The inaugural event of the 2023-24 Fulbright Chicago Chapter took place at the Cliff Dwellers Club in downtown Chicago overlooking Lake Michigan.
By Ellie Kallgren—THE FULBRIGHT CHICAGO CHAPTER kicked off the academic year with our inaugural Fall Celebration on Sept. 29 at the Cliff Dwellers Club in downtown Chicago. It was our biggest turnout ever, with 159 people attending.
Renowned pianist Elizabeth Doyle with Chicago board member Linda Spoletti.
Elizabeth Doyle graced the event with delightful piano throughout the evening as everyone mingled. It was the perfect way to meet Fulbrighters, both alums and new fellows, along with 22 consular corps members from a multitude of countries ranging from Japan to Argentina. It was a true testament to the power of the ” people-to-people” program that is Fulbright.
Attendees mingled on the patio overlooking Lake Michigan and Millennium Park.
Kim, a Fulbrighter from Myanmar, spoke eloquently about how the political crisis in Myanmar inspired her to pursue education in order to bring stability to her country and how Fulbright has given her the resources to pursue an education degree as well as the inspiration to strive for change in the world. The stories and backgrounds that made up the room gave life to an event that lasted well past closing time.
Fulbrighters enjoy an evening surrounded by camaraderie, networking and new friendships.Fulbright Chicago chapter Treasurer Adam Fuss and President Dr. Edel Jose with Dr. Bruce Douglas.
The highlight of the evening was a moving speech by none other than the Chicago Chapter’s co-founder, Dr. Bruce Douglas. Dr. Douglas is a retired maxillofacial surgeon and Navy veteran who served in World War II and the Korean War. He spoke about first meeting Senator J. William Fulbright in 1944 while serving in the Navy: “We met in the dining room of the Senate where he was discussing an interest in promoting people to people contacts following the war,” Douglas said. This dining room conversation eventually led to the foundation of the Fulbright program in 1946.
Mary Mares-Awe, Dr. Bruce Douglas, Janet Douglas and Dr. Edel Jose.
Dr. Douglas spoke to the continuing importance of the Fulbright program today in a world and country that have become deeply divided, and he expressed optimism at seeing name tags in the room from countries that a few decades ago “only existed in the realm of bullets and guns.” Though today it might feel as though connections have been lost, Fulbright is keeping the people-to-people connections alive in Chicago and around the world.
We also heard from the Chicago Chapter President, Dr. Edel Jose, as well as other board members about upcoming events, including the kick-off to the Fulbright Chicago Mentorship Program and upcoming Women’s Empowerment event.
The Fulbright Chicago Board across generations, including our new board members alongside the Chicago Chapter co-founder, Dr. Bruce Douglas.
It was a fabulous evening full of networking, friendship, and people-to-people conversation. Thanks to the Cliff Dwellers Club for the spectacular, historic venue and supplying us with delicious hors d’oeuvres and drinks.
As usual, Fullbrighters from around the world come together to share and enjoy the Fulbright spirit.A group photo towards the end of a wonderful evening.
COME JOIN US FOR THE WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT FORUM! The Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association along with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago invite you to a speaker forum followed by a reception at the University Club of Chicago.
