To foster mutual understanding among nations in the wake of World War II, Congress passed the Fulbright Act, which created the Fulbright program. The program, which awards one of the most prestigious international fellowships, was established to last a few years only, but its success prompted Congress to extend and expand the program.
On August 1, 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed into law what has become the biggest and most important international educational exchange program, created largely by the efforts of J. William Fulbright, then a young senator representing Arkansas. Senator Fulbright studied for four years (1925-1928) as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England, and his experience there led him to a lifetime interest in education (he was named president of the University of Arkansas at the age of thirty-four) and international affairs (he was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for fifteen years). Fulbright’s tutor at Oxford, Ronald Buchanan McCallum, would have a significant impact on the senator’s life and intellectual growth, and the two would remain close friends until McCallum’s death in 1973.
Fulbright’s experience at Oxford, the emergence of the United States after World War II as a world leader, and its new role in international affairs, convinced Fulbright that educational and cultural exchanges would promote international understanding among peoples of the world. Fulbright believed that isolationism and nationalism had led to aggression and war, and that only when nations appreciate and understand one another could they exist in a peaceful world.
Fulbright’s original Senate bill was a short thirty-line amendment to the 1944 Surplus Property Act
The first U.S. citizen to receive a Fulbright fellowship was Derk Bodde, a sinologist from the University of Pennsylvania, who spent his 1948-1949 fellowship year in China. Soon, exchange agreements were signed with the Philippines, Greece, and Burma. The program’s Foreign Scholarship Board
Fulbright recipients have included well-known individuals such as actor John Lithgow, composer Philip Glass, and opera singer Renée Fleming. Recipients include members of Congress, university presidents, and journalists. Most recipients, however, are scholars and teachers from a variety of disciplines.
The Fulbright program was expanded and more clearly defined with the passage of the Fulbright-Hays Act
After passage of the Fulbright Act in 1946, thousands of teachers, researchers, and students have traveled overseas and thousands of foreign scholars and students have come to the United States for study and teaching. What began, in part, as a reaction to the death and destruction of World War II has become a major educational program in promoting international understanding and cooperation.
The Fulbright program is considered a post-World War II success along the lines of the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe after the war; Fulbright is certainly the most successful international scholarship program. It remains the flagship of international exchange programs with nearly 300,000 persons from the United States and other countries having participated. The program operates in more than 150 countries. Each year sees more than five thousand new exchanges.
J. William Fulbright’s experiences as a student in England, traveling throughout Europe, and as a university president convinced him that international exchange was instrumental to cultural knowledge. He believed strongly that the United States must play an active role in promoting democracy throughout the world and in establishing the means to prevent global war in an atomic age.
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Apple, R. W., Jr. “J. William Fulbright, Senate Giant, Is Dead at 89.” The New York Times, February 10, 1995, p. A1. A lengthy obituary of J. William Fulbright, highlighting his career and his enormous influence on U.S. foreign policy and global education. -
Arndt, Richard T., and David Lee Rubin, eds. The Fulbright Difference, 1948-1992. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1993. A collection of essays by Fulbright scholars examining the influence of the program during a period of four decades. Concludes with a chapter on the future of the Fulbright program. -
Dudden, Arthur Power, and Russell R. Dynes, eds. The Fulbright Experience, 1946-1986: Encounters and Transformations. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1987. Firsthand reminiscences by Fulbright scholars, who share the stories of their experiences living and learning outside the United States. -
Fulbright, William J. “The Most Significant and Important Activity I Have Been Privileged to Engage in During My Years in the Senate.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 424 (March, 1976): 1-5. Fulbright discusses why he considered the Fulbright program the most important piece of legislation in which he engaged. -
Glazer, Nathan, ed. “The Fulbright Experience and Academic Exchanges.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 491 (May, 1987): 10-163. This special issue discusses the creation of the Fulbright program and its impact on participating individuals and countries. -
U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Fulbright Program. http://exchanges .state.gov/education/fulbright/. The program’s official Web site. -
Woods, Randall Bennett. Fulbright: A Biography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. An excellent biography of Fulbright, with details of his political career and personal life.
Great Books Foundation Is Established
Marshall Plan Provides Aid to Europe
Truman Is Elected President
Peace Corps Is Founded
Agency for International Development Is Established