Miller lauds role of US Fulbright alumni in boosting friendship

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller has appreciated the role of Bangladeshi Fulbright alumni in building bridges of friendship between the two countries.

“Through the Fulbright programme, you cultivated long-lasting friendships with students, scholars, and community leaders in the United States and worldwide and you returned to Bangladesh and share your knowledge and ideas,” Miller told Bangladeshi Fulbright alumni.

Renowned economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya (Fulbright Scholar, 2004) delivered the Fulbright Day keynote address on Thursday.

Miller and Deputy Chief of Mission Helen LaFave joined hundreds of US government-funded exchange programme alumni to celebrate the Fulbright programme’s 75th anniversary through a two-day virtual conference.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dhaka Professor Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman (Fulbright Scholar, 2002), joined the opening ceremony as the chief guest on Wednesday. During the closing session, LaFave said international education exchanges benefit both the nations and peoples, boosting intellectual and cross-cultural capital.

“They also become catalysts for professional networks and help prepare students to enter the global job market to address the world’s toughest challenges.”

Established in 1946 by Senator J William Fulbright, the programme is the US government’s flagship international academic exchange program that strengthens and expands people-to-people ties and educational linkages between the United States and countries around the world.

The Bangladeshi Fulbright alumni community sought to celebrate this milestone by convening all US government exchange alumni through a virtual conference with the theme, “Impact: 75 Years of Global Actions, Opportunities, and Connections.”

More than 650 Bangladeshis have travelled to the United States under Fulbright exchange programs and over 250 Americans have conducted research and/or taught in Bangladesh.

Notable alumni include the renowned 20th-century structural engineer and architect, Dr Fazlur Rahman Khan, who received a Fulbright scholarship to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1952.

The two-day conference engaged over 4,000 Bangladeshi US government-funded exchange programme alumni through 16 engaging sessions on topics such as climate change.