Legislative Mandate

The United States Information Agency (USIA) administers exchange programs under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended (Fulbright-Hays Act), to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange; to strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations and the contributions being made toward a peaceful and more fruitful life for people throughout the world; to promote international cooperation for educational and cultural advancement; and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States and other countries of the world."

Among the programs authorized by the Fulbright-Hays Act are Fulbright scholar and student exchanges, institutional linkages, specialized academic programs, student advising, study of the United States, international visitors' programs, citizen exchanges, arts programs, English teaching, and book and library programs. In addition, USIA is authorized to perform other functions pursuant to the U.S. Information and Education Exchange Act of 1948, as amended (Smith-Mundt Act).

Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program remains the U.S. Government's largest program for international academic exchange. In its 46-year history, the Fulbright Program has given nearly 200,000 scholarships worldwide and has established an unparalleled reputation for academic excellence in exchanging scholars and ideas across borders.

Nearly 3,000 students and scholars from more than 140 countries come to the United States each year as Fulbrighters, and approximately 2,000 Americans go abroad to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research. Virtually all academic disciplines are represented.

Both foreign and American Fulbrighters are selected on the basis of academic and professional excellence and potential, plus an ability and willingness to share ideas with people of diverse cultures. The program is administered by USIA with oversight by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (BFS). Composed of 12 educational and public and private leaders appointed by the President, BFS formulates policies and makes the final determination for Fulbright awards.

In more than 45 countries around the world, the program is carried out locally by binational Fulbright Commissions composed of Americans and citizens of the host country. These commissions establish numbers and categories of grants in consultation with academic officials and institutions in the host country. In countries where there is no commission, the U.S. embassy develops and supervises the program.

In the United States, USIA is assisted by private nonprofit organizations such as the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), the Institute of International Education (IIE), American-Mideast Educational and Training Services (AMIDEAST), the Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (LASPAU), and others, which are funded by USIA under cooperative agreements. Inquiries regarding Fulbright opportunities abroad for researchers and lecturers at the postdoctoral level should be directed to CIES, (202) 686-4000. For information on grants for American graduate students and researchers, inquiries should be directed to AIE, (212) 883-8200.

Funding for the Fulbright Program comes primarily from an annual appropriation made by Congress to USIA. Many foreign governments also make substantial contributions to Fulbright programs administered by binational commissions. Host institutions in many countries and in the United States also contribute through cost sharing, as well as by indirect support such as salary supplements, tuition waivers, housing, and other benefits.

In addition to individual grant awards, USIA conducts competitions for grant awards to cooperating private institutions (CPI) carrying out international educational exchanges. These exchanges are generally extensions of the traditional Fulbright Program, i.e., exchanges of students, research scholars, or lecturers. Frequently, such grants are intended to accomplish specific regional goals or to support initiatives by

private institutions. Grant competitions are generally published in the Federal Register.

New Program Initiatives and Major
Accomplishments in 1991

The FY 1991 program for Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union changed profoundly in reaction to the remarkable political changes in the region. Exchange agreements were signed with the governments of Poland, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (CSFR), and Hungary, and an exchange office was established in Warsaw. (Agreements with Prague and Budapest followed in FY 1992.) Programs in the region were expanded and realigned to take advantage of opportunities to address academic fields previously closed to Fulbright grantees.

The 1,000-1,000 University Undergraduate Exchange (between the United States and Soviet Union): At the June 1990 summit, Presidents Bush and Gorbachev signed an agreement to expand undergraduate university exchanges. The 1,000-1,000 Protocol or implementing accord was subsequently signed by the two nations. Beginning in FY 1991 with 250 new U.S. and Soviet exchanges, the program will increase to an annual exchange of 1,500 students each way by 1996.

The Samantha Smith Initiative provided grants for the exchange of undergraduate students between the United States and Central and Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union.

Benjamin Franklin Fellowship Program-This program provides fellowships for graduate-level study in the United States in the fields of law, public administration, business administration, and economics for students and professionals from the Baltics, the CIS, and Georgia. Candidates will be recruited in those states through a cooperative effort administered by the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR), IREX, the IIE, and the Soros Foundation.

