PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION

Press Release

22 September 2008
The US-UK Fulbright Commission announces a significant increase in new awards

The Chair of the US-UK Fulbright Commission, Mr Simon Lewis, addresses a gathering of Fulbright scholars, alumni and supporters.
(© Juliette Atkinson Photography)

At a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Fulbright Treaty at the House of Commons on 22 September, the US-UK Fulbright Commission will announce the first wave of new awards that will increase by 30% the number of scholarships it gives by 2010 to over 60. The new awards are supported by UK universities, institutes of higher education and a research charity (see full list of new awards below).

The core funding for the US-UK Fulbright Programme comes from the two governments to see equal numbers of postgraduates crossing the Atlantic. This first wave of additional partnership awards will allow more outstanding American postgraduates to study or research at centres of excellence in the UK.

American and British systems of higher education are generally recognised to be the two best in the world. As both countries internationalise their higher education institutes, the Fulbright programme is a key means of supporting them to increase the exchange of postgraduate students, researchers and faculty. Both governments are committed to seeking excellent candidates but determined that they take advantage of the wide range of postgraduate opportunities available across both countries.

A new award of Fulbright Distinguished Chair, to bring senior US professors to the UK, will be introduced in 2010 for the first time.

Simon Lewis, Group Corporate Affairs Director at Vodafone, has been appointed the new Chair of the Commission and Baroness Amos becomes a UK Commissioner. (See full list of Board members below).

The Commission will announce that US Ambassador Robert Tuttle, Deborah Owen, Sir Robert Worcester, Charles McVeigh, Chuck Lubar and Harry Fitzgibbons have all agreed to become Patrons of the US-UK Fulbright Programme.

Over the last six decades more than 27,000 Americans and Britons have crossed the Atlantic to participate in the US-UK Fulbright programme. Famous names such as Sylvia Plath and Milton Friedman, Shirley Williams and Ian Rankin are alumni of the programme. The 'special relationship' has been strengthened and redefined through this exchange in each decade.

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, welcomed the new awards.

"Fulbright scholarships have been bringing US and UK students into each other's countries for decades. But I want many more British and American university students to have the chance to study across the Atlantic…I believe that the future of our relationship can, if we choose, deliver far more even than it has achieved in its past. Not just for both our nations, but for the world. So I warmly welcome the expansion of the programme."

The White House has issued a Presidential Proclamation in which the President, George Bush writes:

"The United States-United Kingdom Fulbright Commission was created to promote peace and build bridges of understanding through educational exchange. For six decades, this program has worked to nurture more effective cooperation between our two countries and cultivate leaders who can work together to address common concerns. This anniversary is an opportunity to recognise the achievement of this historic program."

Fulbright Executive Director Penny Egan said:

"I am delighted that we will have increased the number of awards from 39 in 2007/8 to over 60 in 2010 that the US-UK Fulbright Commission will be making. This is not just a highly prestigious international scholarship programme but in the words of our founder Senator J William Fulbright it is a key means of fostering 'leadership, learning and empathy between cultures'. 60 years on this is even more relevant than it was in 1948".

Notes for Editors
New Fulbright Partnership Scholarships

These new Fulbright awards will be available for academic year 2010/11. They include new postgraduate scholarships, Fulbright research awards and a new category of distinguished chair awards.

There will an award offered each year under the following partnership agreements:

Fulbright-Bristol University Award
Fulbright-Coventry Award in Automotive Design
Fulbright-Glasgow University Award
Fulbright-Leeds University Award
Fulbright-Liverpool University Award
Fulbright-Sussex University Award
Fulbright-Warwick University Award
Fulbright-University College Falmouth Media Award
Fulbright-King's College London Research Award
Fulbright-Multiple Sclerosis Society Research Award*
Fulbright-University of the Arts London Distinguished Chair Award
Fulbright-Glasgow Urban Lab Distinguished Chair Award**
Fulbright-Leeds University Distinguished Chair Award

*  This award is for a British researcher to study in the US. All the other awards are for American postgraduates to study in the UK.
**  This award is supported by Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow City Council and the Lighthouse.

The US-UK Fulbright Commission is governed by a Board of Commissioners.

The US Ambassador to the Court of St James is the Honorary Chair. He appoints seven of the Commissioners. Currently these are:

Joseph Connolly
Liza Davis  Cultural Attaché, U.S. Embassy
Ronald Freeman
Noel Harwerth
Mary-Jo Jacobi Jephson
Sandra Kaiser  Deputy Chair and Head of Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy
Professor Richard Trainor

And six Commissioners appointed by the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities & Skills, who currently are:

Baroness Amos  (joins the Commission at the beginning of November)
Professor Michael Arthur
Lord Kerr of Kinlochard
Naguib Kheraj
Ruth Thompson; Director General of Higher Education DIUS.
Eva Wisemark (will step down at the end of October)
Win Harris; Alternate British Government Commissioner (to Ruth Thompson) Director, Joint International Unit, (DWP/DIUS/DCSF)

And one Commissioner appointed by the Scottish Government:
Dr Andrew Cubie

The Chair of the Commission is Simon Lewis, Group Corporate Affairs Director at Vodafone.

For further information please contact Penny Egan on 020 7539 4411 during office hours or on her mobile 07885 398 050. For further information please contact Penny Egan on 020 7539 4411 during office hours or on her mobile 07885 398 050.   www.fulbright.co.uk

All images © Juliette Atkinson Photography.

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