Four UC Students Win Fulbrights

Four University of Cincinnati scholars will travel across the globe this year to enhance their studies and help promote international ties as the newest

Fulbright

U.S. student award recipients.

UC students –– Christy Wittmer, Josiah Rushing, Abby Yeakle and Nicholas Myers –– will take advantage of their Fulbright experience in various ways: teaching English, fine tuning musical skills, as well as researching ceramics in China.

Aligning with

UC’s Third Century Initiative

to increase global engagement, the distinguished Fulbright student awards annually

provide grant funds to recent graduates, master’s and doctoral students, as well as young professionals

to conduct individually designed study/research projects or to teach English in participating countries. 

“We had 12 students advance to the semifinalist stage this year,” says Pam Person, director of the UC office of Nationally Competitive Awards. “From those 12, two were selected as alternates, and four received the award.”

2016-17 UC Fulbright award winners

Christy Wittmer

Master’s of Fine Arts graduate, (DAAP) ’14

Christy Wittmer is a recipient of the 2016-17 Fulbright Research Grant to study ceramics in Jingdezhen, China, considered the sculpture capital of the world. Wittmer is a recent graduate with a master’s degree in visual arts from the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning and is specializing in the intersections of traditional sculpture and contemporary ceramic art in China. Wittmer plans to research and create a body of work in Jingdezhen around the concept of dislocation –– a failure in the process of copying older works that produces a deviation from the original work. By researching the relationship between traditional porcelain sculpture produced by earlier artisans in China, and contemporary ceramic sculpture made by emerging artists from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Wittmer hopes to establish herself as a scholar in her field, developing and sharing insights into how new ceramic techniques evolve.

Josiah Rushing

Master's of Music candidate in percussion, (CCM)
Josiah Rushing is a recipient of the 2016-17 Fulbright Research Grant to study musical percussion in Lyon, France. Rushing is a percussion performance student in the College-Conservatory of Music, currently specializing in 21st century percussion. Upon arrival in France, Rushing plans to study with world-renowned percussionist Jean Geoffroy at La Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Lyon. While there, Rushing will be an exchange student and looks forward to working with some of the interdisciplinary participants within Geoffroy’s innovative Artist Diploma program, absorbing his musical interpretations of percussion solo and ensemble repertoire. When he returns, Rushing hopes to form a nonprofit artistic organization creating cross-artistic productions that break the “fourth wall” of concert going in the name of community engagement. Rushing also aspires to further his education as a doctor of musical arts in the hopes of becoming a professor of percussion at a top university.

Abby Yeakle

Doctor's of Musical Arts candidate in oboe, (CCM)
Abby Yeakle is a recipient of the 2016-17 Fulbright Research Grant to study the Viennese oboe in Vienna, Austria. Yeakle is a doctor of musical arts student in the College-Conservatory of Music, specializing in the oboe. Yeakle will use her Fulbright scholarship to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna with Professor Harald Hörth, a renowned pedagogue and principal oboist of the Vienna Philharmonic. There she will learn to play the Viennese oboe, the oboe's romantic period instrument, uniquely preserved by Austrian musical traditions. While the conservatory and Viennese oboe instruments are distinctly different in shape, sound and mechanisms, Yeakle plans to cross apply the Viennese oboe to the conservatory oboe in order to improve authentic interpretation of the early romantic repertoire.

“For five years the Viennese oboe project has been a dream of mine, and I am happy that I never gave up on it because now it is becoming a reality,” says Yeakle. “As I will be the first to conduct this study, I am looking forward to being able to share what I learn about the Viennese oboe with the international oboe community, as an ambassador, through publication and teaching.”

Nicholas Myers
Bachelor’s of English graduate,(A&S) ’16
Nick Myers is a recipient of the 2016-17 Fulbright Research Grant to teach English in Lübeck, Germany. As a recent UC graduate, Myers plans to pursue a doctorate in German Studies upon completion of his Fulbright year. While in Lübeck, Myers will teach English to German students using both German and English film, literature, music and philosophy as a means of communication. As someone trained to analyze literary and historical texts with a broad interest in German culture, history and philosophy, Myers is particularly interested in the work of Thomas Mann. In addition to teaching English, Myers plans to look deeper into Mann’s writing and his ability to combine themes from Nietzsche, Goethe and German myth. Myers hopes this will strengthen his own understanding of Mann's work in which to help build a body of scholarship based on his own analysis of these themes. Upon his return, Myers plans to enhance his methods for teaching students English language education using digital and alternative media.

The University of Cincinnati’s participation in the Fulbright program is made possible through UC's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards. The office serves as a resource for these national awards and supports students as they navigate the application process.

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