More students Wins Gilman Study Abroad Award

McHenry resident Monica Fetherston is one of five University of Illinois at Chicago undergraduates who have been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman scholarships for study abroad opportunities.Fetherston, a junior Spanish and political science major, is currently studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina.The UIC students are among more than 900 undergraduates awarded Gilman scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad program costs during the 2012 spring semester.Since 2006, UIC students have received 54 Gilman scholarships totaling about $224,500. Eligible students are those who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding and are from groups traditionally underrepresented in education abroad. The program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, aims to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they travel.

The scholarship program is funded through the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000 and is administered by the Institute of International Education's Southern Regional Center in Houston. It honors former U.S. Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, who chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee.UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.