Eastern European Initiative Lectureships-This program provides lectureships for American specialists to teach and consult in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. Fields of emphasis are (a) market economics and business administration; (b) media; and (c) educational reform in science, law, history, public administration, and sociology. Grants are administered by CIES.

The John Marshall Program provided fellowships for young law specialists from Eastern Europe to come to the United States for programs of study at U.S. law schools emphasizing constitutional law and theory.

The Alexander Hamilton Program provided fellowships for young managers from Eastern Europe to come to the United States for programs of study at U.S. business schools.

Hamilton Chair and Marshall Chair-These chairs are for distinguished American scholars in economics and in political science, respectively, to lecture in Hungary.

The South African Law Program trained five grantees to become more effective attorneys and advocates. This program will achieve even greater significance during South Africa's period of transition.

The Summer Institute for English Teachers provided training to counteract the deterioration of English teaching in predominantly black schools in South Africa and to aid in the introduction of English in Namibia. Twenty-five teachers participated in this program in 1991.

The newly formed West Africa Research Association provided shortterm research stipends to Americans who wished to pursue research in Senegal and other neighboring countries.

The Fulbright/CONACYT Program selected and placed 35 Mexican doctoral students in science and engineering at major U.S. State universities. CONACYT, Mexico's Council for Science and Technology, pays the stipend for the grantees, and USIA covers the program's administrative expenses. It is expected that the program will bring 250 students to the United States over 5 years.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Lecturer Program enabled scholars from border universities to live at home while teaching at an institution across the border. Eleven scholars five Mexican and six U.S.-participated in the program in FY 1991.

The Amazon Basin Scholars Program in the Environment brought six scholars from Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to earn graduate degrees and do research in U.S. universities on the responsible conservation and development of the Amazon region.

Traditional Fulbright Program

Foreign Students

For FY 1991, academic year 1991-92, approximately 1,400 new grants were awarded to foreign graduate students from more than 120 countries to come to the United States. Three cooperating agencies assist with program administration: the Institute of International Education (IIE); America-Mideast Educational and Training Services (AMIDEAST); and the Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (LASPAU). The agencies arrange placement (with tuition waivers if possible) of candidates submitted by U.S. In

formation Service (USIS) posts and Fulbright Commissions after they have been approved by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. The agencies supervise the students while they are attending U.S. universities. Students study in all fields, but the priority listing is the humanities, social sciences, engineering, physical sciences, education, business administration, area studies, and agriculture.

U.S. Students

In FY 1991, academic year 1991-92, approximately 580 grants were awarded to U.S. graduate students to study in over 80 countries worldwide. The students' programs covered all fields of study, from the arts, business, and economics to literature, language, and the social and natural sciences. IIE assists with program administration by distributing publicity about the program and the available openings, distributing applications, and organizing selection committees to review for academic merit and project suitability. Applications are then forwarded to the USIS posts and Fulbright Commissions for their review before submission to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for approval. IIE writes the grants for students going to noncommission as well as some commission countries.

In FY 1990, in order to increase the number of U.S. student grants and especially grants to graduating seniors, USIA transferred $250,000 to IIE to fund both graduating seniors and more advanced graduate students that USIA (for post countries) or the commissions were not able to fund. Awards were offered based on the ranking of the nominees (most of the nominees were either principals or highly ranked alternates); geographic distribution of countries to which students were going; and the most efficient use of funds—that is, attempting to award the largest number of grants out of the available funds. In FY 1991, a total of $650,000 was transferred to IIE for the centrally funded program, and in FY 1992 it is anticipated that $747,000 will be transferred.

Foreign Senior Scholars

In FY 1991, academic year 1991-92, USIA awarded approximately 1,200 new grants to foreign senior researchers and lecturers. Grants were awarded in a broad range of fields, including art and anthropology, architecture, communications, biological sciences, economics and business, linguistics, language and literature, history, law, environmental science, and political science. Scholars came from 85 countries and were placed in academic institutions in 44 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) assists with program administration by organizing selection committees to review applications that have been submitted by USIS posts and Fulbright Commissions, arranging university affiliations for the scholars, and supervising the scholars once they are in the United States.