Bruce B Svare
I had been thinking about a journal for Fulbright for a number of years before it ultimately came to fruition in 2021-2022. A turning point came when my friend Kevin Quigley came on board as Co-Editor to assist me with nurturing the idea and then developing its final form.
Kevin and I have known each other for about 12 years now, principally as a consequence of our time in Thailand as Fulbrighters. When we first met I quickly realized that our connection was a strong one. Kevin has an impressive background with the Peace Corps, the Fulbright Program, U.S. government and higher education. He possesses a compassionate leadership style in everything he has done in his diverse portfolio. His accomplishments and character qualities ultimately led us to a close friendship and level of mutual respect that has been the foundation of our relationship.
Kevin and I ended up co-authoring a number of scholarly works for University World News and Times Higher Education regarding the Fulbright program and international higher education. But a book we co-edited entitled To See the World as Others See It was a pivotal point in the evolution of Fulbright Chronicles.
The book, published in 2014, was designed to honor the retirement of our close friend Pornthip Kanjaniyot, the Executive Director of the Thai-US Educational Foundation (the Thai Fulbright Program). It contained essays written by both US and Thai Fulbrighters that captured their experiences while on their Fulbright journeys. Each article was represented twice in the volume, once in English and once in Thai. The essays represented the daily tasks taken in a foreign country and the moments of accomplishment, challenge, insight and mutual understanding that emerged.
Fulbright Chronicles is a much more ambitious undertaking. However, in retrospect, To See the World as Others See It, was a necessary step for the two of us. It allowed us to express our love for the Fulbright program through the eyes of former Fulbrighters. We then thought, why couldn’t this be done on a larger scale for the entire Fulbright program? What emerged is a peer reviewed journal that is befitting of the best international exchange program in the world.
[Fulbright Chronicles] is a peer reviewed journal that is befitting of the best international exchange program in the world.
One other essential ingredient in the development of Fulbright Chronicles has been the supportive work of Rob at the Fulbrighter Network. Rob encouraged us all along, served as an important go-between with the Fulbright institutions, and has been as much of a co-creator of the journal as us. To him, we express our gratitude for the remarkable role he has played. Lastly, creating a new scholarly journal can’t be done without talented associate editors who shared our vision, and former Fulbrighters who are now, and will be in the future, contributors to Fulbright Chronicles. To them, we give thanks for their desire to curate and transmit the stories that are essential to giving back to the Fulbright program and helping others to “see the world.”