Ross Ufberg, a candidate for May graduation from Hamilton College, has been awarded a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to Russia. While there Ufberg plans to conduct research on the Russia poet Joseph Brodsky. Ufberg is spending this semester working at the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library at Yale as a visiting fellow doing research on Brodsky under the direction of Ann Kjellberg, the executor of Brodsky's estate.
While a junior at Hamilton Ufberg studied at Smolny College in St. Petersburg, Russia, from 2005-2006. A Dean's List student, he was selected as a Levitt Scholar to discuss his experiences in Russia at local high schools. He is editor of Red Weather, Hamilton College's literary journal; was the recipient of the Dana Scholarship for academic achievement, character and leadership; and served as a writing tutor and teaching assistant for the Higher Education Opportunity Program. Ufberg also hosted a radio show on Hamilton's WHCL, and played on the men's Rugby team. He is a graduate of Abington Heights High School. Upon return to the U.S. Ufberg plans to pursue a doctorate in comparative literature, specializing in Russian literature, and to teach at the college level.
The purpose of the Fulbright Program is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. The program is designed to give recent college graduates opportunities for personal development and international experience.
It offers invaluable opportunities to meet and work with people of the host country, sharing daily life as well as professional and creative insights. The program promotes cross-cultural interaction and mutual understanding on a person-to-person basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity and intellectual freedom. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by Congress to the Department of State. The U.S. Student Program awards approximately 900 grants annually and currently operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.
