History and Structure of the Fulbright Program
- J. William Fulbright, 1940
The Fulbright Idea
The Fulbright program is named after J. William Fulbright (1905-1995). Inspired by a Rhodes Scholarship that facilitated an extended period of study for him at Oxford University (1924-28) after he graduated from the University of Arkansas, Senator Fulbright was also motivated to create the program by his belief that the end of World War II and the creation of nuclear weapons had fundamentally changed the nature of international relations and made the potential consequences of international conflict graver and more global.
In his book The Arrogance of Power (1966), Fulbright observed: “The development of some perspective about man and his needs in different national environments is the principal purpose of such educational and cultural exchanges as the Fulbright program. No part of our foreign policy does more to make international relations human relations and to encourage attitudes of personal empathy, the rare and wonderful ability to perceive the world as others see it. Thus conceived, educational exchange is not a propaganda program designed to ‘improve the image’ of the United States, . . . but a program for the cultivation of perceptions and perspectives that transcend national boundaries. To put it another way, far from being a means of gaining some national advantage in the traditional game of international relations, international education purports to change the nature of the game, to civilize and humanize it in the nuclear age.”
- Signing of Fulbright Hays Act, 1961
The Legal Basis
The Fulbright program is based on legislation initially proposed and sponsored by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright (Arkansas) in 1946. This legislation authorized the Secretary of State to use proceeds from the sale of surplus war property outside the United States after World War II to finance exchanges of students, teachers, and professors. After these funds where exhausted, the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, which consolidated various pieces of previous legislation pertaining the educational exchange programs funded by the U.S. government, provided a new basis for the program to promote “mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange.” This act broadened the scope of the Fulbright Program, gave it new flexibility, provided for annual funding as a line item in the federal budget, and also gave other governments an opportunity to contribute toward the costs of the program.
- Part of Inaugural Group of Austrian Fulbright Grantees, 1951
The Austrian Fulbright program in a global context
Austria is one of the 51 countries worldwide in which the program is managed by an autonomous and binational Fulbright commission. The Republic of Austria and the United States of America concluded a bilateral agreement in 1950 that established the U.S. Educational Commission in Vienna, and the first Austrian-American exchanges under the auspices of the Fulbright Program took place during the 1951-52 academic year. After the Fulbright-Hays Act was passed in 1961, the Austrian and U.S. governments concluded a new Fulbright Agreement that established the Austrian-American Educational Commission (AAEC) in 1963.
The Fulbright Program currently facilitates the exchange of students and scholars between the United States and 155 countries. Since its inception in 1946, over 300,000 students, teachers, and scholars have participated in the Fulbright Program; over 2,000 U.S. citizens and 3,300 Austrian citizens are alumni of the Austrian-American program. Approximately 7,000 Fulbright grants are awarded annually on a global basis. Between 70 and 80 of these awards are managed by the Austrian-American Educational Commission.
Funding
The appropriation of the U.S. Congress for the Fulbright Program in fiscal year 2009 was $235 million. Other governments, through binational commissions or foundations abroad such as the AAEC in Vienna, contributed approximately $60 million directly to the program in fiscal year 2008. The Austrian-American Educational Commission has an annual budget of over $ 1.5 million.
In addition to direct contributions from the Austrian and U.S. governments, the AAEC funds its awards through cost-sharing arrangements with Austrian host institutions. Austria currently is among the handful of countries whose annual contribution to the program is larger than that of the U.S. government.
- AAEC Board Members, 2012
Governance
The J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board, a 12-member body appointed by the President of the United States, established global policies and procedures for the Fulbright program.
Joint funding and joint decision-making and are characteristic of the Austrian Fulbright program. The Austrian-American Educational Commission (AAEC) consists of five Austrian and five U.S. members nominated by their respective governments to serve on the AAEC board for calendar years, and the Commission’s chairperson rotates annually between the Austrian and U.S. members of the board. The Austrian Minister of Science and Research and the Ambassador of the United States of America to Austria serve as honorary chairpersons of the AAEC.
Fulbright at Fifty / Fulbright at Sixty
Fulbright at Fifty: As part of the commemorative celebration, the Commission has published the Festschrift "Fulbright at Fifty. Austrian-American Educational Exchange 1950-2000". This publication provides an overview of the program with contributions by five decades of Fulbrighters.
Fulbright at Sixty: Watch the whole documentary on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FulbrightAustria
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Fulbright Forum
Access to the Fulbright Forum is only available to current and former participants in programs administered by the Austrian-American Educational Commission, AAEC staff, and associates.
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You can find the Fulbright Forum here.
