Five students and four researchers from Latvian universities are the recipients of the latest Fulbright scholarships that will allow them to pursue their academic interests in America, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Rīga has announced.

The scholarships cover all expenses during their stay in the United States, as well as round-trip airfare to and from Rīga.

The nine Fulbright fellows were scheduled to be honored in a July 15 reception in the U.S. Embassy.

“I admire the enthusiasm with which these talented individuals have pursued their research and studies,” Bruce Rogers, U.S. charge d’affaires, said in a press release. “They are a talented group of individuals. Many of the former Fulbright fellows from Latvia have gone on to become leaders in politics, business and the (nongovernmental organization) sector. I am confident that we will hear similar success stories in the future from this group.”

Recipients of the Fulbright scholarships for the next academic year include:

• Agnese Irkle, who will work toward her doctorate in pharmacology at the University of Texas, Austin.
• Liene Ločmele, a lecturer from Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, who will work toward a doctorate in communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
• Jevgēņijs Babaicevs, studying for a master’s degree in economics at New York University.
• Madara Apsalone, who will work toward a master’s of business administration in global management at the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz.
• Kaspars Bērziņš, chairman of the board of Zeno Consulting Ltd., who will work toward a master’s degree in public administration at Syracuse University in New York.
• Anna Mežaka, a scientific assistant in biology at University of Latvia, will conduct research at Oregon State University. The theme of her research is “Epiphytic Bryophyte and Lichen Community Ecology in Temperate Forest Ecosystems.”
• Juris Žvikovs, assistant professor at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, will teach piano performance at California Institute of the Arts.
• Ivars Ījabs, assistant professor of social sciences at University of Latvia, will conduct research at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The theme of his research is “Politics of Memory and Democratization: The Role of Civil Society.”
• Arturs Kučs, head of the International Law department at the University of Latvia, will conduct research at the University of Connecticut. The theme of his research is “Balancing the Freedom of Expression and Hate Speech: Legal Doctrine and Case-Law in the United States.”

The next competition for Fulbright scholarships will be announced in August, an embassy spokesperson said.

Valdis Muižnieks, an active member of the Latvian community in Kalamazoo who was known especially for his work in developing a Latvian language program at Western Michigan University, died July 10 while returning to his home from the eastern United States. He was 81.

Muižnieks was a founder of the American Latvian Youth Association (Amerikas Latviešu jaunatnes apvienība) and of the Latvian Foundation (Latviešu fonds), as well as a member of several other Latvian organizations.

In the late 1960s, Muižnieks worked with Western Michigan University to establish weekend Latvian language courses, which by the early 1980s evolved into a full academic program offering a degree in Latvian studies. A Latvian Studies Center was built to house students, but the facility was closed in 1996 as interest in the academic program waned after Latvia regained independence in 1991.

Muižnieks was born Dec. 1, 1927, in Rugāji, Latvia, the son of Aleksandrs and Beatrise Muižnieks. His father died in 1944 in Rīga during World War II. To escape the advancing Soviet forces, his mother and four siblings fled to Germany. Muižnieks, serving with German forces, reunited with his family after the end of the war, according to the online encyclopedia Latvijas ļaudies uz 21. gadsimta sliekšņa.

The family emigrated to the United States in 1949, spending a short time in the Latvian colony in Senatobia, Miss., before moving to Chicago in 1950. Muižnieks in 1957 earned a degree in chiropractic medicine from the National College of Chiropractic (now the National University of Health Sciences) and from 1959 until his retirement earlier this year practiced in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Muižnieks was involved in a number of Latvian organizations, including the American Latvian Association, the Daugavas Vanagi veterans group, the Valdemārija student organization and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran United Church of Kalamazoo. He also was involved in professional chiropractic organizations.

In 1985, Muižnieks received an honorary doctorate from Western Michigan University. In a letter to Muižnieks, then university President John T. Bernhard wrote, “You have devoted your life to the preservation of Latvian language and literature and without your gentle persuasion, Western Michigan University would never have been distinguished as the only university in the free world to offer a complete program of instruction in the Latvian language.”

For his work in the Latvian community, Muižnieks in 1996 received the Order of Three Stars (Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis), Latvia’s highest civilian honor.

Muižnieks is survived by his wife, Lalita Muižniece; their two children, Zintis Muižnieks of Callicoon, N.Y., and Sarma (Jānis) Muižnieks-Liepiņš of Boxford, Mass.; two grandsons, Julijs and Pēteris; his sister, Velta (George) Anast of Wisconsin; his brother, Māris (Mārīta) Muižnieks of Texas; sister-in-law Guna Muižnieks; and several nieces, nephews and other extended family in the United States and Latvia.

Preceding him in death were his parents and two brothers, Imants and Andrejs Muižnieks.

The funeral for Muižnieks was July 14 in the Langeland Family Funeral Home in Kalamazoo, with the Rev. Leons Vīksne officiating. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Dr. Valdis Muižnieks memorial scholarship to be established with the Vītols Foundation (Vītolu fonds) in Latvia.

A woman who came into contact with a member of a dance ensemble from Jelgava that recently traveled to Mexico is the second confirmed case of the H1N1 flu reported in Latvia, the Public Health Agency in Rīga has announced.

The woman herself had not traveled outside Latvia, the agency reported in a July 10 press release. However, the dance ensemble from the Junda Chidren’s and Youth Center was in Mexico from June 12 to July 7.

The woman felt ill on July 9 and went to the Jelgava hospital. A day later the Infectology Center of Latvia’s laboratory confirmed that she had contracted the H1N1 virus.

The Public Health Agency is asking members of the Junda dance ensemble and persons who may have come in contact with them to telephone the agency’s epidemiologist at +371 29444890. Symptoms of H1N1 are flu-like and include fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and runny nose.

Latvia’s first case of H1N1 was confirmed on June 23 and involved a woman who had traveled to the United States and Canada.

The United States, Mexico and Canada are the top three countries in terms of the number of H1N1 flu infections, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has declared the worldwide spread of the virus a pandemic.

As of July 6, according to WHO data, Estonia has reported 13 cases of infection, while Lithuania has had three.