Dr. Hilary Hungerford, associate professor of geography at Utah Valley University, has received the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award. She and her family will live in Mongolia for the spring semester of 2024. Hungerford will teach graduate seminars in sustainability and geography at the National University of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar.

“I feel so honored to be selected as a Fulbright Scholar,” Hungerford said. “To me, being a Fulbright Scholar signals trust and the importance of my work as a scholar and teacher. I am so excited to have a new adventure following the last few years of work with the Faculty Senate.”

The Fulbright Scholars program is considered one of the world’s most prestigious academic programs. Annually, only about 20% of applicants are selected as Fulbright Scholars. This figure, however, does not tell the whole story since the people who even apply are, for the most part, the highest achievers at their institutions.

Past Fulbright Scholars include 62 Nobel Prize Laureates and 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients. Hungerford’s selection places her in a prestigious group.

“I am absolutely delighted for Dr. Hungerford and for UVU,” said Daniel Horns, dean of UVU’s College of Science. “This selection recognizes Dr. Hungerford as a world-class scholar. The selection also signals to UVU students that even though they are attending a teaching-focused university, their professors are world leaders in their fields.”

Horns said that in addition to the prestige associated with Hungerford’s selection, UVU students would benefit directly from the knowledge she will gain as a Fulbright Scholar. “This is a deep dive into Mongolia that will help inform all of Dr. Hungerford’s future geography classes,” he said.

Hungerford hopes to learn how climate change impacts Mongolian urban centers and rural life. “I want to learn about environments in Mongolia and Asia more broadly so that I can integrate these lessons into my courses at UVU,” she said. “I want to learn about Mongolian culture and visit historical sites in the country. I want to learn about food and religion in Mongolia. So many things!”

She said Mongolia shares similar environmental challenges faced in Niger and Utah, two primary areas of her focus as a geography educator and scholar.

“Arid lands around the world exist in a state of non-equilibrium, and these highly variable environments have proved to be some of the greatest impacted by climate change,” Hungerford said. “My work in dryland regions in Niger and Utah over the past 15 years has centered on the role of cities. I now wish to explore these topics in Mongolia with local students, faculty, and experts.”

Hungerford hopes the relationships she builds in Mongolia will lead to greater engagement in the future. “I’m excited to bring back lessons learned from Mongolia into my research and classes at UVU,” she said. “Maybe, in the future, I can take UVU students to Mongolia.”