Fulbright
Fulbright 60th Anniversary
As part of the recent 60th anniversary of the signing of the Fulbright treaty, the U.S. Embassy and Fulbright came together to interview previous Fulbright scholars to find out more about the program.
View the videos below and find out more about the achievements of these amazing people and help celebrate 60 wonderful years of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission.
Videos
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Professor Margaret Gardner AO
Professor Gardner, AO is the current Vice-Chancellor of RMIT in Melbourne. She earned a bachelor's degree in economics with first class honours from the University of Sydney, and later a PhD with a thesis on Australian industrial relations. She was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship and studied in the US. She is a member of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission Board. Play video »
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Dr William Harold Clough AO OBE
Dr Clough went to the University of California in 1951 to study Industrial Engineering. He returned to Australia in 1954 and joined the engineering company started by his father, JO Clough. He was made Chairman of the company in 1959 on the death of his father. His company sponsored a Fulbright Postgraduate Student Award in Engineering, which was first awarded in 1995. Play video »
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Professor Jennifer Keene
Jennifer D. Keene is a professor of history and chair of the History Department at Chapman University. She received her PhD in History from Carnegie-Mellon University and is a specialist in American military experience during World War I. She received the Wang-Franklin Professorship for 2007-9, the highest faculty award given by Chapman University. She is also an accomplished author. Play video »
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Monique diMattina
Monique diMattina spent 8 years mainly in NYC, on a Fulbright Postgraduate Award. While in New York she completed her Masters on Miles Davis pianist Wynton Kelly, worked with musicians from Norah Jones, Peter Gabriel and Suzanne Vega's bands, recorded her debut cd ‘Live at the 55’ and performed live. Her two latest CDs have featured widely on the ABC and BBC World Radio. Play video »
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Anthony Robinson
Anthony Robinson won the inaugural Fulbright WA Scholarship in 2008. Through his Fulbright he undertook research at the Viticulture and Enology Department, University of California, Davis working with Professor Hildegarde Heymann, a world leader in the field of Sensory Evaluation of Food. Since his return, he has completed his PhD and is now working with Treasury Wine Estates. Play video »
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Professor Allan Fels AO
Professor Fels AO is Dean of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. He was Chairman of the ACCC, the Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority. He was awarded the Order of Australia in 2001 and has a PhD in Economics from Duke University and degrees in Law and Economics from the University of Western Australia. Play video »
Mission Statement
The mission of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission is to further mutual understanding between the peoples of Australia and the United States through educational and cultural exchange. This is primarily achieved through a program of Fulbright Scholarships to support research and study by Australians in the United States and by Americans in Australia.
The Fulbright Commission
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The Australian-American Fulbright Program celebrated its 60th Anniversary recently.
Born of the impact of World War II, the international Fulbright Program was established in 1946 through the initiative of U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the support of the United States Government, initially funded through the sale of surplus war materials.
Since then more than 300,000 talented people worldwide have been recognised as Fulbright Scholars. It is now the largest and one of the most prestigious educational scholarship programs in the world and operates between the United States and more than 155 countries.
The treaty establishing the Fulbright Program in Australia was signed on 26 November 1949, by the U.S. Ambassador to Australia, The Hon. Pete Jarman, and the Australian Minister for External Affairs, The Rt Hon. Dr H.V. Evatt. The initial sale of U.S. surplus war materials to Australia provided $US5.8m, which funded the first 14 years of the program.
Following this, a new agreement was entered into in 1964 by the Australian and U.S. governments to establish the Australian-American Educational Foundation (later to be known as the Australian-American Fulbright Commission), funded equally by the two parties.
Today the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, headquartered in Canberra, continues to be funded by the Australian and U.S. governments, along with a generous group of sponsors, and annually provides up to 50 scholarships for study between Australia and the U.S.
The Prime Minister of Australia and the U.S. Ambassador are the Honorary Co-Chairs of the Commission. Since its establishment the Commission has awarded scholarships to more than 2,700 Australians and 2,000 Americans. A distinguished group of Alumni are thus an integral part of the Program’s rich history and ongoing professional network.
For more information on the Fulbright commission please see the Fulbright webpage.