Stephen L. DesJardins receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Portugal and named Fulbright Specialist to Finland

The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have announced that Stephen L. DesJardins of the University of Michigan has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Portugal. DesJardins will conduct research with higher education colleagues at the University of Porto’s Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies. The research team will investigate whether and, if so, how the Portuguese access and enrollment system may be replicating and/or amplifying education and labor market inequalities in the country. As a Fulbright Scholar, DesJardins will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Portugal.

DesJardins has also been named a Fulbright Specialist to Finland and will spend six weeks in-country during the spring of 2022. He will be hosted by Dr. Charles Mathies of the University of Jyväskylä and the Finnish Institute for Educational Research, and co-hosted by Dr. Hannu Karhunen of the Labour Institute for Economic Research. DesJardins and colleagues will be studying the effects of the recent introduction of tuition fees for international students on their enrollment, college success, and labor market outcomes. 

Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their institutions, labs, and classrooms, in the United States, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 88 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 39 who have served as a head of state or government.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce that 2021 marks the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program. Celebrations throughout the year will highlight the impressive accomplishments and legacy of the program and its alumni over its first 75 years, both in the United States and around the world. A dedicated 75th Anniversary website is being updated throughout 2021 to showcase anniversary events and to facilitate ongoing engagement.  
 
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright program is an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.  
 
For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Press Office by telephone 202-632-6452 or e-mail [email protected].