Harriet Mayor Fulbright

Harriet Mayor Fulbright
Born Harriet Anna Mayor
(1933-12-13) December 13, 1933
New York City, New York
Nationality American
Occupation Executive

Harriet Anna Mayor Fulbright AM (born December 13, 1933) is the widow of United States Senator J. William Fulbright[1] and the former Executive Director of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities[2] under President Bill Clinton. She currently serves as President of the J. William and Harriet Fulbright Center and Harriet Fulbright College.[3] In addition, she serves as a Board President of Harriet Fulbright College.

Early life and education

Harriet Fulbright was born in New York City, New York on December 13, 1933. Her father, Brantz Mayor, worked for Time Magazine. She has five siblings, one of whom is bestselling mystery author Archer Mayor. The family moved often during Fulbright's youth and as a consequence, she spent much of her childhood in Washington, D.C., New York City and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Her first overseas experience was at the age of 14, when she traveled to Colombia for a summer study program. She continued her education at Radcliffe College, the women's college counterpart to Harvard University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in 1955.[4] In 1975, Fulbright earned her MFA from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.[5]

Fulbright married in 1953 and gave birth to three daughters. The family spent two years each stationed in the USSR and South Korea and one year in Germany. She taught English in each country and would continue to teach for many years to come.

Life with Senator Fulbright

In 1987, Fulbright served as the Executive Director of the Fulbright Association and moved the headquarters from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. Senator Fulbright was on the board of the Fulbright Association at the time and the two began spending a great deal of time together. As a result, the two were married on March 10, 1990, in a private ceremony at Senator Fulbright's home in Washington. After marrying, the two traveled extensively. Notable trips included a journey to Japan for the publication of Fulbright's autobiography, Against the Arrogance of Power: My Personal History, Moscow and Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Hawaii. Near the end of January 1995, Senator Fulbright suffered a stroke. He died shortly after, on February 9, 1995.

Recent activities

Harriet Fulbright serves as an "unofficial ambassador" for the Fulbright Program and is often invited to speak at events that range from university commencements to milestone anniversaries for Fulbright Commissions around the world who are celebrating the presence of her late husband's educational exchange program in their respective countries.[6][7] As a result of her status as an international figure of peace and education, she has received many awards and honorary degrees.[8] She currently sits on the advisory board of the Alliance for Peacebuilding. In 2006, she created the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting peace through international education and furthering her late husband's legacy. She currently serves as president of the organization. Recently, Fulbright celebrated her 75th birthday in Washington.

Awards and honors

Fulbright has received numerous honor and accolades throughout her career. Below is a partial list:

Type Bestower Date
Honorary Doctorate of Law University of Scranton 1996
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Long Island University 1997
Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero The Government of the Republic of Panama 1997[9]
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Bank Street College of Education 2000
Arts in Education Award Fillmore Arts Center 2001
Middle Cross of the Order of Merit The Republic of Hungary 2002
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters University of Development Studies, Ghana 2004
Hubert H. Humphrey Humanities Award Association of Teachers of Social Science 2004
Rotary Person of the Year Award Rotary International 2005
Honorary Benet Fellow of the School of International Studies Oklahoma State University 2006[10]
Honorary Member of the Order of Australia The Governor-General of Australia 2006[11]
Honorary Degree in Humane Letters Pace University 2006[12]
Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy and Physics Stevens Institute of Technology 2006[13]

References

  1. ↑ http://jwhfulbright.org/legacy/harriet.html
  2. ↑ http://www.hmfulbright.com/resume.php
  3. ↑ http://jwhfulbright.org/legacy/harriet.html
  4. ↑ http://www.hmfulbright.com/resume.php
  5. ↑ http://www.hmfulbright.com/resume.php
  6. ↑ http://www.stevens.edu/press/pr/pr742.htm
  7. ↑ http://media.www.thetraveleronline.com/media/storage/paper688/news/2005/02/02/News/Fulbright.To.Be.Celebrated.Worldwide-848358.shtml
  8. ↑ http://www.imi.american.edu/Conference2008/featuredspeakers.htm
  9. ↑ Orden de Manuel Amador Guerrero
  10. ↑ http://ieo.okstate.edu/ieo.aspx?page=149
  11. ↑ It's an Honour
  12. ↑ http://www.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=20464
  13. ↑ http://www.stevens.edu/press/cgi-bin/wordpress/?cat=8
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.