GVSU alumna one of 35 in U.S. to be awarded prestigious Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching grant

A Grand Valley alumna is one of only 35 U.S. citizens who has been offered a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching grant for 2017-18.

Gabrielle Popp, of Beacon Day Treatment Center in Southgate, Michigan, will travel to New Zealand through the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected through a competitive process that is focused on academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential. 

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries that are needed to solve global challenges. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given more than 370,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all areas – from sustainable energy and climate change to public health and food security – while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States and the world. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 57 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 82 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright