Three Mavericks Earn Fulbright Awards

OMAHA – A University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) alumnus, current student and educator will each be spending at least a portion of the next academic year overseas as recipients of Fulbright awards.

In April, each of the three awardees received information about their upcoming international appointments.


Evan Kenkel

Evan Kenkel, who received his Bachelor of Arts in English in December, as well as a Foreign Language and Literature degree in German, will travel to Germany to serve as a teaching assistant for an English language program for grades five through 13.

In addition to his work as a teaching assistant, Kenkel will also be working with German communities to help develop additional English programs at local community centers. Upon finishing his time overseas, Kenkel anticipates returning to UNO for a master's degree.

Khalif Hassan

Also traveling for the 2015-2016 academic year is Khalif Hassan, who is currently earning his masters in International Relations.

Hassan, who graduated with an undergraduate degree in Political Science from UNO in December, will travel to Aberystwyth, located in Wales, to learn more about how social change can influence foreign policy.

“It was quite surreal at first,” he explained. “The chances were so small that I had to really temper my expectations. It's an honor to represent UNO in the UK and I hope to be a good ambassador."

In addition to his research, Hassan will attend classes at Aberystwyth University. His ultimate goal is to join the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer and diplomat.

Kenkel and Hassan are one of just 1,900 citizens who will travel abroad for the 2015-2016 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.



Ziaul Huq, Ph.D.

Also traveling overseas, during the Spring 2016 semester, is Ziaul Huq, Ph.D., a professor of management in the UNO College of Business Administration, who will spend time in Saudi Arabia.

While in Saudi Arabia, Huq will spend time researching a business process methodology known as Six Sigma, which seeks to improve efficiency in order to improve revenue.

“I’ve tested my model over here,” he said, “but I would like to test it in a developing economy setting.” He said he hopes it will become an implementation model that many countries adopt.

Huq, who received Saudia Arabia’s lone Fulbright exchange spot, will also spend time teaching graduate-level courses in business operations and supply chain management at Umm Al-Qura University.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Those who receive Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement.

For more information about UNO’s Fulbright award winners, please contact Charley Reed, UNO Associate Director of Media Relations, at unonews@unomaha.edu.