Will We See the Elimination of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State?

According to Carol Morello of the Washington Post it appears that an early draft of President Trump's budget proposed the elimination of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State. Even if ECA is not eliminated they should expect significant budget cuts!

You can read screen shots of the paragraphs in the article pertaining to ECA below and the full article at http://wapo.st/2mSLUD6

You can read "America First-A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again" by White House OMB, 03-16-2017 at http://bit.ly/2nvW0II

Alliance for International Exchange press release, 3-16-17

"Alliance Opposes Unprecedented Proposed Cuts to State Department" available at http://bit.ly/2mwGLNX

Public Law 79-584 [U.S.] was signed by President Harry S. Truman 70 years ago today

A Former University of Chicago Student I Advised for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program

Several of our #LGBTI International Exchange Alumni recently participated in a panel at the U.S. Department of State and...
Posted by Exchange Programs - U.S. Department of State on Tuesday, June 30, 2015

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the Fulbright Program and International Leaders who Studied in the United States

Full text available on the U.S. State Department of State website.

Secretary of State John Kerry Highlights International Exchange Programs During his First Official Speech

In his first official speech at the University of Virginia on Wednesday, February 20th, Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted international exchanges and stated:

We value education, promoting programs like the Fulbright exchanges managed by the Department of State. They enable the most talented citizens to share their devotion to diplomacy and peace, their hopes, their friendships, and the belief that all of the Earth’s sons and daughters ought to have the opportunity to lift themselves up. Today these exchanges bring hundreds of thousands of students to America from other countries, and vice versa. In the last year alone, more than 10,000 citizens of foreign countries participated in the State Department’s academic, youth, professional and cultural exchange programs right here in Virginia. Virginians also studied abroad through State Department programs. Senator Fulbright, at whose hearings I had the privilege of testifying as a young veteran returning from Vietnam, he knew that the value of sharing our proudest values bore fruit in the long run, in the future. He said, “Having people who understand your thought,” he said, “is much greater security than another submarine.”

You can view his entire speech below and read the full text of his talk on the State Department website.

The Austrian-American Fulbright Program, 1950-2010

Frequent IHEC Blog readers know that I like to research and post about the history of international educational exchanges.  Recently I came across a set of four videos on the YouTube channel of the Austrian-American Educational Commission (AAEC) that I found incredibly interesting so I thought I would post them here.  These very well produced videos make up a forty-five minute documentary directed by Georg Steinböck and based on interviews with generations of Austrian Fulbrighters from the 1950s to the present and with recent U.S. grantees.  The documentary also includes historical footage, photos, and archival material.

To the class of 2011, I wish you all the best and may you all travel to all corners of this world!

This past weekend I worked the 507th Convocation at The University of Chicago and found it to be a great experience.  As I watched the students receive their diplomas and heard their names called I recognized many from meetings I've had with them over the years to discuss the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the DAAD, the Boren Scholarship, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, the Freeman-Asia Scholarship or the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship among others.  Many students were successful in these competitions and many were not.  Regardless of the outcome, many students took a leap and applied to these funding opportunities (some students applied to several) to have a meaningful international educational experience.  It is this group of students that I will miss the most.  These are the students who want to leave the comforts of their high speed cable/satellite/smart phone/internet connections behind; to be challenged on their viewpoint and to learn about and consider a different perspective; to see the larger world that they have dreamed and read about; and, to make a difference in this world.  These are the students I want my children to become!

To the class of 2011 at The University of Chicago, and beyond, I wish you all the best and may you all travel to all corners of this world!

Celebration of the first year of the Consultation on People-to-People Exchange

This week the United States Department of State celebrated the achievements during the first year of the Consultation on People-to-People Exchange between the United States and China.  I wanted to post a bit about this this week but given my family move to a new house and no internet connection at home that has proved difficult.  I did want to post about the various videos and transcripts available for you to link to when you have some free time.


Video "Secretary Clinton Celebrates Achievements of U.S.-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange" on DipNote.  Text of Secretary Clinton's remarks are available here.  (I'm trying to find a way to embed the video here in this post and will do so if I find a way)


Fact sheet on the U.S.-China CPE Cooperation on the 100,000 Strong Initiative





For me, what is really awesome about this video is that one of the Fulbright alumni featured in the video is a someone I advised on the Fulbright here at The University of Chicago (1:03 & 1:43 minute marks)!

