Earlier this month, The Fullbright program announced via a press release that 19 HBCUs earned the 2023-24 class of Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders. The program’s mission is to enhance the relationships between the U.S. and other countries via educational exchange programs offered through fellowships and scholarships.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken called the honor “a testament to your institution’s dedication to promoting global engagement and international understanding.”

The following HBCUs are being acknowledged:

• • Alcorn State University (Mississippi)

• • Bennett College (North Carolina)

• • Fayetteville State University (North Carolina)

• • Florida A&M University (Florida)

• • Howard University (District of Columbia)

• • Huston-Tillotson University (Texas)

• • Jackson State University (Mississippi)

• • Jarvis Christian University (Texas)

• • LeMoyne-Owen College (Tennessee)

• • Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)

• • Mississippi Valley State University (Mississippi)

• • Morgan State University (Maryland)

• • North Carolina A&T State University (North Carolina)

• • North Carolina Central University (North Carolina)

• • Prairie View A&M University (Texas)

• • Spelman College (Georgia)

• • Tennessee State University (Tennessee)

• • Virginia State University (Virginia)

• • Xavier University of Louisiana (Louisiana)

Howard University President Dr. Ben Vinson III expressed his gratitude for his school’s inclusion.

“Our Fulbrighters return to the Howard community with fresh insights, a deepened cultural understanding, and a broadened worldview, laying the foundation for their personal and professional growth,” Vinson said in the same press release. “Their work has an enduring and positive impact on communities and institutions, at home and abroad.”

In 2019, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs created the Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders initiative to highlight allyship between HBCUs and the Fulbright Program. According to the program’s website, it “recognizes HBCUs that both host international faculty and graduate students, and also send recent graduates, graduate students, faculty, and administrators overseas to study, teach, conduct research, or participate in seminars abroad through Fulbright.”

Scott Weinhold, who serves as senior bureau official for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, shared that HBCUs’ involvement with the Fulbright Program “builds meaningful relationships between communities and people around the world.”

Dr. Balasubramani Karuppusamy, a geospatial technology expert from Central University of Tamil Nadu in India, is one of the many people who have benefited from the program. According to the press release, he collaborated with North Carolina Central University’s “faculty on designing and teaching courses on geography information systems and remote sensing of natural resources.”

“Being a geographer, I wanted to enhance my skills and look at different environments and a different culture,” Karuppusamy said of his experience.

The recognition comes ahead of the 2024 Annual National HBCU Week Conference — which is presented by The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The conference is scheduled for Sept. 15-19 in Philadelphia.