Fulbright Award

DPhil student, Imaobong Umoren, Receives a Prestigious Fulbright Award to the US

Imaobong Umoren a DPhil student in the Faculty of History has received a Fulbright Award to enable her to research at Harvard University on one of the most prestigious and selective scholarship programmes operating world-wide.

The US-UK Fulbright Commission is the only bi-lateral, transatlantic scholarship programme, offering awards and summer programmes for study or research in any field, at any accredited US or UK university. The Commission is part of the Fulbright programme conceived by Senator J William Fulbright in the aftermath of World War II to promote leadership, learning and empathy between nations through educational exchange. Award recipients and summer programme participants will be the future leaders for tomorrow and support the “special relationship” between the US and UK.

As a participant, Imaobong Umoren has been selected from a strong applicant pool to develop her research on twentieth century Caribbean and African American women intellectuals.

Commenting on receiving the award, Imaobong Umoren said: ‘Upon learning I received the award I was grateful and humbled. As a DPhil student, success is always collective and I would like to thank all the staff at the University of Oxford who assisted me in my application, in particular my two supervisors, for their support, guidance and kindness. It's been a great privilege to research the global travels and thought of a previously overlooked cohort of African American and Caribbean women intellectuals in the twentieth century. Spending a year at Harvard will give me a wonderful -- and much needed -- opportunity to study their lives and impact from a wide range of disciplinary angles.’ 

The Commission selects scholars through a rigorous application and interview process. In making these awards the Commission looks not only for academic excellence but a focused application, a range of extracurricular and community activities, demonstrated ambassadorial skills, a desire to further the Fulbright Programme and a plan to give back to the recipient’s home country upon returning.

Typical grants include a maintenance allowance and a contribution towards tuition fees where applicable. In addition, Fulbright scholars receive a distinctive support and cultural education programme including: visa processing, a comprehensive pre-departure orientation, enrichment opportunities in country, a re-entry session and opportunity to join our alumni networks.

Imaobong D Umoren was born in Devon and raised in Somerset. After reading History at King’s College London, she moved to the University of Oxford to begin doctoral research exploring the international travels of a group of Caribbean and African American women intellectuals in the twentieth century. During her doctoral work, she has travelled widely conducting research in Jamaica, Martinique, France, the UK, and US and has been a Visiting Fellow at the John W Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. She has taught American, Caribbean and African diaspora history to students in secondary schools, sixth-form institutions and undergraduates at the University of Oxford and Royal Holloway University of London. As a Fulbright Scholar, Imaobong will spend a year as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University in the Department of African and African American Studies, where she hopes to further her research.

For press enquiries, contact:

Jamie Dunn
Communication Officer and Educational Advisor
0207 498 4020
press@fulbright.org.uk

About the US-UK Fulbright Commission:

The US-UK Fulbright Commission was created by treaty on 22 September 1948. The Fulbright Programme aims to foster mutual cultural understanding through educational exchange between the US and the UK. This it achieves through its Awards programme for US and UK citizens and through its Advisory Service. The Fulbright Commission offers grants at postgraduate and postdoctoral level for study in any discipline and at any accredited institution in the US and UK, as well as a number of special exchanges programmes for shorter projects or for younger scholars. It is funded by a range of partners including leading US and UK universities, charities and both governments. For more information visit www.fulbright.org.uk.

About the Fulbright Awards Programme: Each year, the Commission supports around UK and US citizens to study, lecture, conduct research or focus on professional development at leading institutions in the US and UK respectively. Nearly 300,000 extraordinary women and men from all over the world have had their lives changed as participants in the Fulbright Programme. Of these alumni, approximately 15,000 UK nationals have studied in the US and nearly 12,000 US nationals in the UK on our educational exchange programmes. 

Notable alumni of the US-UK Commission include: Malcolm Bradbury, novelist; Liam Byrne, politician; Milton Friedman, economist and Nobel Prize Winner 1976; Charles Kennedy, politician; John Lithgow, actor; Tarik O’Regan, composer; Sylvia Plath, poet; Lord William Wallace, politician; Ian Rankin, novelist; Sir Christopher Rose QC, judge; Baroness (Shirley) Williams, politician; Vanessa Heaney, journalist BBC World Service; and Toby Young, journalist and playwright.