Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce visits with students participating in the Cronkite School’s Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program.
Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board recently visited Arizona State University and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The Assistant Secretary met with Fulbright students, scholars, teachers and alumni as well as Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows on campus. ASU President Michael Crow and Cronkite School leadership briefed Royce and the Fulbright Board.
“We move people to move ideas,” Royce said. “Exchanges matter. They matter to nations. They matter to communities. They matter to people. And they have a tremendous positive impact on the United States and around the globe.”
Royce was joined by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs Caroline Casagrande, and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, a presidentially appointed board responsible for the supervision of the global Fulbright program.
Retired Ambassador Jeff Bleich, outgoing chair of the board, said it was fitting to meet at ASU, which was recently recognized as a top producing Fulbright institution.
“Now, you may wonder why we chose ASU as one of the universities that we are visiting as a full board this year,” said Bleich, a former U.S. ambassador to Australia. “Is it ASU’s exceptional record of producing leading Fulbrighters? Is it the extraordinary Fulbright students, teachers and scholars currently attending ASU? Is it the way ASU pioneers new ideas, like online education, and is named one of the most innovative institutions of higher education? Yes … All of the above.”
Humphrey Fellows from the University of Minnesota who were participating in a cross-campus collaboration with ASU fellows focused on immigration issues and policies also met the Assistant Secretary, Deputy Assistant Secretary, and board members.
ASU has hosted more than 100 Humphrey Fellows from 58 countries in the last decade, and the Cronkite School recently was awarded the opportunity to host the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in journalism and communication for future cohorts.
“What an honor to have Assistant Secretary Royce visit with our Humphrey Fellows and learn firsthand the impact they are having on the ASU campus and the broader Arizona community,” said Bill Silcock, assistant dean of the Cronkite School, director of Cronkite Global Initiatives and curator of the Hubert H. Humphrey program at ASU. “The visit by Assistant Secretary Royce and her team and hosting the meeting of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in our school help to bridge the gap between the nation’s capital and the Cronkite school in new and exciting ways.”
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright program has provided more than 390,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. More than 1,900 U.S. students, artists and early career professionals in more than 100 fields of study receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards annually to study, teach English and conduct research overseas. More than 800 U.S. scholars, artists and professionals teach or conduct research overseas through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually.