James Cuda was at an Italian restaurant in Chicago on Christmas Eve when he received the email of a lifetime.
Cuda, who has a Ph.D. in entomology and is a professor in the UF Entomology and Nematology Department, was one of 10 recipients to receive the Fulbright Scholarship grant, a highly competitive program through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
UF was ranked third in the nation for research institutions among 13 top-producing schools for most Fulbright Scholars, according to the ECA and publicized by “The Chronicle of Higher Education” in early March.
“The restaurant went absolutely nuts,” Cuda said. “It was really great; it was a really great experience.”
UF was ranked behind Harvard University and University of California at Berkeley.
Cuda’s grant is going toward a field impact study in Brazil on the effect of a specific insect on the country’s peppertrees when treatments, such as pesticides and fungicides, are applied.
Nargiza Ludgate, grants and contracts coordinator for UF’s Fulbright Program, said this ranking highlights UF’s strong international involvement, which brings students’ rich cultures to campus and creates collaborative opportunities.
“So our main goal is to raise awareness about all these different opportunities and help faculty and our students to explore these opportunities and apply,” Ludgate said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 3/20/2015 under the headline “UF ranked among top in nation for Fulbright Scholars”]
