Governor John E. Baldacci to Speak at
Fulbright Association Maine Chapter Launch
Programs to be Held at University of Maine, University of Southern Maine  

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 15, 2006)—The Fulbright Association announced that Governor John E. Baldacci will speak on Sept. 21 at the University of Southern Maine for the launch of the Association’s Maine Chapter.  The event, hosted by President Richard L. Pattenaude, follows a chapter kick-off in Orono hosted by University of Maine President Robert A. Kennedy.  Fulbright Association Executive Director Jane L. Anderson will speak at both events. 

The Fulbright Association supports and promotes the Fulbright Program, an international educational and cultural exchange initiative created in 1946 by legislation sponsored by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  There are Fulbright exchanges between the United States and more than 150 other countries.  More than 250,000 Fulbright grants have been awarded to individuals throughout the world.  Approximately 350 Fulbright alumni currently reside in Maine.  

            Cindy Lahar, chair of social and biological sciences at York County Community College, Wells, received a Fulbright grant in 2004 to teach research methods and to study the cultural motivations of volunteerism in Cambodia. 

            “Now that I have returned to Maine, I look around and take pause,” Dr. Lahar said.  “With the newest textbooks on my shelves, the computer at my desk, and cross-cultural collaborative research relationships underway, I more deeply appreciate my work in the American higher education system and in the global community.”  

            Dr. Lahar and fellow Maine Fulbright alumni will volunteer to form a chapter board of directors and plan international educational and cultural programs for the public and for alumni and foreign Fulbright students, teachers, and scholars in Maine.  The nine visiting Fulbrighters now at Maine educational and cultural institutions hail from Albania, Argentina, Chile, France, Germany, Mexico, and Morocco. 

            “The important thing for people to know is that there are many options for Fulbright grant awards,” said Karen R. Boucias, director of the University of Maine’s Office of International Programs and National Student Exchange.   “A Fulbright Association chapter in Maine will help publicize these wonderful opportunities available during many phases of our careers.” 

            Dr. Boucias received a Fulbright grant to study the higher education system in Germany.  She was there a few years after the Berlin Wall came down. 

            “My Fulbright [grant] was one of the high points of my career,” Dr. Boucias said.  “We spent time in both the former East Germany as well as the west, visiting many universities and other institutions of higher education.  I traveled with other U.S. colleagues on whom I have called over the years to discuss issues, or work professionally together.” 

Kathleen Ashley, a University of Southern Maine professor of English, was awarded a Fulbright grant for work at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) in 1977 and has maintained active professional relationships with Portuguese colleagues.   

“At USM, I often teach ethnic-American literatures, and the strong connection with Portugal has reminded me not to be so ‘American’ centered,” said Ashley. “Rather, [I] look at the ‘hyphen’ from the original European perspective as well.  A few years ago, my Portuguese colleagues and I organized a session exploring those issues at the American Studies Association conference—a session that was a harbinger of the new globalization now sweeping the field.” 

            University of Maine System Trustee Victoria Murphy has seen the broad and enduring impact of Fulbright exchanges firsthand.  She served for 12 years on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, whose members are appointed by the president of the United States to make Fulbright Program policy.  

             “The Fulbright Program helps education in Maine at all levels by supporting exchanges of the best post-baccalaureate students and the strongest elementary, secondary, and university teachers and administrators,” Ms. Murphy said.  “The program’s impact is stunning because it involves so many fields and so many countries.” 

            Ms. Murphy, who lives in Portland, has helped plan the launch of the Fulbright Association’s Maine Chapter.

  For more information on the Fulbright Association, visit www.fulbright.org.

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