With the University ranked first in the nation in the number of Fulbright scholarships, program administrators say they aim to broaden faculty exchanges with other countries.

The scholarship enables professionals from the United States to exchange cultures and ideas with people from other countries, as well as promote academic and professional development.

Fulbright scholarships are international grants given to faculty members across the United States and to professionals not necessarily associated with a university, said Elizabeth Smith, academic officer for Penn State's Education Abroad Programs and the University Fulbright adviser.

"What the Fulbright Scholarships are based on is a series of bilateral agreements that is between, say Brazil and the United States . . . as to how many people they want to have come, what fields they want to have them work in, and so on," she said.

Penn State has 17 Fulbright scholars, one at the Worthington Scranton Campus and the rest at University Park. The University of California at Berkeley ranked second with 13, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison ranked third with 12.

Smith said the rankings are used for prestige but she emphasized the academic benefits as well.

"The more people we send abroad, the more internationalized the whole academic community becomes," she said. "Their experiences and research abroad will enrich their teaching and that will be communicated to the students," she said. "The more we send, the better."

University professors holding scholarships for the 1989-90 year are visiting countries such as Belgium, Finland, Guatemala and Romania.

Kenneth Thigpen, an associate professor of English, was a Fulbright Scholar in 1979-80. He spent a year in Culj, Romania, researching the myth of America in Romanian folklore.

Thigpen said the reasons for his research in Romania were political as well as cultural.

"At that time, the Romanians wanted to encourage a connection with America," he said. "Within Romania, America has always had a special place. Romanians have always been mavericks . . . they've looked to America for moral and philosophical guidance." Fulbright scholarships also established cultural ties within the country, he said.

"The Fulbright scholar . . . lends a little more cultural light of vision," Thigpen said. "It gives Romanians a chance to see a slice of American life that they may not be able to see.

"The Fulbright exchange gave them a 'touch' for America, a feeling for America," he said. "That's probably one of the most important things that we've done. It's almost like a Peace Corps at the university level."

After individuals submit applications for exchange with a designated country, a national committee in Washington, D.C., nominates selected faculty members, and then the country makes the final decision, Smith said.

Faculty members are judged on the strength of their application, letters of recommendation and project, as well as their willingness and ability to share ideas with people of different cultures, she said.

About 1,000 awards are given each year for lecturing and research, Smith said.

Smith said it is generally easier to receive a lecturing award than a research award because "in many countries, they're using you, in a sense, to supplement their pool of teachers."