Fulbright's goal of fostering global friendships definitely was true in my case, and my life has been enriched by this amazing opportunity!
The past 15 years have been an amazing success story of highly fruitful international collaboration between two universities facilitated by Fulbright Austria.
The opportunity to be immersed in that experience was inspirational for my own work... My Fulbright experience gave me the confidence to move forwards with this project with courage and determination knowing that I have the support of my new animation community.
When I was invited to consider a Fulbright-sponsored professorship at the University of Vienna during the fall of 1990, I chose to do that rather than to continue my deanship responsibilities at the City College of New York of the City University of New York, as I figured this experience could offer me further opportunities to support faculty and students.
We were both excited about our year in Vienna but also anxious about having a child born abroad. We wondered what health care would be like in Vienna, what it would be like being first-time parents, and what it would be like to live in a country where we didn't speak the language.
My Fulbright award allowed me to interview members of the Archduke’s family, other Habsburg descendants, and people across Austria and Germany impacted by the Second World War and the Holocaust. It has been said by many people, in many places, over many years that having a Fulbright is a life-changing experience. That has certainly been the case for me.
"The research I do on the song contest and the teaching I do back in the United States would not be possible without the lessons I learned through the Fulbright Program both as a student then and as a scholar today."
"Working on this puzzle, how landscapes influence rivers and fish, together in Seattle built bonds not only between scientists but also across our families..."
"The Fulbright has deeply and significantly impacted my life, for which I am unfailingly grateful."
"On my second Fulbright, I was fortunate enough to go to Vienna, Austria, and work with wonderful people at the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology. Again, the scientific research opportunities were wonderful, and I developed several great collaborations, but I was also fortunate enough to make friends with many people who also were interested in science, good food, and wine/beer!"
"I owe my career to my Austrian Fulbright stay."
"I strongly believe that student exposure to the international aspect of science is crucial to their further development as scientists and citizens of the world. This is especially important considering the internationalization of research, and the highly collaborative aspect of the work."
"I was extremely fortunate to received the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Humanities from the Institute for Theatre, Film, and Media Research in 2007. I taught hundreds of students from all over the world in German, while researching a book titled 'A Cultural Chronicle of the Weimar Republic.' "
"The Fulbright award has given me an important launch into my new research project and extended my professional network. I learned a great deal about Austria and Vienna, in particular, and about my own culture."
"In terms of my personal development as a U.S. law professor, the Austrian experience has been invaluable. I believe that the breadth that it has added to my knowledge and the relationships that I have developed with European academics has made me a more effective contributor at my home university."
"Many of my scholarly activities (conferences I organize, joint research) would not have been possible without the chances the Fulbright program offered me. And I dare say I have paid back some of it by speaking at American Universities and telling American students about Austria and Austrian culture..."
"[I] remain committed to furthering the Fulbright ideals wherever I am: as a researcher, as an educator, as a human rights advocate, as a citizen of the world."
"...I knew that I would have exciting opportunities to teach in one of the world's most engaging cities. I did not know, however, that my experience would lead to more than 25 years of collaboration, international programs, and scholarly work..."
"I don't know if I will have the opportunity to live [in today´s Vienna] as I did the city of decades past, but I still dream of it ... It gave my succeeding career enormous depth and diversity of knowledge. Nothing short of a Fulbright could have ever been so formative and inspiring."
"Looking at the pictures from a recent Austrian Studies Conference I hosted ..., I am reminded of the importance of the support of the Fulbright for so many scholars of Austrian Studies."
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