Calling all Illinois Constituents! Follow-up the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange meeting with Sen. Kirk's Chicago office with a letter in support of exchanges!

I was invited to visit Senator Mark Kirk’s (R-IL) Chicago office last week as part of a small group of Illinois constituents to discuss the importance of Department of State exchange programs.  This meeting was coordinated by the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange in an effort to discuss the importance of these State Department programs with new members of the Senate State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee (which funds State Department exchange programs).  My part of the discussion with Senator Kirk’s Director of Constituent Services focused on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

The Alliance and the group who participated in the meeting are working to spread the word on this effort and request that Illinois constituents send letters to Senator Kirk as well as to Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) in support of international education and in particular State Department exchange programs.  The Alliance has already prepared an electronic letter which you can access here for you and all you need to do is enter your name and home address and your letter will be automatically sent to Senators Kirk and Durbin.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance with this important issue!


Photo credit:  studentofrhythm

Secretary Clinton's remarks to Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants

You can also view the video online as well as read the transcript of Secretary Clinton's [December 9, 2010] remarks here.

Impacts: Does Academic Exchange Matter? Cultural Diplomacy, Scholarly Internationalism, and American Studies since World War II

This free conference, sponsored by the Austrian-American Educational Commission, is scheduled for November 18-19, 2010 at the Amerika Haus, Friedrich Schmidt Platz 2, 1010 Vienna (U-2 Station: Rathaus).

A description of the conference from the website follows:

The aim of this conference organized under the auspices of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Fulbright Program in Austria in 1950 is to highlight ongoing research on the various topics related to academic exchange and to stimulate further reflection on the state of cultural diplomacy, scholarly internationalism, and the their ultimate impacts on foreign relations.

Conference participants are required to register free of charge in advance at staff@fulbright.at.  More information with full schedule details is available at http://www.fulbright.at/impacts.html

Always nice to see a past Fulbright recipient's picture on the U.S. Student Program website!

I'm entering my 11th year as the Fulbright Program Adviser at the University of Chicago.  I LOVE talking to students about their Fulbright application plans and helping them understand the program to put forward the strongest application possible.  I frequently visit the Fulbright U.S. Student website and I always get a smile on my face when I see the picture of a former student that I worked with on her Fulbright application, and went to Germany on an English Teaching Assistantship grant in 2003, cycle into the site.

Several years ago I was working on the Allabroad.us project for the Center for Global Education at Loyola Marymount University and knew that I had to add Priscilla to the group of mentors answering questions about race and ethnicity issues while studying abroad.  You can access Priscilla's profile here.

Video of the Week - Interview with Fulbrighter Amos Winter about his Leveraged Freedom Chair project in India

The other day I came across the following video interview (via Twitter I think) with Amos Winter, Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, discussing testing his wheelchair design called the Leveraged Freedom Chair that is specifically designed for use in developing countries during his Fulbright to India.



You can learn more about the Leveraged Freedom Chair and make a donation to the LFC Project at http://mlab.mit.edu/lfc.php.

Thanks for your message. I'm pleased to learn of your interest in the Fulbright program…

…is how I have started almost every e-mail message I reply to from a prospective Fulbright U.S. Student Program applicant over the past eleven years.  I LOVE working with students on their Fulbright applications and fleshing out their ideas for the program.  In talking with students about their plans I get excited for the day my three young children are college-age and I’ll be highlighting  this program to them as they will have studied abroad (hopefully a few times and starting as early as high school) and will hopefully want to spend more time abroad on this great program.  With this in mind I thought I would jot down this quick note of Fulbright advice to my children as my facilities and memory may not be fully functioning in 21 years or so when my youngest will be graduating from College:

Dear kids [names withheld for privacy],

When applying for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition (or any Fulbright competition for that matter) remember that the Fulbright Program came as a result of World War II and its purpose is geared towards mutual understanding among peoples from the United States and other countries.  To be sure, the Fulbright program is an academic/scholarly venture but when you are thinking about your time abroad and preparing your proposal remember the underlying mission of the program.  This will help you prepare a meaningful and enjoyable experience.

Your mother and I raised you to be thoughtful, caring and respectful citizens of this planet and we know that you will take these values with you everywhere you go.  Now, go out and see the world.

