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Stephane Alrivy, a Ph.D. candidate in the Political Science Department, was recently named a J. William Fulbright Scholar.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Program is the nation's flagship international educational program which allows students, scholars, professionals, teachers and administrators from the United States and other countries to study or conduct research in more than 100 nations. The program's goal is to increase mutual understanding between people of the United States and people of other countries. Participants are selected based on their academic, professional and leadership potential.

Alrivy will spend a year in the Senegal, Africa researching the role of political parties in consolidating democracy and examining the relationship between democratization and the prospects for conflict resolution in the province of Casamance.

For the past four years, Alrivy has been an intern at the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. His position has taken him abroad to American embassies in Abu Dhabi, Senegal, Bahrain and Togo.

Alrivy is a native of Los Angeles, Calif. He is a Phi Beta Kappa who graduated magna cum laude from Occidental College in 1994 with the bachelor of arts degree in politics and languages and a minor in women's studies. In 1996, Alrivy earned the master's degree in international studies at the University of Denver. As a student at the University of Denver, he served as associate editor and book review editor for Africa Today Magazine. He also served as a teaching assistant and a teaching associate in the Howard University Political Science Department.

Alrivy's numerous awards and honors include: the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center Award, the Department of Political Science Fellowship, the Graduate School of International Studies Fellowship, the Sasakawa Young Leadership Award and Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges.

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Madika Bryant, a senior English major, was named a J. William Fulbright Scholar. Bryant joins more than100 students, administrators and professionals selected from the United States and abroad, who will study and conduct research in foreign countries.

The Fulbright Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is a premier international educational program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, the program is designed to increase mutual understanding between people of the United States and other countries.

Participants are chosen for their leadership potential and are provided an opportunity to observe foreign cultures and embark on joint ventures of global importance and significance.

Bryant will travel to Japan in September where she plans to refine her linguistic skills in Japanese and increase her understanding of the country's literature and culture. She plans to explore the themes of cross-cultural influences on Japanese literature and culture.

Bryant will earn the bachelor of arts degree in May 2001. She entered Howard University as a Merit Scholar in the Fall semester of 1997. For the past three years, she has served on the executive board of the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Society. In September 2002, Bryant will attend Stanford University to pursue the masters of arts degree in Japanese literature.

Bryant presently works as an intern at the National Association for Counties, an agency that serves as an advocate for county governments. Her duties include researching and compiling information for lobbyists and writing articles for the agency's website.

A native of Las Vegas, Nev., Bryant is fluent in Japanese and French. She is also an accomplished musician who plays nine instruments including, the piano, bass clarinet and saxophone.

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Marianna Ofosu, a Howard University sophomore, is a recipient of a 2001 Lucy Luard Scholarship which funds educational opportunities for students attending minority colleges or universities. Scholarship recipients must spend their junior year enrolled in a British university.

As a Luard Scholar, the New Britain, Conn. native will spend a year in the Ancient and Modern History Program at Christ Church College at Oxford University.

Ofosu is a classics major and a political science minor. She entered Howard University in 1999 as a National Achievement Scholar and Laureate Scholar.

She maintains a 3.8 GPA and was named to the National Dean's List and the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program Dean's List in 2000. Ofosu is the current president of Eta Sigma Phi Classics Honor Society and director of the “Basic Economics – Eyes on Africa” website project.

Ofosu also was awarded a 2001 Lucy Moten Fellowship that supports Howard University's Summer Study Abroad Program for College of Arts and Sciences students. During the summer of 2001, she will conduct archaeological research on the Greek Island of Thera in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Oluwatosin H. Otitoju
Poincaré Fellow

Oluwatosin H. Otitoju, a senior electrical engineering major, is the first Howard University student to receive the Poincaré Fellowship, a graduate study program at the California Institute of Technology that offers an innovative interdisciplinary program blending engineering and mathematics.

The Fellowship will provide Otitoju with an opportunity to earn her Ph.D. in control and dynamical systems by offering full tuition and an annual twenty-five thousand dollar stipend over a four-year period.

A native of Nigeria, Otitoju maintains a 3.94 GPA. She entered Howard in 1997 as an extraordinarily talented sixteen-year-old, and is currently a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, National Society of Black Engineers, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, and the Institute for Electrical Engineers.

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The School of Law National Moot Court Team placed first at the 13^th Annual Albany Law School of Union University's Domenick Gabrielli Family Law National Moot Court Competition held March 1-3 in Albany, N.Y.

Second-year students Andrea Bentley and Malaeika E. Montgomery represented the University at the three-day competition. Professor Reginald Leamon Robinson and Associate Professor E. Christi Cunningham served as faculty advisors.

Bentley, who was a finalist in the Best Oralist competition, is a native of Orlando, Fla. A Merit Scholar, she graduated magna cum laude from Howard University in 1997, having earned the bachelor's degree in English. Bentley is a student member of the American Bar Association and recipient of a 1999 CALI Award, for maintaining the highest grade in the Civil Procedure I class.

Montgomery, a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She is a member of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society and Phi Alpha Delta International Law Society. Montgomery also is a student member of the American Bar Association, Black Law Student Association and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

The annual event is organized and hosted by the Albany Law School of Union University's Family Law Committee of the Moot Court. Twelve schools participated in this year's competition, including defending champion Mercer University of Macon, Ga.

Howard University defeated American University in the quarterfinal and Brooklyn (N.Y.) Law School in the semifinal before its victory over Florida State University in the final round.

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