Faculty and students find exchange program rewarding
Scott Carney is a professor in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois and a member of the Beckman Institute’s Bioimaging Science and Technology group. Come January of 2009, he will add the title of ambassador for the United States to his resume.
When an offer came along to join a university in the Netherlands during his upcoming sabbatical, Carney said yes, but also decided to apply to the Fulbright Scholarship Program, described by one of its administrators as the “U.S. government’s flagship academic exchange effort.” Carney will be collaborating on research in theoretical statistical optics with a friend and colleague at the Vrije Universiteit (Free University) in Amsterdam, but he will also be going abroad with the type of perspective the Fulbright Scholar Program encourages.
The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Established in 1946 through legislation sponsored by Senator J. William Fulbright, the State Department says the Fulbright Program is now a “mainstay of America’s public-diplomacy efforts.”
“I’m very happy to be doing it and I’m very proud to be a Fulbrighter,” Carney said. “It comes with things other than just the financial support. It comes with responsibilities to do these outreach efforts. They really expect us to be ambassadors in a sense. It was just a happy marriage, a good coming together of things.”
Carney is just one of several current and former Beckman Institute faculty and students who have taken advantage of one of the Fulbright Program’s many opportunities for scholarly exchange. Those opportunities include programs for students from the United States to study abroad, for foreign students and academics to study and do research here, for American academics to serve as visiting scholars and researchers abroad, as well as other programs for professionals such as teachers and engineers.
The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Established in 1946 through legislation sponsored by Senator J. William Fulbright, the State Department says the Fulbright Program is now a “mainstay of America’s public-diplomacy efforts.” Their Web site says that as of 2008, more that 285,000 Fulbrighters from over 155 countries have participated in the Fulbright Program since its inception, and that their worldwide alumni hold top positions in areas such as government, higher education, and law.
The program is administered by the Bureau and by cooperating agencies here and abroad such as the non-profit Institute for International Exchange (IIE). The IIE says the program “provides funding for students, scholars, teachers, and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. The flagship international educational program sponsored by the U.S. Government, the Fulbright Program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and the people of other countries.”
Carney sees the desire to increase mutual understanding between people and countries as part of his Fulbright mission. He added that the pursuit of science and the cultural exchange ethos of the Fulbright Program are completely compatible.
“The mission of the Fulbright Program is largely cultural but they view the knowledge base of mankind as part of our culture,” Carney said. “I think it’s a very enlightened view of what culture is. Culture isn’t just folk songs and old stories; it’s also what we understand about the universe.”
Though he has been to the Netherlands several times before, Carney said he believes living and working there will give him a new perspective on the country. He also thinks that sharing his knowledge with foreign academics and students will benefit everyone.