DATE Thursday Oct. 5, 2023 TIME 2:00 pm < WHERE University Club of Chicago 76 E. Monroe St. Chicago, IL 60601 COST Free
SPEAKERS Věra Komárová, CEO Dermacol & Founder of Leonardo da Vinci Academy Nicole Robinson, CEO YWCA Metropolitan Chicago & Founder of Southside Giving Circle Markéta Klíčová, Nanoscientist, Young Innovator of the Year Audience Choice Award 2018
VĚRA KOMÁROVÁ She was born in Prague. At the age of 14, she stood on Prague’s Wenceslas Square and participated in the Velvet Revolution. At a time when freedom of speech was only an illusion in Czechoslovakia, she actively transcribed information on a typewriter and distributed it to mailboxes. She studied foreign trade and then languages (she speaks 7 languages) and pedagogy at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. During her studies, she got the opportunity to spend 3 years in Italy at the universities of Siena, Ferrara and Milan. After graduating from university, she worked in the marketing department of large international companies Ferrero and Colgate-Palmolive. When she learned about the Dermacol brand— its amazing history, great products – she immediately fell in love with it and fell in love with her work. During her more than 20 years tenure, Dermacol has increased its turnover more than twentyfold, and the brand ranks among the best-selling cosmetics in the Czech Republic. Dermacol is now distributed in 60 countries around the world. Věra Komárová presented the brand in, among others, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, the USA, Poland and Brazil. In 2016, Věra was on the cover of Forbes magazine and ranked among the 75 most important women in the Czech Republic. She supports the Zdenka Žadníková foundation fund, which beautifies hospitals and social facilities with paintings and poetry. It is associated with the support of the Happy Hearts Foundation, which builds safe schools in countries affected by natural disasters. She herself participated in volunteer work during the construction of a school in Nepal. In 2020, she became the author of the Help beauty project for the Be Charity foundation, which helps children with disabilities. Věra Komárová is a mother of 3 daughters. And in 2021, it opened the Czech-British School Leonardo da Vinci Academy.
NICOLE ROBINSON Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Nicole R. Robinson has spent her career building bridges between communities, individuals, government and business leaders. Today Nicole serves as the Chief Executive Officer for YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, a human centered organization dedicated to empowering women and eliminating racism. As a fierce advocate for women, girls and justice, Nicole is inspired by the resilience of the families who turn to YWCA for family supports, economic opportunities and collective healing. Prior to joining YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, Nicole was the Chief Partnership and Program Officer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository where she designed strategies to expand food access while tackling the root causes of poverty, unemployment, and racial inequity. Her food justice advocacy resulted in a $10MM investment in the emergency food system and she inspired the reimagination of Chicago’s entire food system as one the of the co-creators of Chicago’s first ever Food Equity Council. Before joining the social sector, Nicole began her career in corporate finance supporting various business units and would go on to lead the corporate foundation for Kraft Foods and Mondelez International. Nicole resides in Bronzeville on Chicago’s South Side and is the founding leader of Chicago’s first ever South Side Giving Circle focused on reducing inequities faced by Black women and girls.
MARKÉTA KLÍČOVÁMarkéta is working on the development of novel nanofibrous patches for covering the intestine after operations and thus preventing serious postoperative complications. Challenging research is conducted in close collaboration with clinicians, who lack such material on the market. Together, they believe that the newly developed material will save the lives of patients after surgery. Markéta has won numerous awards for her research, e.g. during the international finals of the Falling Walls Lab 2018 breakthrough ideas competition in Berlin, she won the prize “Young Innovator of the Year – Audience Award”. She was recently awarded by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi in cooperation with the French Embassy in the Czech Republic; Markéta won the first place for the best pharmaceutical research in 2023. In 2020, Professor Donald E. Ingber from Harvard Medical School accepted Markéta as an internship student, thus she participated in the unique development of the organs-on-chip. Based on these and previous scientific results, Forbes magazine placed her in the prestigious ranking of successful young people (30 under 30). Markéta is dedicated to supporting and supervising other students who participate in the field of tissue engineering and biomedical research at the Technical University of Liberec. She regularly publishes her results in international scientific journals. Markéta is also involved in the business environment, collaborating on the development of biotechnological products with the Czech company IQS Group. It is important for her to transfer the results of scientific research into commercial products. At the beginning of 2023, she was also selected for the unofficial advisory team of the Minister for Science and Research, Ms. Helena Langšádlová. Together with the whole team, she is dedicated to improving the conditions of Czech science and to motivate young people into starting research.
YOU ARE INVITED to nominate a person for consideration for the 2022 Dee Sarelas Fulbright Service Award.
The award is in honor of one of the Chicago Chapter’s early presidents, Aphrodite (“Dee”) Edith Floros Sarelas*. Dee passed away at the age of 90 in June of 2007. Dee earned her B.S. in education and was a member of the honor societies Kappa Delta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi, and in 1954 she received her M.A. degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. She was awarded a Fulbright Teaching Grant in 1958 to attend the School of Social Work in Athens, Greece.
The nominee does NOT need to be a Fulbright Association member and may be a citizen or resident of any country.
The selection criteria for the nominee:
must be a living individual or a 501c3 organization;
must have had a significant impact (short- or long-term) on the development of internationalism for the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association and/or for the Chicago area community (e.g., program design or delivery, membership recruitment, communication production, international understanding outreach, international education, leadership in an organization that promote international understanding)
must exemplify the values of the Fulbright Association;
the individual or president of the organization must agree to serve as an honorary member of the board of the Chicago Chapter
Nominations will be closed on at 11:59 p.m. Central time on January 6, 2023. To submit a nomination click HERE. The information will then be presented to the Chicago Chapter Membership for voting starting January 10, 2023. The award shall be given at the Winter Reception held in Chicago.
*A Chicagoan dedicated to interacting with and nurturing Fulbrighters in the Chicago area community, Dee was a person remembered for her wit, empathy, and vivacity in bringing people across cultures together. In 2009, the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association established the Dee Sarelas Fulbright Service Award in her memory to honor those who follow Dee’s example for service. Please join us in honoring Dee and the Fulbright legacy by submitting a nomination for 2022.
THIS YEAR WE ARE CELEBRATING International 2022 Education Week a little earlier! The Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association along with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago, invite you to an evening of insightful speakers followed by a reception.
Besides our speakers, we will have two honorable guests: The Consul General Mr. Jaroslav Kantůrek, and the Deputy Consul General Mr. Ondřej Pometlo.
Vice-Consul Dr. Monika Bokšová | Czech Presidency in the 2022 Council of the EU: “Europe as a task”
It only happens once in a long time. Czechia is holding its presidency in the Council of the European Union. What is the role of the presiding country? What are the Czech priorities in these turbulent times? Join us to learn more about the European Institutional Framework with Vice-Consul Dr. Monika Bokšová, Head of Trade and Economic Section at the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago, who will explain the challenges ahead.
Dr. Déborah Marber | The problem of empathic resistance: How failing to empathize with dissimilar others threatens the EU and what we can do to address it
We often fail or struggle to empathize with others, something called “empathic resistance.” In this talk, Dr. Marber explores what empathy requires, and what factors promote or impede empathic resistance. She examines some of the roles of empathy in EU relations, and where these are more limited. From her analysis, Dr. Marber extrapolates ways to remedy such empathy deficits to promote better inter-European relations.
WHEN Wednesday, November 9, 2022
TIME 5:45pm – 7:45pm
WHERE Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago, 205 N Michigan Ave. #1680, Chicago
RSVPBy November 5, 2022 at 5PM
COST*Free admission *Registration is limited*Check-in at the lobby
Dr. Monika Bokšová is a diplomat who joined the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago as Vice-Consul responsible for trade and economic affairs in 2021. Besides, academia has been an integral part of her career. Since 2016 she has been teaching and developing both undergraduate and postgraduate courses at universities in the Czech Republic and also in the USA. She obtained her master’s degree in Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna at the University of Vienna, followed by a PhD in International Trade at the University of Economics in Prague.
Dr. Déborah Marber is an Honorary Research and Teaching Associate in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bristol (UK) and, from August 2022, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Notre Dame’s Center for Philosophy of Religion. Her research sits at the intersection of epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language. She is especially interested in the relationship between believing and imagining, as well as how it bears on action, well-being, and society. She graduated with a PhD in Philosophy from the University of St Andrews in June 2021.
FOR OUR OCTOBERFulbright Speaker Series, we have a presentation by Associate Professor of Journalism Elio Leturia, who teaches in the Communication Department of Columbia College Chicago. Originally from Peru, Leturia was a Fulbright foreign student at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Most recently, as a Fulbright Senior Scholar, he spent the Spring 22 semester teaching at Universidad de Málaga in Spain.
TOPIC“The Latinx Word, a communication project on self-identification.”
In his presentation, Prof. Leturia will discuss the latest issue of Wanderer magazine that highlights “The Latinx Word,” a subject matter that has caused discussion and controversy among members of the Latino community.
Based on 22 interviews to individuals of Latin American background who live in the Midwest, how do they prefer to be identified as? Latino, Latina, Hispanic, Latinx, Latine, to mention a few?
