THE FULBRIGHT LEGACY

"International education exchange is the most significant current project designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point, we would hope, that nations can learn to live in peace"
--J. William Fulbright

Just after World War II, in 1946, U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright sponsored legislation to create an international educational exchange program with an ambitious goal: to foster learning and empathy between cultures in an effort to humanize international relations and thus ensure an international regime that would be "more civilized, rational and humane than the empty system of power of the past."

Since that time, the Fulbright Program has enabled nearly a quarter of a million people from the United States and nearly every other country on earth to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbright grant holders not only share ideas and cultural values with countless people in their host country, they also return home to pass on their new knowledge of other cultures to colleagues and students. The very title "Fulbright" or "Fulbrighter" opens doors throughout the world.

Bearing a badge of honor and pride, Fulbright alumni are part of a special force in history. They promote mutual understanding effectively --because the best way to appreciate the viewpoints, beliefs, thoughts and actions of other peoples is to interact with them directly on an individual basis.

The program is administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State (ECA) under policy guidelines by a presidentially appointed 12-member board known as the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Fifty Binational Commissions composed of equal members of U.S. and partner country citizens, supervise the program in foreign countries; in countries without a Binational Commission, the Program is run by the U.S. Embassy in partnership with the host country government.

The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the United States Congress to the Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions in foreign countries and in the United States also contribute financially through cost-sharing and indirect support, such as salary supplements, tuition waivers and university housing.

The Congressional appropriation for the Fulbright Program in fiscal year 2006 was $184.6 million. Foreign governments, through their binational commissions or foundations, contributed an additional $50.4 million directly to the Fulbright Program.

Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception, approximately 279,500 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to exchange ideas and to contribute to finding solutions to shared issues.

Of these participants, 46,100 have been overseas academics and professionals who have conducted research or taught in U.S. universities as Fulbright Visiting Scholars, and more than 44,400 U.S. faculty and professionals who have engaged in similar activities abroad.