The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) established the Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders Initiative in 2019 to recognize the engagement of HBCUs with the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international academic exchange program.
On September 9, the Fulbright Program named 20 HBCUs as “Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders” for their noteworthy engagement during the 2024-25 academic year.
Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders demonstrate noteworthy support for Fulbright exchange participants and encourage administrators, faculty and students at HBCUs to engage with Fulbright on campus. The Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders initiative highlights HBCU alumni and faculty excellence, as well as HBCUs as a destination for international students and scholars.
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
X
HBCUs Form Global Connections Through Fulbright: Past and Present
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has given nearly 450,000 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 academic excellence 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 International Education Administrators Program to Taiwan
Fulbright U.S. Student to Brazil
Fulbright HBCU Institutional Highlights
Bennett College: Welcoming the World with Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants
FLTAs help Bennett College’s American students to gain valuable skills, such as understanding critical languages and learning about intercultural communication.
FLTAs Share Global Languages and Cultures in HBCU Classrooms and Communities
HBCU students learn language skills and gain international insights from Fulbright FLTAs at their institutions. Recent hosts include Alcorn State University, Huston-Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, and Mississippi Valley State University.
Director, Global Office, Tuskegee University
Fulbright International Education Administrators Program to Taiwan
Fulbright U.S. Student to Brazil
Fulbright Resources for HBCUs
The Fulbright Program has resources to support HBCUs engagement, including Fulbright HBCU Virtual Workshops for HBCU faculty and administrators. View the recordings:
