Fulbright Newsletter - March 2011

COMMISSION NEWS

Table of Contents: Commission News ► Upcoming events Book Launch of the Third Fulbright 50th Anniversary Vol-

ume Seminar for Romanian Applicants for the Junior Fulbright

Award – April 11, 2011 U.S. Admissions Made Easy: FEAC and EducationUSA We-

binars ► Past events Webinars for Romanian Applicants to Fulbright Grants –

March 3, 23 Featured at U.S. Culture Club this March: The Great Ameri-

can West – March 15 Direct and Online Visibility for U.S.-like Schools in Europe

at FEAC – March 11 Winter Orientation for U.S. Fulbright Grantees - February

24, 25 Romanian and U.S. Alumni Meeting Ms. Karene Grad

Steiner, Fulbright Program Officer at the Bureau of Educa-tional and Cultural Affairs – Jan 24

► From Fulbrighters Signs of Spring and Environmental-Friendly Energy at the

Washington DC. Fulbright Enrichment Seminar Interview with Ioana Moldovan, Romanian Fulbright

Grantee in U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar Contributes to Social Enterprise

Conference Fundraising Project by Jake Shulman-Ment, U.S. Fulbright

Grantee Romanian Fulbright S&T Grantee Meets the Romanian Am-

bassador in the U.S.

Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission NEWSLETTER

Bucharest, March 31, 2011 Volume IV, Issue 1

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Education in the American Way

Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission

www.fulbright.ro

Interview with Laura Mattes, U.S. Fulbright Grantee in Romania

New Volume by American Scholar in Romania Fulbright Participation in NALS 2011 Romanian and American Fulbright Scholars in

the JSRI Editorial Team Management of Educational Project in a New

Perspective Romanian Presence in Math Seminar at MSU Graduate Upcoming events Two Fulbright Grants are Still Open Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program

is Still Open Presentation on Graduate Study in U.S. at Uni-

versity of Bucharest – April 6 Graduate Admissions Training – April 5 and 12 Exam Updates: Discover the GRE Revised Gen-

eral Test at FEAC – Registration Open March 15 Access Masters and MBAs in Bucharest ► Past events Politehnica University Students Finding Out on

Fulbright Study Opportunities – March 2 Giving Back: A Successful Romanian Student at

Willamette University FEAC Puts U.S. study and Fulbright Awards in

the Spotlight at RIUF New FEAC Approach: First-time Promotion of

the Fulbright Program with Peace Corps Volun-teers

“In the Embassy” Program for College Stu-dents: A Close Up on Work in the U.S. Foreign Service and Study in the USA

GRADUATE


COMMISSION NEWS

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Book Launch of the Third Fulbright 50th Anniversary Volume On Saturday, April 16, 13:00 pm, the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission is inviting all alumni at the book launch of the third Fulbright anniversary volume. The event will take place at Sala Palatului, Bucharest. The volume - Fulbright Ripple Effect on Inter-national Education. Looking Ahead from a Romanian & American Perspective - offers wide perspectives on the Fulbright Program by inviting some of the alumni to give an account of their Fulbright experience in Romania and U.S. Thank you to all the alumni and contributors of the volume!

Seminar for Romanian Applicants for the Junior Fulbright Award – April 11, 2011 The seminar for the Romanian applicants for the Fulbright Junior Award Preparing the Fulbright Appli-cation. Guidance and Recommendations for Writing Successful Essays will be held on Monday, April 11, 2011, from 4.30 to 5.50 p.m. The seminar will provide tips and advice for the preparation of the application file and will recommend useful strategies on how to plan and structure the essays which stand at the core of the application. The seminar will benefit from the presence of a special U.S. in-vitee, who, as a Fulbright Program alumna, will share experience and knowledge with the Romanian participants. Please register your intention to attend by email at [email protected]. Due to limited space only 25 invitees per session may be accepted. Participation is on a first come, first served basis.

► UPCOMING EVENTS

U.S. Admissions Made Easy: FEAC and EducationUSA Webinars In Dec. 2010, EducationUSA started an enriching series of webinars meant to help applicants better cope with the exciting, life-changing U.S. admissions process. Coming up in April: EducationUSA webinars on “Financing your studies” and a FEAC webinar that’ll reveal “The Romanian Take on Smart U.S. Grad Ap-plications”. Watch recordings of past sessions at http://www.educationusa.info/edusa_connects/ and stay tuned in FEAC’s online Calendar section to learn about future online events.

Webinars for Romanian Applicants to Fulbright Grants – March 3, 23 The Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission organized two webinars for Romanian applicants at Fulbright Junior Award 2012-2013 and International Fulbright Science and Technology on March 3 and March 23. The webinars included the PowerPoint presentations of the programs and a 45 minute Q&A Live webchat for each grant.

► PAST EVENTS

Featured at U.S. Culture Club this March: The Great American West – March 15 On Tuesday March 15, FEAC visitors went on an informative, interactive, and fun journey along the West Coast of the United States. Shandin Rickard, U.S. intern, shared experience of living and studying in California and Oregon. Over 30 high-school, undergrad, and graduate level fans of U.S. study discussed modern Western American culture and learned more about one of the most famous regions of the world, birthplace of Hollywood, Disneyland, Microsoft, NIKE, Starbucks, and more.


COMMISSION NEWS

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Direct and Online Visibility for U.S.-like Schools in Europe at FEAC – March 11 Friday March 11 marked FEAC’s debut in the EducationUSA webinars arena. “Explore U.S.-like institu-tions in Europe”, introduced advisees from various parts of the country to colleges and universities in Europe which provide a U.S.-style higher education. Anna Boyd, Admissions Counselor at Jacobs Univer-sity Bremen in Germany, highlighted similarities & differences between U.S.-like and U.S. universities and provided details on the Jacobs approach to U.S. education. The webinar was followed by a “Jacobs Meet & Greet” hosted at the Center, an opportunity for U.S. study fans and Jacobs applicants to learn more about the school, its philosophy, and the financial aid it offers to top applicants.

Winter Orientation for U.S. Fulbright Grantees - February 24, 25 The Winter Orientation, organized in honor of the new U.S. Fulbright grantees to Romania took place on February 24 and 25. In the first day, Fulbrighters had the opportunity to meet high officials of the U.S. Embassy, the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports, Fulbright Board members, American and Romanian professors and specialists in the field of economics, politics and education, who intro-duced them to their new Romanian environment. The day concluded with a reception organized at the Commission headquarters, an occasion for the new arrived grantees to meet more Romanian and U.S. alumni. On the second day of the event the group of American professors and students visited the Co-troceni Palace, Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum and Mogosoaia Palace.

Romanian and U.S. Alumni Meeting Ms. Karene Grad Steiner, Fulbright Program Officer at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – Jan 24 On January 24, a reception in honor of Ms. Karene Grad Steiner, Fulbright Program Officer at the Bu-reau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State was hosted at the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission. The reception was a great opportunity for Romanian and U.S. Fulbright alumni, grantees and independent students to meet Ms. Karene Grad and share their Fulbright experience, ac-complishments and projects.


COMMISSION NEWS

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Signs of Spring and Environmental-Friendly Energy at the Washington DC. Fulbright Enrich-ment Seminar

Anamaria Vrabie, Fulbright Grantee at The New School New York, at-tended the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Washington DC. during the 16th-20th of March. Anamaria enjoyed the animated debates re-volving under this year’s seminar topic- Environment- together with the other 150 Fulbright participants from all over the world. She was also delighted to meet Ms. Karene Grad Steiner, Fulbright Program Officer at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Depart-ment of State, who had only gracious words and memories from her visit to the Romanian Fulbright Commission this past January.

Interview with Ioana Moldovan, Romanian Fulbright Grantee in U.S. Ioana Moldovan, currently a Junior Fulbright researcher at University of Southern California, Los Angeles was recently interviewed in a monthly publication edited in Colorado for the Romanian community in USA. During the interview, Ioana talks about her recent activities, the experience in U.S., the Fulbright program and, of course, about her field of research – theatre/film. To read the entire article, please follow: http://www.gandaculdecolorado.com/interviu/8-interviu/1943-interviu-cu-ioana-moldovan Also, Ioana is publishing monthly articles to a well-known magazine in Romania “Revista 22”. The most recent article is about a US representation of Anton Chek-hov’s play “Three sisters” and it is available at: http://www.revista22.ro/articol-10161.html.

