Jahresbericht 2010 / 2011 - Fulbright-Kommission

4
Mission Statement
by the Executive Director
Dr. Rolf Hoffmann
Executive Director of the
German-American Fulbright Commission
Dear Friends of the Fulbright Program,
The German-American Fulbright Program will celebrate its
60th anniversary in 2012.
Over the years, it has been one of the most successful drivers
of transatlantic exchange and dialogue, with 42.000 grantees to
date supported in more than 35 different programs. The Commission
has experienced both success and challenges in changing
times – the fall of the Berlin Wall among them, a growing
Europe and the changing role of bilateral relations, the Bologna
reforms and their impacts on student mobility, and last – but not
least – financial markets in turmoil, with its implications for government-funded
programs like Fulbright. The Commission has,
with the support of its Board and both governments, been able
to navigate these sometimes treacherous waters safe and sound
over many decades, and to continue to even grow over the years.
Nevertheless, several more recent developments may leave a more
lasting mark on the program: the ever growing commercialization
and rising costs of higher education in a global setting, the
changing role and importance of education and study-abroad for
life strategies and careers outside academe for German students
and a shifting focus of some U.S. public and political groups
towards non-European regions away from countries like Germany
that for many decades enjoyed the strongest ties with the U.S.
While the Fulbright Program still is the flagship program of
U.S. public diplomacy, its impact and volume of support is
under constant observation on the hill, particularly in times of
substantial budget constraints. Support is urgently needed, and
Fulbright alumni in the U.S., assisted by current grantees in
Europe, render this help by rallying their congressmen and giving
testimony to how important transatlantic dialogue is and how
exchange shapes young leaders on both sides of the Atlantic.
U.S. universities – private as well as public institutions –
suffer dramatically from current cuts and increasingly depend
on full-paying students from abroad to cover part of their
budgets. Hence international Fulbright students are welcome,
but some face increasing challenges when they want to enroll as
non-degree students for nine months of study only. Changing
policies and funding patterns have been high on the agenda of
the Commission to better serve the needs both of students and
their host institutions in the U.S., and I am happy to say that we
have been successful in adding new flexibility to the Fulbright
program as of next year: applications for study grants for a study
period of six to nine months will be accepted, young researchers
will continue to be able to apply for a research project as part
of their Ph.D. thesis for six to nine months, and entire master
programs of up to two years in non-professional fields will be
supported too.
These changes provide new opportunities for German students;
they complement the existing programs and all those initiatives
that would not be possible at all without the support of both
governments, our sponsors and our very active alumni.
I am confident that this “Fulbright family” will continue to
provide the groundwork for several more decades of successful
Fulbright exchanges.
Dr. Rolf Hoffmann