Love, Dad

Photo credit: leftymgp

CAMPUS (Central American Program of Undergraduate Scholarships) 1988-1999

As I was reading the book The Culture of Freedom: The Small World of Fulbright Scholars (1992) by Leonard R. Sussmann this weekend I came across something that reminded me of my college days at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (see my previous video of the week on the ESL program at Eau Claire).  What specifically caught my interest was Sussman’s description of the CAMPUS (Central American Program of Undergraduate Scholarships) pilot program and recommendations that this highly successful program continue.  The Campus program was created in response to the insurgencies in Central America during the 1980’s and brought undergraduate students to the United States from 1988-1999.  The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire participated in the CAMPUS program hosting several undergraduate scholars from Central America, many of whom I personally knew.  Sussman highlights some of the assessment findings by Development Associates, Inc., who was under contract by the United States Information Agency (USIA), identified that returned CAMPUS participants from El Salvador created an exchange program with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 

Further research took me to the LASPAU website where I have copied and pasted some interesting historical information about the program as well as some more specific information about the CAMPUS program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire:

"The Fulbright Program initiated CAMPUS to enable academically gifted students to obtain bachelor’s degrees at U.S. colleges and universities. CAMPUS provided scholarships for students to complete 30 months of academic course work, including intensive English language training, general education courses, and specialization in disciplines including business administration, communications, computer science, education, natural sciences, and social sciences. Over the course of the program, 795 young people from Central America studied at 28 institutions and returned home to pursue professional careers."

“In 1988, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire held a three-day conference on Latin America attended by over 400 delegates, including four Latin American ambassadors, a representative of the U.S. State Department, and CAMPUS students themselves. The university subsequently set up a Latin American Institute, providing undergraduate courses on Latin American history, geography, economics, and political studies, as well as field trips to Latin America.” (my note: I personally benefited from the Latin American Institute established at UW-Eau Claire as I majored in Spanish and minored in Latin American Studies)

You can read more about the CAMPUS program on the LASPAU website here.

What a great way to learn that one of your students was offered a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grant

I follow @ConnectStateGov on Twitter (and you should too!) and last Thursday when I opened my Twitter account I was taken by surprise when I saw mention that a student I worked with (in my day job at the University of Chicago) in the current 2010-2011 Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition received the grant!  Below is a screen shot of that @ConnectStateGov post.  

Here is a brief description of how the news of her Fulbright success reached me via Twitter before traditional methods of notification:  Sarah receives notification that she is offered a Fulbright grant and she informs her parents...her proud father then posts the news to Twitter...@ConnectStateGov finds her father's Twitter post (I assume via searching for the term "Fulbright") and retweets said post to all of their 1,802 followers (which includes me)....I then open Twitter and catch the @ConnectStateGov post in the Twitter stream I follow!

Just another example of why I think Twitter is such a great new media tool.

Video of the Week - Fulbright Scholar Discusses making of her documentary “Which Way Home”

n this video, filmmaker and 2005-2006 Fulbright Scholar Rebecca Cammisa discusses how the Fulbright helped her complete her 2010 Oscar nominated documentary “Which Way Home”.

You can learn more about “Which Way Home” and order your own copy at http://www.whichwayhome.net/

Video of the Week – Ms. Harriet Mayor Fulbright at the launch of the Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy

In this second installment of IHEC Blog’s "Video of the Week" I selected this brief speech by Harriet Mayor Fulbright at the national launch of the Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy back in February, 2009 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. I had the pleasure of meeting her briefly at the Colloquium on Diversity in Education Abroad hosted by the Academy for Educational Development on May 2, 2006. This video comes from the YouTube channel of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy which you can subscribe to here. Additionally, please take a few moments to visit the website of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy here as I believe that most IHEC Blog readers will find great value in their work.



You can access 120 international education related YouTube channels via IHEC Blog's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/IHECBlog.

IHEC Blog posts will be sporatic this and next week...

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program 2010-2011 season is in HIGH gear for me right now and I truly look forward to October 20th when I mail the box of 69 undergraduate applications from the University of Chicago this year! Don't get me wrong...I LOVE the Fulbright program and, more importantly, talking to students about their research, study and English teaching assistantship plans abroad. With that in mind I hope that regular IHEC Blog readers will be patient as I won't be able to post every Monday-Friday as normal during this week and next week. My evenings at home and lunch hour are consumed with Fulbright related work. Additionally, I'm trying to do a little research for my dissertation, tentatively titled Towards the Development of a Methodology to Measure Public Diplomacy Outcomes of International Education Programs, and both of these activities limit the amount of time I have to think of and prepare the daily IHEC Blog post. If you would like to become a regular/frequent/guest contributor to IHEC Blog please read my post from Monday with more details.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program I'm working on is not to be confused with the equally prestigious (arguably more prestigious) Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship Program. The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy has some really good information about this program on their blog which you can read here.

