June 1, 2006
Ever considered a Fulbright? The deadline is coming Aug. 1
Every year, several UW faculty members apply to become Fulbright Scholars — a designation that can open up myriad possibilities of professional and research experiences around the world.
But several is not nearly enough, says David Fenner, director of International Programs and Exchanges and assistant vice provost for International Education. He’s also the campus representative for the Fulbright Senior Scholars Program.
“I’d like to see dozens instead,” Fenner said, noting that the deadline for faculty to apply is coming up on Aug. 1. As if to faculty colleagues, he said, “The Fulbright Program reflects both government spending and our nation at their very best, so why not apply for it?”
The Fulbright Program was the brainchild of Sen. William J. Fulbright (1905-1995) of Arkansas, who following World War II wished for an international program that promoted “mutual understand between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world.” The program was signed into law in 1946.
In the 60 years since then, according to the Fulbright Web site at the U.S. Dept. of State, about 273,500 scholars, or “Fulbrighters,” have participated, about 102,900 from the United States and about 170,600 from other countries. About 6,000 new Fulbright grants are awarded annually in programs that reach out to about 150 countries.
For many, the Fulbright experience is one of the key professional experiences of a career. Such is the case with Roy Colven, an associate professor of medicine who was awarded a Fulbright to work in South Africa on improving clinical education and diagnoses in dermatology throughout the continent.
“I got a Fulbright to do a project where I set up a virtual network for medical consultation between Cape Town and more remote parts of South Africa,” Colven said over the phone from that area. “I am a dermatologist, so I provided digital cameras for several sites across the country.” The clinics would send him photographs of patients’ dermatological conditions, and he would render medical opinions based on the evidence, replying in e-mail.”
This proved a great help for patients there who otherwise would have to travel between 300 and 400 miles to see a physician, there being, he said, “only one dermatologist for about every three to four million people.”
Since then, he has extended his stay through funding from the University of Cape Town, and has helped more than 130 patients at several sites. Colven said his biggest research interest is HIV-related skin diseases. He said, “Skin disease is confusing enough for people who aren’t dermatologists, and when you throw in HIV it gets even more confusing.”
Dozens of UW faculty and staff have been awarded Fulbright grants over the years, just as dozens of faculty from other parts of the world travel via Fulbright grants to study in the United States.
Noting a quote from Mark Twain that reads “Travel is lethal to prejudice,” Fenner said the benefits to participating faculty can be profound. As a result of the chance to do research or teach abroad as a Fulbright Scholar, he said, teachers and researchers often find new career energy and motivation and pathways. Faculty discover that they can network more easily and work more collaboratively with a broader range of colleagues, and that their approach becomes more interdisciplinary, less “Americo-centric” and more comfortable with diversity. They are also “better able to create global competence in their students.”
Fulbright awards are not the province of faculty alone; Oct. 2 is the deadline for student applications for Fulbright grants. Rachel Gold, a third-year student in the UW School of Law, is headed to Cordoba, Argentina, where she plans to study the development of that country’s constitutional promise of a healthy environment.
“They just don’t have the kind of laws and protections we have,” Gold said. “Some are in place, but they don’t tend to be enforced as rigorously as ours do.” Gold has a grant to study for eight months (though she hopes to stay a bit longer), starting shortly after her coming graduation.
She says one of her goals is to learn from our counterparts in Argentina. “Understanding their legal system and challenges will be a great accomplishment,” she said, ” and if I can bring that back and give folks here an understanding of how things work, that’s the mission of the Fulbright.”
Gold has great respect for the Fulbright program. “They’re really flexible and you can apply for any kind of research project. They encourage people to make connections internationally and to serve as ambassadors from the U.S.”
In all, there are three types of Fulbright program: those for students, scholars and professionals and teachers and administrators.
Gold’s summation of the program is as true for other participants as it is for her fellow students: “It’s a great opportunity to go and learn from colleagues in the field internationally.”
Fenner said the program offers experiences that can revive one’s interest in teaching and “connection to the planet.” He offers himself as a contact for those at the UW considering a Fulbright; he can be reached by phone at 206-221-4404, or by e-mail at dfenner@u.washington.edu.
He said, with the slightest hint of the carnival barker, that though the odds may seem steep, “I can assure you that you won’t get one if you don’t apply.”
That deadline for faculty and staff Fulbright applications, once again, is Aug. 1.
- For more information on the many programs offered by the UW Office of International Programs and Exchanges, visit online at http://ipe.washington.edu/.
- For more information about the international Fulbright Scholars Program, visit online at http://www.cies.org/.
- For program history and other information on the history of the Fulbright Program and its government sponsoring agency, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, under the U.S. Department of State, visit online at http://exchanges.state.gov/education/fulbright/about.htm.
