A new collaboration between Carleton and Fulbright Canada has set a new record for the most Fulbright research chairs established at a single Canadian university.
According to Fulbright’s website, it is a not-for-profit organization that works to foster strong relationships between Canadian and American universities through international student exchange programs.
Scheduled to start in 2018 and last for 25 years, the creation of four new visiting chair positions will include chairs in entrepreneurship, environmental science, public affairs, and arts and social sciences. The program is estimated to cost $16 million and will be budgeted equally between Carleton and Fulbright Canada, according to Ryan Davies, the director of advancement communications at Carleton.
According to a Carleton press release, the commitment marks the first time Fulbright has established so many chairs at one university at a time, and that it has committed to such a long-term program.
The four new chairs will join the two visiting chairs already in place at Carleton within the Faculty of Political Science and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.
While the foundation has partnered with other Canadian universities in the past, the creation of this many Fulbright chairs at a single Canadian university is unprecedented, according to Davies.
“We’re honoured to be the first partner for the program at this level,” he said.
Davies also noted the shared values between Fulbright Canada and Carleton is significant.
“Advancement’s task is to find partners in the community who share this conviction that higher education can do good things for the community, so we’re pleased to find in Fulbright such a committed partner, someone that’s as dedicated to the greater good as Carleton is,” he said.
Fulbright’s visiting chairs program has existed for more than 15 years, said Michael Hawes, Fulbright’s CEO.
According to Hawes, the program aims to encourage collaboration between scholars and researchers in Canada and the U.S. and to create long-term institutional partnerships between Canadian and American universities.
“We want to help build capacity, introduce new researchers and teachers to the community, assist in building long-term institutional partnerships with U.S. universities, and as a nice additional benefit, showcase a great university,” he said about the partnership with Carleton.
Emily Grant, the president of the Carleton Academic Student Government (CASG), said she hopes the collaboration between Fulbright Canada and Carleton will open more academic doors for students.
“This is a perfect opportunity for students to be able to conduct more research, especially undergraduate students, since they are severely lacking in research opportunities,” Grant said. “There’s a lot of innovation going on right now, and it would be great for Carleton students and Carleton’s associated faculty to be able to be on the forefront of some of those innovations.”
Photo by Meagan Casalino