Fulbright Senior Scholar Contributes to Social Enterprise Conference Dr. Dan Ratliff, currently a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, participated in the Social Enterprise Conference organized by the American Cultural Center in Bucharest, on March 28, 2011. The event was opened by U.S. Ambassador Mark H. Gitenstein in the presence of a large number of Romanian NGO community members. Dr. Ratliff, an expert on social services for children and fami-lies, delivered a presentation on Marketing and Communication, as part of the development of social en-terprises, stressing the role of the entrepreneurial approach in providing more momentum to this essen-tial sector of a democratic society.

► FROM FULBRIGHTERS

Fundraising Project by Jake Shulman-Ment, U.S. Fulbright Grantee Jake Shulman-Ment, U.S. Fulbright grantee and violinist just launched a Kickstarter fundraiser for a new musical collaboration between Jewish American and Romanian musicians, exploring our similar roots on a concert tour of Romania. The project includes a tour of free concerts in Romania with Benjy Fox-Rosen (a fabulous Yiddish singer and bassist also based in NYC), Adrian Receanu (one of the top clarinetists in Europe playing tradi-tional Romanian music, from Moldova), and others! More details about the project and a video with Jake’s music on http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jakeshulmanment/jake-shulman-ment-and-friends-romanian-klezmer-tou?ref=email.


COMMISSION NEWS

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Interview with Laura Mattes, U.S. Fulbright Grantee in Romania The link below features an interview about Laura Mattes, a 2010–2011 Fulbright grantee. The article explains Laura’s decision to come in Romania and describes her work about gender, sexuality and HIV/AIDS discrimination. Laura’s community blog (http://dincolodesoapte.blogspot.com/), which encourages youth to share and dis-cuss experiences and opinions about their own sexuality, gender identity and body image, is also highlighted in the article. Read the entire interview at: http://presainblugi.com/laura-iris-mattes-am-schimbat-america-pentru-a-ramane-in-romania/

Romanian Fulbright S&T Grantee Meets the Romanian Ambassador in the U.S. Gina Adam, current International Fulbright Science & Technology (S&T) Award Fellow and an MS/PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, has participated in the Annual Meeting of the American Associa-tion for Advancement in Science held in Washington, D.C. It was an event which facilitated networking to more than 6000 participants - sci-entists, science journalists and people interested in educa-tion and research policies in the U.S., E.U. and Asia. Moreover, Gina’s presence in Washington, D.C. was an op-portunity for her to meet and discuss with Ms. Karene Grad and Mr. Vincent Picket, the Fulbright and S&T pro-gram officers present at the event as representatives of the U.S. Department of State. Thanks to Ms. Grad and Mr. Picket, Gina had also the occasion to personally meet Mr.

Adrian Vierita, the Romanian Ambassador in the U.S. who was happy to invite them for a dialogue at the headquarters of the Romanian Embassy in Washing-ton.

New Volume by American Scholar in Romania

Dr. Bryan Hall, Professor in the School of Arts and Letters at Indiana University and currently Fulbright Scholar teaching at the Departments of Philosophy and American Studies of the University of Bucharest, has just published his new book on The Arguments of Kant's ‘Critique of Pure Reason’. Dr. Hall introduces a new approach to Emmanuel Kant’s monumental work, since the book is primarily di-rected at students, and has as co-authors two of Bryan’s undergraduate students. For details on the volume, see more at: http://lexingtonbooks.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0739141651


COMMISSION NEWS

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Romanian and American Fulbright Scholars in the JSRI Editorial Team We are pleased to announce the latest issue (28/2011) of the Journal for the Study of Religions and Ide-ologies (www.jsri.ro), edited by Dr. Sandu Frunza, 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar at Boston University, Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies and a Professor of Philosophy at the Political Science Department, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj. The current publication also includes an article by Dr. Michael Jones, US Fulbright alumnus, Professor at Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, USA and executive editor of the pub-lication. It is also worth mentioning that the JSRI editorial team and the advisory board include many Romanian Fulbright Scholars from Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj who, at the same time, are actively supporting the Fulbright Commission programs. The current JSRI number can be accessed at: http://jsri.ro/ojs/index.php/jsri/issue/current.

