the United States and more than 160 countries annually to accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds and fields. Fulbrighters study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to solving complex global challenges.

Fulbright alumni include 41 heads of state government, 62 Nobel laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners and 78 MacArthur Fellows.

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