The First Fifteen Years of the Fulbright Program

Abstract

The Fulbright program was initiated following World War II as a means of promoting in the United States a wider interest and deeper comprehension of other societies and of creating a climate of public opinion in which the ac tions, motives, and policies of the United States would be fairly interpreted abroad. To achieve these ends, leading students, specialists, and educators have been exchanged on the basis of binational co-operation between the United States and the countries involved. Although private contributions have come to match government payments in recent years, the exchanges were originally financed by funds gained through the sale of military surplus materials abroad. The exhaustion of these funds creates the need for new financial approaches. Also, to be effective, the program must be expanded to include not only the Western European countries that did the heaviest buying of surpluses, but the underdeveloped countries of the world as well. Increased reciprocity is desirable on the inter national level, and provision through new legislation to allow long-range financial planning is desirable in the United States. The present scope of the Fulbright program is limited, and that is its weakness. The program is widely accepted and popular, and the extension of it could mean more than military measures to free world strength, stability, and solidarity.—Ed.