PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (May 27, 2021) – The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) has named Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) a Fulbright Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Institutional Leader. The designation recognizes PVAMU’s noteworthy engagement with the Fulbright Program, which is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary.
ECA created the Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders initiative in recognition of the special role the nation’s 105 HBCUs play in making sure students, faculty and administrators from all backgrounds are able to participate in and benefit from the Fulbright Program. “The campuses being recognized today have taken part in a wide range of Fulbright Program activities that benefit their faculty, students and administrators, including advising their U.S. students, welcoming foreign students, scholars and Foreign Language Teaching Assistants, and building connections through International Education Administrators seminars,” Fulbright said in a statement.
“I am pleased to learn about this special recognition and encouraged to do even more to promote the Fulbright Program here at PVAMU,” said Godlove Fonjweng, Ph.D., PVAMU’s executive director of International & Intercultural Programs. “As a Cultural Exchange Program to improve intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy and intercultural competence between the American people and people in other parts of the world through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills, the Fulbright Program complements our globalization efforts. It serves as an important building block in our internationalization vision to infuse global content in our teaching, research and service functions. The program has increased the global awareness of our community participants and offered faculty and staff participants a means to help our PVAMU community to enhance their global competence. This important recognition by Fulbright on their 75th anniversary reaffirms our purposeful efforts to connect our community to the rest of the world as we prepare our graduates for an increasingly interconnected world.”
The inaugural Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders were announced in 2019. This year marks the first time that PVAMU achieved this recognition. “The campuses highlighted this year demonstrated engagement with Fulbright exchange participants and promoted Fulbright Program opportunities on their campuses during the 2019-2020 academic year,” Fulbright said.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Matthew Lussenhop praised this year’s institutions, stating, “Congratulations to this year’s 20 Fulbright Historically Black College and University Institutional Leaders. We salute you and your institutions for your engagement with the Fulbright Program, and for your commitment to providing life-changing opportunities to students, faculty and administrators. HBCU participation is critical to fully representing the diversity of the United States through the Fulbright Program. This initiative is part of the U.S. Department of State’s long-standing commitment to build diversity and inclusion within the Fulbright Program and within the Bureau’s international exchange programs overall.”
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s premier international academic exchange program. A hallmark of the Fulbright Program has been its longstanding commitment to diversity, striving to ensure that its participants reflect U.S. society and societies abroad. The Program collaborates with a host of diversity-related organizations such as the White House Initiative on HBCUs, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, the American Association of Community Colleges, Diversity Abroad and many others.
The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Fulbright is active in more than 160 countries worldwide and partners with participating governments, host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States. Many of these organizations also provide direct and indirect support. ECA sponsors the Fulbright Program, and several non-profit, cooperative partners implement and support the program on the Bureau’s behalf. For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright.
To further discuss opportunities for Fulbright at HBCUs, a virtual symposium—featuring PVAMU President Ruth J. Simmons—is scheduled for June 3.
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