ECA established the Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders Initiative in 2019 to recognize and commend the strong partnership between the Fulbright Program and HBCUs. This initiative is part of the U.S. State Department’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion within the Fulbright Program and within the Bureau’s exchange programs overall.
On September 10, the U.S. Department of State announced 19 HBCUs as “Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders” in recognition of their noteworthy engagement with the Fulbright Program during the 2023-24 academic year.
The HBCU Institutional Leader status recognizes engagement with, and promotion of, the Fulbright Program. The HBCU Institutional Leader status recognizes HBCUs that both host international faculty and graduate students, and also send recent graduates, graduate students, faculty, and administrators overseas to study, teach, conduct research, or participate in seminars abroad through Fulbright.
Congratulations to the 2024 Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders
Scott Weinhold, Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), announces the 2024 Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders, commending their noteworthy engagement with the Fulbright Program. This initiative is part of the U.S. State Department’s long-standing commitment to build diversity and inclusion within the Fulbright Program and within the Bureau’s exchange programs overall.
My Fulbright experience had a profound effect on me and the way I approach research. It gave me a more global perspective and appreciation of diversity across cultures and people.”
EMMANUEL JOHNSON
North Carolina A&T State University
U.S. Student to The United Kingdom, 2013-2014
HBCUs Form Global Connections Through Fulbright: Past and Present
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has given over 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals from all backgrounds and diverse institutions the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to complex global challenges.
HBCUs have been deeply engaged in the Fulbright Program since its founding. Fisk University President Dr. Charles S. Johnson was on the inaugural Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in the 1940s and the first Fulbright cohort included four participants affiliated with HBCUs. This tradition continues today.
Fulbright visiting students and scholars contribute to HBCUs’ international networks and create long-term collaborations. Engagement with Fulbright bolsters institutional internationalization strategies and supports curriculum needs when Fulbrighters and program alumni share their expertise, establish international research partnerships, and build international networks.
Faculty members who have Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards return from their grant experiences and enrich their campus culture, students and curriculum, and the Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides recent alumni and graduate students with opportunities to gain valuable international perspectives and experiences.
Fulbright encourages HBCU participation in international exchange through resources, knowledge, and further opportunities. In 2019, Fulbright established the HBCU Institutional Leaders Initiative to recognize and commend the strong partnership between the Fulbright Program and HBCUs. In May 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the leadership of the four HBCUs of the Atlanta University Center Consortium and committed to expanding engagement with all HBCUs for all Department of State academic exchange programs. In fulfillment of that commitment, the Fulbright Program convened an adviser training in February 2024 welcoming 35 representatives from HBCUs. Participants learned more about the role of the FPA in recruiting and advising their students and alums, and discussed how to foster a Fulbright culture on campus.
Voices From Our Community
Our Fulbrighters return to the Howard community with fresh insights, a deepened cultural understanding, and a broadened worldview, laying the foundation for their personal and professional growth… Their work has an enduring and positive impact on communities and institutions, at home and abroad.”
Ben Vinson III
President, Howard University
We are dedicated to ensuring that our faculty and students can pursue international collaboration and enrichment experiences which they bring back to campus for the benefit of our whole community. This is yet another layer of academic excellence that helps prepare our students for global citizenship, and we are thrilled to contribute to global conversations this way.”
Darrell T. Allison
J.D., Chancellor, Fayetteville State University
I am the person that Fulbright made me—a continuous learner and striver, an avid proselytizer for international education, an advocate of the broadest possible learning experiences, and a believer in the power of human understanding. Fulbright lifted me out of a narrow world where little seemed possible, made me lift my eyes to the horizon, and enabled me to embrace what might be possible if only I reached out.”
Ruth Simmons, Ph.D.
President Emerita of Prairie View A&M University, 1967 Fulbright U.S. Student to France
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Fulbright HBCU Institutional Highlights
The Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund (OLF) and HBCUs: Short-Term Engagements, Long-Term Benefits
The Fulbright OLF brings international scholars, already in the United States, to different campuses for two-to-five day visits with events such as guest lectures, student mentoring, film festivals, and even state fairs.
Fulbright Scholars-in-Residence Develop Innovative Courses and Relationships Beyond Campus
HBCUs that invite foreign scholars to teach on campus for one or two semesters benefit from the internationalization of their curriculum and opportunities for new study abroad and virtual exchange programs.
Fulbright HBCU International Education Administrators Seminar
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program has announced a new group seminar designed for higher education administrators from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to build connections with institutions and peers in France and Senegal. The 2025 Fulbright HBCU International Education Administrators (IEA) Seminar will consist of briefings, campus visits, networking and cultural activities, and meetings with French and Senegalese higher education professionals and government officials.
On many campuses, Fulbright Program Advisers support U.S. student applicants and Fulbright Scholar Liaisons, to promote faculty participation. Fulbright offers extensive training and resources for these primary points of contact, including regional and national seminars, webinars, and virtual office hours. If your institution does not have these resources, please contact [email protected] for Fulbright Program Advisers and [email protected] for Fulbright Scholar Liaisons.
Website Program Offerings Catalogue
Explore Fulbright opportunities that are available for students, faculty members and administrators, and find the right Fulbright for you.
Engage with Social Media to check out more Fulbright HBCU features on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Use #Fulbright to share your own memories, experiences, and achievements as an HBCU Fulbrighter. We accept content at [email protected] or via an online form.
Dr. Simmons reflected on her journey from a sharecropping family to the president of three universities, and how cross-cultural education helped her find her voice as a leader.
President Elayne Hayes-Anthony, Ph.D. discusses how Fulbright advances her university’s strategic goals and benefits students, faculty, and the JSU community.
After graduating from Virginia State University, a historically black university, engineering student Hunter Mack spent a year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in the Southern Bohemian region of the Czech Republic. He discusses the powerful connections he was able to make with students and their community by through shared family experiences and mutual interests.
Kendra L. Mitchell, Ph.D. is a professor who serves as a Fulbright Program Adviser at Florida A&M University (FAMU), the historically Black university (HBCU) where she earned her bachelor’s degree. Her experience as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant during a time of student protest in South Africa has been invaluable in helping her students to see other perspectives.
As the Fulbright Program celebrates its 75th anniversary, it is important to acknowledge the role that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played in expanding access to Fulbright awards.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs celebrates all institutions recognized since the launch of the Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders initiative in 2019.