Contents Page Steering Committee Preface Fulbright at Fifty The Challenge of Change Recommendations Appendices

In 1996, convinced that the Fulbright exchange program deserved reexamination as it marked its 50th year, the National Humanities Center, a private, independent center for advanced study, initiated an independent, privately financed study on the future of the program. A steering committee, made up of thirteen American and six international leaders, several of them former Fulbright recipients, directed the study. This summary presents the steering committee's major findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Findings

At 50, the Fulbright exchange program has matured into an international educational exchange success story, one richly deserving the superlatives regularly showered on it. From a modest program that brought 35 students and a single professor to the United States in 1948 and sent 65 Americans abroad, it has grown into a global effort with some 4,400 grantees from the U.S. and 140 other countries. All told, nearly a quarter of a million people have benefited from the legendary "Fulbright experience" since the program's inception.

Thoughtful leaders, scholars, and diplomats have lavished praise on the Fulbright legacy. The Program has won the endorsement of 25 U.S. Congresses, ten Presidents, and leaders of other countries. As noted historian Arnold Toynbee observed in 1971, the program is "one of the really generous and imaginative things that have been done in the world since World War II."

However, the world in which the Fulbright program was created has changed dramatically. The international geopolitical situation has become much more complex. The international economy is more interdependent and competitive. American society and higher education have changed, too-with much wider participation and broader sources of potential leadership. Above all, educational exchange itself has become more diverse. Fulbright has been joined by many other programs offering students and scholars the opportunity to study, conduct research, and teach in the U.S. and abroad.

At 50, the Fulbright exchange program has matured into an international educational exchange success story...

These external developments pose challenges and opportunities for Fulbright just as the program confronts internal issues. Fulbright has been severely under-funded particularly with a 20 percent cut in recent years, leaving its activities stretched to their limits. The program is inherently complex but would benefit from streamlining. The balance between the number of grants for students and scholars needs clarification. Some partner nations should contribute more to the program. Finally, the recently announced merger of the United States Information Agency and the Department of State offers an important opportunity to strengthen the Fulbright program, but many questions remain to be resolved.

Conclusions

The steering committee draws several conclusions from its investigation. The first is that Fulbright remains a vital force, all the more critical to American interests as the peoples of the world struggle with rapid change and the dynamics of a global economy.

Second, the core concepts of Fulbright remain valid-binational involvement, open merit-based competition, the emphasis on excellence, and promoting mutual understanding and cooperation.

Third, we believe Fulbright should expand its efforts with developing nations in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East while maintaining traditional strengths with established partners. This will require finding innovative ways to engage developing nations while continuing programs with relatively wealthy nations. New binational commissions should be initiated only on the basis of joint funding and reciprocity.

Finally, we do not subscribe to the comfortable view that no improvements are needed. Fulbright urgently needs better public understanding, expanded partnerships in the U.S. and abroad, and continuing Congressional support. The program should be streamlined so that any unessential processes do not encumber its central purposes.

Recommendations

The steering committee makes eight recommendations:

1. Reaffirm federal support for Fulbright and U.S. commitment to leadership in international educational exchange; restore recently reduced funding to $125 million;

2. Maintain the current program with greater emphasis on student grants; continue merit-based awards for scholars and encourage new forms of faculty and institutional collaboration; broaden participation from the expanding state and community college networks and institutions traditionally serving minorities;

3. Allocate any additional appropriated funds or savings in administration to exchanges with developing nations while maintaining mature programs with traditional partner nations;

4. Seek greater reciprocity from other governments: pursue parity of funding; seek increased contributions in countries without binational commissions;

5. Broaden partnerships in the U.S. and abroad: more fully engage Fulbright alumni, build new connections with business and philanthropic organizations and dynamic "internationalizing" communities in the U.S., and strengthen incentives for faculty participation;

6. Streamline program management: clarify responsibilities among agencies involved with Fulbright, improve record keeping, strive for additional reductions in administrative overhead, expand the use of technology, and conduct competitions for program administration every six to eight years;

7. Strengthen links with the policy community, academic institutions, and the public by broadening the role of the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board;

8. Maintain the program's independence and flexibility in the Department of State: retain its separate appropriation, open communications system, and staff support here and abroad, and make the program an exemplar of successful cooperation with non-governmental organizations.

This report on the Fulbright program reconfirms what has been at the heart of one study after another: the program's core mission of high-quality international exchange of students and scholars deserves greater support in the U.S. and abroad.