FULBRIGHT ASSOCIATION FOUNDING
In 1976, the Board of Foreign Scholarships (now the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board) convened regional Fulbright alumni meetings to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Fulbright Program. The Fulbright Association, Inc., grew out of resolutions adopted at those meetings.
Senator J. William Fulbright also encouraged alumni to create an active constituency for the Fulbright Program. He wanted alumni to educate members of Congress and the public about the benefits of advancing increased mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries. He also wanted U.S. alumni to welcome and to exchange ideas with Fulbrighters from abroad. Senator Fulbright traveled from Arkansas to the United Kingdom on a Rhodes scholarship and valued throughout his life the welcome and support he received while he studied away from home.
The Fulbright Association was established on Feb. 27, 1977, as an independent, private nonprofit, membership organization. The late Arthur Power Dudden became its founding president.
The U.S. Fulbright Association's interest and ability to further a "global network" of Fulbright alumni associations was formally recognized in 1983 by the executive directors of Fulbright Commissionsin Europe and Israel in the following resolution: "We recognize that the experience and support of former Fulbrighters can help to maintain the high quality of the Fulbright Program in the future; we shall assist the formation and activities of Fulbright alumni within our respective countries; and we shall encourage their cooperation with the Fulbright Alumni Association of the United States of America."
INAUGURATION OF J. WILLIAM FULBRIGHT PRIZE FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING
In October 1993, the Association launched the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, awarding the inaugural prize to former South African President Nelson R. Mandela in a ceremony at the U.S. Department of State. The Fulbright Association has selected as Fulbright Prize laureates four world leaders—Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, and Martti Ahtisaari—before they were named Nobel Peace Prize laureates. For a complete roster of Fulbright Prize laureates, click here. The Coca-Cola Foundation supported the Fulbright Prize with generous grants from 1993 through 2008. The Prize is now supported through an endowment made possible by the late John B. Hurford, a former Fulbright Association officer and director, and through the generous gifts of alumni and friends. To learn about ways to support the Fulbright Prize, click here.
In 1993, the Fulbright Association also held the first special event benefit in its history, an 88th Birthday Tribute to Senator Fulbright. The benefit involved President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in paying tribute to Senator Fulbright through the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
LAUNCH OF FULBRIGHT LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL, COHEN LECTURE, AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES
The first Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medals were awarded in 2000 to Fulbright alumni Arlene Alda, Barbara Knowles Debs, and Richard A. Debs. The Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal honors Fulbright alumni whose distinguished careers and civic and cultural contributions seek to expand the boundaries of human wisdom, empathy, and perception. Recipients of the Medal show exemplary commitments to creative leadership and liberal education. Please click here for more information on the program and the medal recipients.
The Selma Jeanne Cohen Fund Lecture for International Scholarship on Dance was created through a generous bequest by the late dance scholar and historian Dr. Selma Jeanne Cohen, who was a Fulbright scholar in Russia in 1976. The Fulbright Association administers the endowed Selma Jeanne Cohen Fund lecture, a presentation at the Association’s annual conference about previously unpublished research in dance history or other areas of dance scholarship. For information on lecturers and application procedures, please click here.
In 2004, the Fulbright Association responded to requests of international alumni to hold annual conferences outside the United States. The Association holds its annual conference abroad in even years and in the United States in odd years. International conferences have been held in Athens (2004), Morocco (2006), and Beijing (2008). The 2010 meeting is scheduled for Buenos Aires. For more information, click here.
STRENGTHENING THE FULBRIGHT ALUMNI COMMUNITY
The Fulbright Association currently has approximately10,000 individual members, about one-third of whom are life members. To facilitate interaction and discussion on global issues, the Association launched an online community for Fulbright alumni and has increased the functionality of that network with this redesigned web site. We invite all Fulbright alumni and friends of international education to join now.
Approximately 180 institutional members, including colleges, universities, and international educational organizations throughout the country, support the Fulbright Association. Click here for more information on institutional membership.
Our 46 local affiliates hold more than 170 programs for visiting Fulbrighters and alumni throughout the country. Click here for a calendar of chapter events.
Minutes of the Association's first meeting of members in February 1977 record participants' desire to create an alumni organization that would extend and build upon the Fulbright experience and enable alumni to give something back.The Fulbright Association exists to help alumni contribute to the well-being of the Fulbright Program, to the institutions and communities to which they return, and to the country that made possible their Fulbright experience.
