Baylor Student Receives Place on Fulbright Summer Institute to the UK

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-6275
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WACO, Texas (June 20, 2019) – Burke Craighead, a junior University Scholar at Baylor University, has received a place on a Fulbright Summer Institute in the United Kingdom to study at the University of Westminster on one of the most prestigious and selective summer scholarship programs operating worldwide.

Craighead, who is from Jefferson City, Missouri, has been selected by the US-UK Fulbright Commission to experience the U.K. on a three-week summer program, where he will study marketing and brand economics in London.

The program offers participants a unique opportunity to live and learn in an international context, while examining approaches to intercultural competencies needed in the professional world of the 21st century, as well as leadership effectiveness and development. The Summer Institutes form part of the US-UK Fulbright Commission’s work to promote leadership, learning and empathy between nations through educational exchange.

“I am very excited to be able to participate in the Fulbright summer program,” Craighead said. “I hope to gain a tremendous amount of cultural and academic experience from my time in the U.K., and I look forward to spending part of my summer there. I am very grateful to the Fulbright Commission for selecting me for this opportunity.”

Fulbright Summer Institutes cover participants’ major costs and provide them with a distinctive support and cultural education program, including comprehensive pre-departure guidance, enrichment opportunities in country and an opportunity to be part of the Fulbright alumni network.

The Commission selects participants 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 and a plan to give back to the recipient’s home country upon returning.

“Study abroad is a truly transformative experience for so many of those who are able to participate in it,” said Penny Egan, CBE, executive director of the US-UK Fulbright Commission. “I know this year’s cohort will make the most of this opportunity to immerse themselves in British culture, and I’m sure this experience will leave a lasting impression on both the Summer Institute participants and on those they meet and mingle with during their time here.”

Craighead chose to attend Baylor because of the campus atmosphere and the overall friendliness of students and faculty, he said. His parents Jonathan, M.D., B.A. (Biology) ‘95, and Margaret, B.S.Ed. (Health Science Studies) ‘95, Craighead also attended Baylor.

Academically, he found appealing the flexibility of the University Scholars program in the Honors College. The program allows high-ability students to chart their personalized educational journey in close consultation with faculty advisers and mentors. The University Scholars major fosters a love of inter/transdisciplinary discourse in the liberal arts and sciences that affirms the student’s unlimited potential in the rich academic and co-curricular offerings at Baylor.

Among his most influential Baylor professors are Andy Hogue, Ph.D., senior lecturer and associate dean for engaged learning in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences; Steve Block, Ph.D., full-time lecturer in political science; and Joe DiLuzio, Ph.D., lecturer in classics and faculty assistant director of the Honors Program.

“Dr. Andy Hogue, Dr. Steve Block and Dr. Joe DiLuzio have all been more than kind and have gone out of their way to help me,” Craighead said. “All three were very helpful when I was applying to different summer programs and were just generally excellent professors in and out of the classroom. They have all taken an interest in my experience at Baylor and my future, which I really appreciate.”

“Burke is one of those rare students who combines humility and exceptional ability with a dedication to excellence,” DiLuzio said. “This honor is well deserved. I have no doubt that he will represent Baylor well, not only in the U.K. this summer, but in whatever he ultimately decides to do.”

After completing his Fulbright Summer Institute to the U.K. and his undergraduate degree at Baylor, Craighead hopes to attend law school and practice some form of appellate advocacy, although he is still determining which field.

For students interested in national and international merit awards:

While the Baylor classroom serves as the cornerstone of academic excellence and a rich undergraduate experience, Baylor undergraduates also are supported by the SPARK (Scholarship Programs, Awards, Research, Knowledge) program, housed within the Engaged Learning Office of Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences. SPARK faculty and partners mentor students as they pursue national merit awards – such as the Fulbright, Truman, Gates Cambridge, Boren, Goldwater and many others – that will enrich their education. For more information about national and international scholarship opportunities through Baylor, visit www.baylor.edu/SPARK.

About the US-UK Fulbright Commission

The US-UK Fulbright Commission was founded by diplomatic treaty in 1948 to foster intercultural understanding between the United States and the U.K. through educational exchange. It continues to support Sen. J. William Fulbright’s vision through scholarship and summer programs, enabling British and American citizens to study, research or teach at universities on either side of the Atlantic.

As part of the EducationUSA network, the Commission offers U.K. students free, accurate and comprehensive information about opportunities to study at accredited universities in the U.S. The Commission also delivers the Sutton Trust US Program, designed to help high-achieving, low-income U.K. students explore U.S. higher education.

About the UK Summer Institutes

Each year, the Commission supports up to 60 U.S. undergraduate students to undertake demanding academic and cultural summer programs at leading institutions in the U.K.

This year we are hosting the following nine Summer Institute programs at host institutions across the U.K.: AIFS Summer Institute at Shakespeare’s Globe, University of Bristol Summer Institute, University of Exeter Summer Institute, Queen’s University Belfast Summer Institute, the University of Westminster Summer Institute, the University of Sussex Summer Institute, the Scotland Summer Institute (at the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Strathclyde) and the Aberystwyth University Summer Institute in Wales. For more information, visit www.fulbright.org.uk/going-to-the-uk/uk-summer-institutes.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.