Fulbright Participation in NALS 2011 Ludmila Martanovschi (Ovidius University - Constanta), Postdoctoral Fulbright Grantee at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, attended the Native American Literature Symposium between March 17th and 19th, 2011. She presented the paper “Many Voices, One Play: Performing Tribalography in Indian Radio Days by LeAnne Howe and Roxy Gordon”. The conference comprised panels on service learning courses, on current developments in Native film and art as well as on the issues of gender, trauma and storytelling in American Indian literatures.

Management of Educational Project in a New Perspective Tudor Stanciu, a Ron Brown grantee in 1998-2000, is continuing his reasearch projects in the area of education. He has recently published the volume Managementul Proiectelor Educationale pe Intelesul Tuturor (Management of Educational Projects Made Easy), a practical guide for beginners and advanced specialists in the field. Dr. Stanciu is a Professor in the Teacher Training Department at "Gh.Asachi" Technical University of Iasi. He was awarded a Master’s Degree in the field of education at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania as a Ron Brown grantee. The Ron Brown Fellowship was a program dedicated to young graduates and profession-als aiming to continue their studies in the United States, carried out un-der Fulbright coordination.

Romanian Presence in Math Seminar at MSU Dr. Marian Munteanu, Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Michigan State University, participated in a seminar organized by the Department of Mathematics of his host university in early March. The proposed topic of the presentation was Constant Angle Surfaces in Homogeneous 3-Spaces: Classifications and Generali-zations. Dr. Munteanu’s presence in the event represented a welcome opportunity of promoting Roma-nian research in Mathematics in the U.S. academic environment.


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GRADUATE

Two Fulbright Grants are Still Open: Fulbright Junior Award and Science and Technology The Fulbright Junior Award for the Romanian BA, MA, PhD students and young researchers from both public and private universities is still open until May 15, 2011. Fulbright Junior Award is a very generous program for masters’ study or research in the United States, in any field except clinical medicine, for academic year 2012-2013. Details on the Fulbright website at http://www.fulbright.ro/news/350-the-junior-fulbright-award-to-the-united-states-2012-2013.html.

Also, until April 10, 2011 is still time to apply for the International Fulbright Science and Technology Award, a very generous program for PhD study in science, technology or engineering and mathematics focused fields (STEM). Candidates can be BA and MA students from both public and private universities. Details on the Fulbright website at http://www.fulbright.ro/news/339-2012-international-fulbright-science-and-technology-award.html#content.

Presentation on Graduate Study in U.S. at University of Bucharest – April 6 FEAC will be visiting various Romanian universities to present on U.S. admissions. The presentation will be focused on graduate study opportunities in U.S. and will take place at the University of Bucharest, on April 6, 4-6 pm.

Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program is Still Open Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program is still open until April 15, 2011. The program provides international teachers with unique opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills and increase their knowledge about the United States. Details at http://www.fulbright.ro/news/428-teaching-excellence-and-achievement-program.html.

Graduate Admissions Training – April 5 and 12 The graduate events FEAC has organized or enhanced in 2011 (“In the Embassy”, “Business Education in the U.S.”, RIUF, and more) have attracted growing numbers of college students and graduates to the Admissions Training programs regularly organized at the Center. Two modules of the spring series will take place this April and will focus on successful Romanian application files and how to change perspec-tive in order to get admissions officers’ views on well-rounded, successful applications. More at http://www.fulbright.ro/educational-advising-center/39-about-feac/295-calendar.html#link21.

► UPCOMING EVENTS

Exam Updates: Discover the GRE Revised General Test at FEAC – Registration Open March 15 The GRE General Test is required for admissions purposes by countless U.S. graduate programs. It’s considered an objective measure of a candidate's readi-ness for graduate-level work and of their potential for success. Now, the GRE General Test is changing. According to ETS, creator of the test, the GRE revised General Test, launching in August, is even more closely aligned with the skills needed in today's demanding graduate and business school programs. In April, learn about the changes in the test taking experience, explore preparation materials, and dis-cover how you can save 50% on the new test on the FEAC website (Testing section).


