In January 2025, Fulbright Austria's board welcomed two new members: Ulrike Hartmann and Christian Quendler. We asked both to share a short biography with our community. We look forward to working with the new and the returning members of our board!
Introducing the new members of the 2025 board
12 January 2025We asked the two new members of Fulbright Austria’s board to introduce themselves to our community.
Ulrike Hartmann
Director of the Department for International Scientific Cooperation and Dialogue, Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs
Ulrike Hartmann joined Fulbright Austria’s board in January 2025, to which she adds her international and diplomatic experience. She studied political sciences at the University of Salzburg followed by a postgraduate study at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. After joining the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA) in 1990, she served on several assignments within the ministry, including as a member of the Austrian delegation to the OSCE during the Austrian chairmanship in 2000. She has held positions abroad for a total of 27 years. Between 2019 and 2024, she served as the Austrian ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other international assignments include: the Office of the High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo/Banja Luka (head of cabinet/head of office); Serbia (2001–09) and Portugal (1996–99), where she worked as deputy in the Austrian embassy; and Russia (1992–96), where she served as press attachée in the Austrian embassy. Since September 2024, she has served as the director for international scientific cooperation and intercultural/interreligious dialogue in the BMEIA. Ulrike firmly supports international cooperation and exchange in the field of education and science, in close co-operation with the line ministry.

Christian Quendler
Professor of American Literature, Film and Media, Department of American Studies, University of Innsbruck
Christian Quendler is professor of American literature, film, and media at the University of Innsbruck, where he chairs the Department of American Studies. He is the author of three monographs: From Romantic Irony to Postmodernist Metafiction, Interfaces of Fiction, and The Camera-Eye Metaphor in Cinema. His articles have appeared in New Review of Film and Television Studies, the Journal of Film and Video, Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, and Amerikastudien/American Studies. His current research project “Delocating Mountains: Cinematic Landscapes and the Alpine Model” examines the history of mountain cinema from transnational and ecocritical perspectives.
