Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program including the Fulbright-Hays Program is a program of grants for international educational exchange for scholars, educators, graduate students and professionals, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright. It is considered one of the most prestigious award programs and it operates in 144 countries. The Fulbright Program has 36 Nobel Prize Winners among its alumni, more than any other scholarship program of its kind
History
“The Fulbright Commission aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.” - Senator J William Fulbright
Created in the aftermath of the Second World War through the efforts of Senator J. William Fulbright, The Fulbright Programme promotes peace and understanding through educational exchange. Senator Fulbright believed that this would be an essential vehicle for mutual understanding between individuals, institutions and future leaders.
Today, the Fulbright Programme is one of the most prestigious awards programmes world-wide, operating in 144 countries and with 51 commissions. More Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes than those of any other academic programme, including two in 2002.
The US-UK Fulbright Commission was created by treaty on 22 September 1948 and since its inception has expanded its programme to include grants for study in a wide variety of fields. MBA awards, filmaking, sports science, performing arts, science, politics, history, literature and dance to name a few. Since 1949, approximately 12,000 UK Nationals have studied in the US and 9,600 US Nationals in the UK on Fulbright Educational Exchanges out of 200,000 Fulbright alumni worldwide.
The Program
The programs were established to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills.
The Fulbright Program provides funds for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools abroad. The initial reach of this program had been primarily European countries, and now the program operates worldwide.
Administration and Funding
The program is administered by 50 binational Fulbright commissions, US Embassies, and cooperating organizations.
A Fulbright Commission is a foundation established abroad to co-sponsor and administer Fulbright grants locally. Unlike countries where Fulbright grants are paid by the U.S. Department of State, Commissions pay some or all of the scholarships.
Grants for recent B.A. graduates, graduate students and younger professionals are administered by the Institute of International Education. These grants are available for U.S. citizens with a bachelor's degree to study in other countries, and for citizens of other countries to do graduate study in the U.S. Grants for faculty and professionals, as well as grants for U.S. institutions wishing to host scholars from other countries, are administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. Grants for K-12 teachers and administrators are administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. Fulbright-Hays grants, including grants for doctoral and postdoctoral research, summer seminars abroad, and group projects abroad, are sponsored by the United States Department of Education.
The Program is funded by Congressional appropriations and funding provided by partner governments. The program also receives important in-kind and financial support from academic institutions, foundations, and the private sector. Fulbright grants for students, teachers, college faculty and professionals are sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, governments in other countries, and the private sector. Fulbright-Hays grants for graduate students, teachers, and faculty are sponsored by the United States Department of Education.
Fulbright Prize
The J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding established in 1993 is awarded by the Fulbright Association to recognize individuals who have made extraordinary contributions toward bringing peoples, cultures, or nations to greater understanding of others.[citation needed] Fulbright Prize laureates include:
- William Jefferson Clinton (2005)
- Colin Powell (2004)
- Fernando Henrique Cardoso (2003)
- Sadako Ogata (2002)
- Kofi Annan (2001)
- Martti Ahtisaari (2000)
- Mary Robinson (1999)
- Patricio Aylwin Azócar (1998)
- Václav Havel (1997)
- Corazon Aquino (1996)
- Franz Vranitzky (1995)
- Jimmy Carter (1994)
- Nelson Mandela (1993)
Fulbright alumni
Fulbright alumni associations exist in 71 countries around the world[1]. In the U.S., the Fulbright Association[2] counts more than 9,000 members.
Notable alumni
The following are particularly notable:[3]
- S.M. Krishna, visionary and former chief minister of Karnataka,India;
- Arlene Alda, children’s book author and photographer;
- Frits Bolkestein, Dutch Politician and former EU Commissioner.
- Barbara Knowles Debs, former president of Manhattanville College and the New York Historical Society;
- Richard A. Debs, founding president of Morgan Stanley International
- Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline
- Milton Glaser, graphic designer
- Thomas R. Pickering, former under secretary of state for political affairs
- Walter F. MacConaway, biographer of explorer James Michael Prescott
- Ruth J. Simmons, president of Brown University
- H.T. Kirby-Smith, author and poet
- Rita E. Hauser, president of the Hauser Foundation
- John Mendelsohn, president of the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
- Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, president and CEO of Strategic Investment Group
- Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel Corporation
- Christian Filippella, film director and writer
- John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke professor emeritus of history at Duke University and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Jonathan Franzen, novelist
- Shirley Strum Kenny, president of Stony Brook University.
- Dolph Lundgren, actor
- Tarik O'Regan, composer
- Sylvia Plath, iconic poet
- Stephan Reimertz, writer and art historian
- John Lithgow, actor
- Javier Solana, former Secretary General of NATO and current EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy
- Joseph Heller, author
- Patricia Wasley, dean of the College of Education at the University of Washington and renowned education scholar
- Ulrich Wickert, German journalist and TV presenter
- Steven Campbell, Scottish painter
- Harry Klagsbrun, Senior partner EQT
- Alvin Lucier, composer of experimental music
- S. Pushpavanam, distinguished Professor in Chemical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
- Olen Steinhauer, author
See also
References
External links
- Fulbright Program Homepage – A page with links to all the grants and fellowships offered.
- Institute of International Education: Fulbright Program
- Fulbright Program For U.S. Students – Website with information for U.S. Students wishing to study abroad.
- Fulbright Program For Foreign Students – Website with information for Non-U.S. Students wishing to study in the United States.
- Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Initiative
- Fulbright Teacher Exchange - Website for K-12 Teacher and Administrator Exchange
- Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad
- Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad
- Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad
- Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research
- Fulbright Newsletter Archive
- Fulbright Association for alumni
- Fulbright Academy of Science & Technology – An international network established by alumni of the Fulbright Program.
- The Atlantic Review – A newsletter on transatlantic affairs edited by three German Fulbright alumni with the goal of increasing mutual understanding
- US Department of State Fulbright Website
- Experiencing America through the eyes of Fulbright Scholars – A book by Fulbrighters for Fulbrighters
- The US-UK Fulbright Commission
- The German-US Fulbright Commission
- The India-US Fulbright Program
- The Canada-US Fulbright Program
- The Australian-American Fulbright Commission
- The Polish-US Fulbright Commission
- The Finnish Fulbright Commission
- The Turkish Fulbright Commission
- The Ukrainian Fulbright Program
- The Pakistan Fulbright Program
- The Japanese Fulbright Program – Website detailing the Japanese/American Fulbright Program
- Council for International Exchange of Scholars - Website with information for U.S. faculty wishing to research or lecture abroad, or U.S. institutions wishing to host scholars from other countries