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GRADUATE

Access Masters and MBAs in Bucharest – April 30 Looking into broadening your academic and professional horizons with a graduate program abroad? Take part in the Access MBA and Access Masters educational fairs on Saturday April 30 to explore your options, meet admissions reps, and pick up useful insights and advice. Registration is free if completed online.

FEAC Puts U.S. study and Fulbright Awards in the Spotlight at RIUF Bucharest, Timisoara, and Iasi, with U.S. Consulate Support

The Romanian Int’l University Fair in mid March attracted over 12,000 visitors in Bucharest, Timisoara, and Iasi. FEAC was for the first time pre-sent at all three locations. We joined forces with the U.S. Consulate and the Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy to reach as wide an au-dience as possible. FEAC met prospective applicants during the various in-depth presentations on U.S. undergraduate and graduate study we organ-ized in all three cities, at out booth in Bucharest, and during university and high school visits we organized in partnership with the American Cor-ner in Iasi alongside the RIUF sessions.

Giving Back: A Successful Romanian Student at Willamette University Spells Out U.S. MBAs and Master’s Degrees to Future Applicants In January, FEAC hosted Adelaida Patrasc, a thriving Romanian MBA student at Willamette University in the USA. Willamette is a top-ranked university offering up to 100% merit-based financial aid to qualified applicants. Participants in the session discovered how to emulate the success of Romanian students currently on U.S. graduate degrees. The prospective applicants also got a chance to ex-plore the free all-inclusive U.S. admissions support available at FEAC for craft-ing a powerful application.

Politehnica University Students Finding Out on Fulbright Study Opportunities – March 2

The presentation of the newly launched Fulbright competitions for Ro-manian applicants held at Politehnica University of Bucharest on March 2 brought together students, MA’s, and PhD researchers of different departments. The participants had the opportunity to be familiarized with the International Science and Technology Award for PhD grants, but also with Fulbright Junior Award, for master or research. The pres-entation ended with a Q&A session for the Romanian applicants. Also, professors Mihaela Albu and Stefan Trausan-Matu, Fulbright Alumni, who participated at the event, had an essential contribution to the success of the presentation.

► PAST EVENTS


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GRADUATE

New FEAC Approach: First-time Promotion of the Fulbright Program with Peace Corps Volun-teers

As a result of its steady cooperation with Peace Corps Romania, FEAC was invited to participate in the Career Options seminar organized on March 25 for 40 PCVs finish-ing their program in Romania. The two hour training included a panel that high-lighted the options available to PCVs upon their return to the USA. Except for the FEAC representative, the panelists were former PCVs who offered advice and tips in their current capacities as members of the Foreign Service, Peace Corps Country Di-rector, and representative of the PC Return program. The FEAC rep emphasized the graduate school options and the Fulbright Student program. The panel was rounded off by a career options fair where the Fulbright representative made available re-

sources documenting the selection process to the award program, its vision, and scope. At the end of the training a number of PCVs expressed interest in applying to the Fulbright Student program and re-quested additional information. Several others asked for information on the Fulbright Junior program, to pass it on to Romanian counterparts and friends whom they deemed change agents, therefore poten-tially worthy of a Fulbright award.

“In the Embassy” Program for College Students: A Close Up on Work in the U.S. Foreign Service and Study in the USA On Feb. 24 and March 24, Romanian college students discovered new facets of U.S. work ethic, culture, and education. Through the "In the Embassy" program organized every month by leading student organization “Ambition”, the U.S. Embassy and FEAC inform and inspire participants about work in various sections of the U.S. Embassy, the art of excelling in public diplomacy or as an economic expert, and making the right choices when it comes to selecting and applying to U.S. graduate programs. Check FEAC’s online Calendar section for updates on upcoming meetings!

Public hours Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission: Tue: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Wed: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Thu: 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Phone: 021 230 7719; 021 231 5500 Public Hours Fulbright Educational Advising Center: Tue: 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm Wed: 1:00 am - 5:00 pm Thu: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm Phone: 021 231 9015

Website: www.fulbright.ro

Location: 2, Ing. Costinescu St., Sector 1,

Bucharest 011878, Romania

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