Quotes by U.S. Presidents on the Importance of International Exchanges and the Fulbright Program

Recently I posted to IHEC Blog on “National and International Leaders who were Fulbright Alumni” which I found in the abbreviated version of the Fulbright at Fifty publication that is hosted on the National Humanities Center website. Last night while I was doing some research for my dissertation I revisited the Fulbright at Fifty publication and discovered quotes by Presidents Truman through Clinton (as the Fulbright Program turned fifty during the Clinton Administration) on the importance of international exchanges and the Fulbright Program and I thought I would share them with IHEC Blog readers. To bring the list of quotes up to date I found and added quotes by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama:

“…This program is vitally important in widening the knowledge and technical ability of the peoples of the twelve participating countries…”
Harry S. Truman, Letter to the Chairman, board of Foreign Scholarships, on the Fulbright Program, May 11, 1951.

“…the exchange of students…should be vastly expanded…Information and education are powerful forces in support of peace. Just as war begins in the minds of men, so does peace.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Remarks at ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the Smith-Mundt Act, January 27, 1958.
“I am delighted to sign the new Fulbright-Hays Act. This ceremony has historic significance because it marks full recognition by the Congress of the importance of a more comprehensive program of educational and cultural activities as a component of our foreign relations…”
John F. Kennedy, remarks upon signing the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, September 21, 1961.
“…International education cannot be the work of one country. It is the responsibility and promise of all nations. It calls for free exchange and full collaboration…The knowledge of our citizens is one treasure which grows only when it is shared.”
Lyndon B. Johnson, message to Congress in February, 1966, on international education.

“This report…is largely devoted to an aspect of the program too often overlooked…the extraordinary…cooperation and assistance…from United States private groups…This private cooperation…gives the program its essential character and effectiveness…”
Richard M. Nixon, message to Congress, June 15, 1970.

“The spirit of seeking understanding through personal contact with people of other nations and other cultures deserves the respect and support of all.”
Gerald R. Ford, remarks to foreign exchange students, July 13, 1976.

“,,,I think one of the wonderful things about the program which you represent is its contribution to the barriers (of culture, events, religion, and ethics) having been broken down…”
Jimmy Carter, at Fulbright ceremony in Hungary in 1996.

“There is a flickering spark in us all which, if struck at just the right age…can light the rest of our lives, elevating our ideals, deepening our tolerance, and sharpening our appetite for knowledge about the rest of the world. Educational and cultural exchanges…provide a perfect opportunity for this precious spark to grow, making us more sensitive and wiser international citizens through our careers.”
Ronald Reagan, The White House, May 1982.

“International exchanges are not a great tide to sweep away all differences, but they will slowly wear away at the obstacles to peace as surely as water wears away a hard stone.”
George H.W. Bush, 1989.

“No one who has lived through the second half of the 20th century could possibly be blind to the enormous impact of exchange programs on the future of countries…”
Bill Clinton, May, 1993.

“…By studying foreign cultures and languages and living abroad, we gain a better understanding of the many similarities that we share and learn to respect our differences. The relationships that are formed between individuals from different countries, as part of international education programs and exchanges, can also foster goodwill that develops into vibrant, mutually beneficial partnerships among nations.”
George W. Bush, International Education Week 2001 Message, The White House, November 13, 2001.

“Simple exchanges can break down walls between us, for when people come together and speak to one another and share a common experience, then their common humanity is revealed. We are reminded that we're joined together by our pursuit of a life that's productive and purposeful, and when that happens mistrust begins to fade and our smaller differences no longer overshadow the things that we share. And that's where progress begins.”
Barack Obama, remarks at student roundtable in Istanbul, Turkey, April 7, 2009.
Quotes from Presidents Truman through Clinton were obtained directly from: U.S. Presidents on International Exchanges and the Fulbright Program, http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/fbright/presiden.htm, part of the Fulbright at Fifty website hosted by the National Humanities Center, http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/