The Spring 2022 issue of the magazine was produced as a collaborative school project between students from two courses Leturia teaches: People, Power & Narrative: Latino Voices, and Visual Communication.
The courses are offered in the Columbia Experience, and the Communication programs respectively, at Columbia College Chicago. People, Power & Narrative: Latino Voices students reported and wrote the stories providing photography for them. Visual Communication students edited, designed and laid out each story as their final course project.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
In her presentation, Dr. Yair will explain the use of different discourse characteristics in WhatsApp among Israeli teenagers, ages 14-18 between the years 2017-2021.
She will also discuss the many emotional components such as humor, nicknames, and expressions that foster their words and foreign words in their language, which revives the modern Hebrew language and develops it in a way that reveals its dynamic, creative and playful power.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
A NEW ACADEMIC YEAR starts and the Fulbright Association Chicago Chapter invites you, friends, and family to join us for our annual Fall Event Celebration of Fulbright!
The evening will entail a night of networking, light hors d’oeuvres, and drinks overlooking a backdrop of the beautiful Chicago skyline. We will have live music by Ed Burns, who will be performing and singing. Come meet fellow Fulbrighters and members of the Chicago Chapter board. Upcoming events and programs of the Chicago Chapter will be introduced throughout the evening. We hope you can join us!
WHEN Friday, September 9, 2022 TIME 6:30pm-9:00pm WHERE Sky Lounge of the 727 West Madison building 727 West Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois 60661 [*Guest must check in with the front desk for the Fulbright event and they will be sent up to the Sky Lounge]
COST$25 [Fulbright Alumni & Friends of Fulbright] $5 [Fulbright Students & Scholars] * SOLD OUT * FREE [Consular Corps]
FOR OUR AUGUST Fulbright Speaker Series, we have a presentation by Dr. Izabella Petriashvili Associate Professor at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in the Republic of Georgia.
TOPIC “Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning at Georgian Higher Education Institutions.”
Technology-enhanced online teaching and learning became a pressing issue due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. The European Union funded DITECH, a national project part of Erasmus+ Capacity Building Programs in Higher Education (2021-2024). The project seeks to empower academic staff at Georgian HEIs on the innovative educational technology adoption in curriculum reform and course design and to improve their digital competencies and skills through groundbreaking education programs and training that use diverse delivery methods, including online/blended teaching and learning.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
FOR OUR JULY Fulbright Speaker Series, we have a presentation by Pramantha M. Tagore from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay & Monash University Melbourne Program, who is currently researching at University of Chicago.
TOPIC “Writing Music in 19th Century Colonial Calcutta: Discourse, Interculturality, and Counter-Narratives”
In 19th century Bengal, writers used European concepts such as “enlightenment,” “evolution,” and “social progress” as key concerns informing musical and cultural discourse.
Such entanglements with sociological and political concerns in the music field helped to articulate counter-narratives within an increasingly competitive domain of musical production.
Building upon scholarship on nationalist, anti-colonial, and elite music-making in colonial Calcutta, University of Chicago Fulbright Visiting Scholar Pramantha M. Tagore, argues that intellectual transactions in music informed the framing of two distinct registers for historicization: a dominant upper-class discursive framework emphasizing the superiority of Sanskrit theoretical doctrine, and, a popular counter dialog celebrating evolution, interculturality and social progress.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
After finishing with their programs, Fulbright Visiting Scholars return to their home countries.
WordChicago invites Fulbright alumni to a reception for Visiting Fulbright Senior Scholars who are finishing with their awards before leaving the United States.
WHEN Thursday June 30, 2022
TIME 4:00-6:00 p.m.
WHERE 309 W Washington St., Suite 1050, Chicago, IL 60606
This is an opportunity for us to meet the international Fulbright Senior Scholars one last time prior to finishing their scholarships while also interacting with the Fulbright Alumni of Chicago. We would love to see the Fulbright community coming together and hear about our international experiences living and working in diverse communities while sharing some of our best memories.
This will be an informal event and the recommended attire is business casual.
FULBRIGHT CHICAGO 