CalArts Ranks Among Top Producers of Fulbright US Honorees

The US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced Monday (Feb. 28) the Fulbright Top Producing Institutions for 2021-22—with CalArts ranked as the top producer of student Fulbright recipients for four-year special-focus institutions

Four CalArtians are Fulbright recipients for the 2021-22 academic year: Jesse Levesconte (Theater BFA 20),Sam Shay (Theater BFA 12, MFA 16), Joshua Sadinsky (Music MFA 21), and Rosa Boshier (Critical Studies MFA 18).

The annual designation recognizes colleges and universities that produced the most Fulbright US students and Fulbright US scholars—the award for faculty, artists, and professionals—under the government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

“The top-producer distinction is a wonderful recognition of the breadth of CalArtians’ contributions as cultural ambassadors,” said CalArts Provost Tracie Costantino. “Fulbright awards power their work on an international scale, enabling honorees to develop new projects and to establish important connections with artists and scholars in host countries. 

“Fulbright awards elevate our community’s work on the world stage and foster vital cross-cultural understanding as a key part of the CalArts experience,” she added. “This is a proud day for the Institute as we congratulate again our most recent Fulbright honorees.”

Costantino extended additional congratulations to Bailey Cool, former director of CalArts’ Patty Disney Center for Life & Work, and to Patricia Gonzalez, executive director of International and Community Partnerships. Both were instrumental in helping this year’s CalArtian honorees pursue the Fulbright Program.

The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes the complete list of top-producing institutions for the program. Past lists are available through the Fulbright website. 

Established more than 75 years ago to encourage mutual understanding between people of the US and those of other countries, Fulbright is billed as the largest and most diverse international educational exchange program in the world. More than 2,200 US students and 900 US college and university faculty members and administrators receive Fulbright awards annually, while roughly 4,000 Fulbright international students and visiting scholars come to the US each year.

For Fulbright application and deadline-related information, visit CalArts’ own Fulbright page.

—by Adam Smeltz