Florida State University Vice President for Student Affairs Amy Hecht has received a Fulbright International Education Administrators (IEA) Award, giving her the opportunity to strengthen FSU’s global engagement while exploring higher education systems abroad.
Fulbright IEA Awards are two-week seminars that give U.S. higher education administrators the opportunity to learn about other countries’ higher education systems, exchange best practices, explore potential institutional partnerships and strengthen their institutions’ international engagement.
Hecht will travel to France in October for a program focused on the country’s higher education and research system. The program includes briefings, campus visits, meetings with government officials and international education professionals, networking opportunities and cultural activities.
“Receiving a Fulbright International Education Administrators Award is a tremendous honor,” Hecht said. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to engage with colleagues in France, learn from their approaches to higher education and student success and bring new ideas and partnerships back to Florida State University. I look forward to this experience with great enthusiasm and a spirit of collaboration.”
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to engage with colleagues in France, learn from their approaches to higher education and student success and bring new ideas and partnerships back to Florida State University.”
— Amy Hecht, FSU Vice President for Student Affairs
During the program, Hecht will also explore ways to strengthen support for student study abroad opportunities and faculty research collaborations while laying the groundwork for future partnerships between FSU and French institutions.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational and cultural exchange program, fostering mutual understanding through academic and professional exchanges in more than 160 countries.
Hecht joins seven FSU faculty members who received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards for the 2026-2027 academic year. Those scholars will conduct work in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Belgium, Vietnam and India.
“It is especially meaningful to join the distinguished community of Florida State Fulbright recipients,” Hecht said. “The achievements of our faculty scholars reflect FSU’s enduring commitment to global engagement, and I am proud to contribute to that tradition while advancing opportunities for our students, faculty and staff.”
FSU has reciprocal student exchange agreements with three institutions in France: MICEFA (Mission Interuniversitaire de Coordination des Échanges Franco-Américains), a consortium of 18 Paris-area universities; NEOMA Business School, with campuses in Paris, Reims and Rouen;, and the University of Strasbourg.
Through FSU’s Global Exchange Programs, administered by the Center for Global Engagement within the Division of Student Affairs, FSU students can study abroad while earning academic credit and paying FSU tuition and fees. The program also welcomes exchange students from partner universities around the world.
FSU also has two study abroad programs in France through International Programs.
The Dance in Paris program is designed to immerse the dance enthusiast in a unique curriculum combining technique classes at various dance academies and conservatories in Paris with the study of French culture, adding further context to the program.
The Intensive French program is offered in partnership with the Institut Catholique de Paris, one of the country’s most prestigious language schools. Students are taught entirely in French by native-speaking faculty after placement into the course best suited for their proficiency level.
“Florida State already enjoys strong and valued relationships with institutions in France, and I hope this experience will help us build upon those connections in ways that expand study abroad opportunities, foster innovative collaborations and deepen the ties between our communities for years to come,” Hecht said.
FSU faculty interested in learning more about applying for Fulbright Program funding can contact Peggy Wright-Cleveland, director of Faculty Development in the Office of Faculty Development and Advancement, at mwrightcleveland@admin.fsu.edu or (850) 645-8202.
To learn more about FSU’s global footprint, visit global.fsu.edu. For more information about the Division of Student Affairs at FSU, visit studentaffairs.fsu.edu.