Fulbright University Vietnam
Đại học Fulbright Việt Nam
TypePrivate nonprofit
Established2016 (2016)
PresidentDr. Scott Fritzen [1][2]
Location
Ho Chi Minh City
,
Vietnam
Websitewww.fulbright.edu.vn

Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) is a private nonprofit university currently located at the Crescent Plaza in Phú Mỹ Hưng (with a future campus in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park) in Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam.[3] It is one of Vietnam's first private, nonprofit institutions of higher education.[4] The FUV concept emerged from discussions convened by the Vietnam Program at the Harvard Kennedy School aimed at planning the next stage in the development of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program (FETP) Archived 2018-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, a center of public policy research and teaching in Hồ Chí Minh City.[5][6]

Since 2014, the university's development has been coordinated by the Trust for University Innovation in Vietnam (TUIV), a nonprofit corporation based in the Boston area. TUIV and the Harvard Vietnam Program are recipients of several grants from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State.[7]

History

A license to establish the Fulbright University Vietnam was presented to the Board of the Trust for University Innovation by Nguyễn Phú Trọng in 2015.[8] The campaign for licensing and funding was spearheaded by Thomas Vallely of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. Vallely said the university will “will embody American values including academic freedom, autonomy, meritocracy, and transparency.”[8]

Although Fulbright University Vietnam is a private university, it has benefited from the support of the governments of both Vietnam and the United States.[6][9] In the United States, Fulbright University Vietnam, and its antecedent, the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program, has benefited from strong bilateral support in Congress. Of particular note is the role played by John Kerry. While in the Senate, Kerry and his fellow Vietnam veteran John McCain were strong supporters of education exchange with Vietnam.[6] As Secretary of State, Kerry was an early advocate for the FUV initiative.[10]

In 2013, FUV was cited in a joint statement by President Trương Tấn Sang and President Barack Obama during President Sang's visit to the United States.[11] In June 2014, Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng approved the establishment of FUV.[12] In December 2014, the United States Congress approved $20 million to fund the development of FUV on the condition that the university be independent, not-for-profit, and on par with the quality of American universities.[13][7]

The government of Vietnam officially licensed FUV on May 16, 2016.[7] Later that month, the launch of Fulbright University Vietnam was officially announced in a speech by President Barack Obama in Hanoi.[14] Two days later in Ho Chi Minh City, at a ceremony witnessed by Secretary of State John Kerry, Fulbright University Vietnam was awarded its establishment license.[15]

Academics

During its first five years, FUV will focus on the development of two integrated academic units, a graduate school of public policy and management and an undergraduate program in engineering and the liberal arts and sciences.[16]

The Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management represents the continuation and expansion of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program, the center of public policy teaching and research operated by the Harvard Kennedy School Vietnam Program from 1994 to 2016. The public policy school will offer degree and non-degree programs in public policy and related fields.

FUV's undergraduate program in engineering and the liberal arts and sciences admitted a beta class in 2018 and underwent a year-long co-design process to build all aspects of the university collaboratively with the involvement of faculty, staff, and students.[17] The academic program is being developed in consultation with faculty members from the Olin College of Engineering.[18] The undergraduate program will feature interdisciplinary courses, project-based learning, and active engagement with the community.[16]

FUV intends to seek accreditation from a U.S. regional accrediting body. FUV may enroll up to 2,000 students during its first five years.[9]

Campus

FUV plans to build its main campus in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in District 9. The government of Hồ Chí Minh City has contributed 15 hectares of land in the park to FUV, where FUV will build learning and residential facilities.[9]

The Bob Kerrey Controversy

In May 2016 during his visit to Vietnam, then Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the Americans had appointed Bob Kerrey to be chairman of the Board of Trustees of Fulbright University Vietnam. This gave rise to controversy.[19] In 2001 an in-depth investigation by The New York Times and CBS News[20] had revealed that on 25 February 1969 Bob Kerrey had commanded a Navy SEALS unit that massacred 21 civilians in Thạnh Phong village in the Vietnam War.

Among the prominent Vietnamese critics of the appointment of Kerrey were Tôn Nữ Thị Ninh, a former ambassador to the European Union,[21] and Nguyễn Thanh Việt, an award-winning Vietnamese-American writer.[22] The most high-ranking Vietnamese official to publicly support Kerrey's appointment was Đinh La Thăng,[23] who at the time was Communist Party Secretary of Hồ Chí Minh City and a member of the Politburo.

In May 2018, H. Kim Bottomly, former president of Wellesley College, was appointed as the chair of the board of the trustees.[24] In June 2019, Dr. Bottomly stepped down amidst a Board reorganization that gave TUIV, chaired by Mr. Thomas Vallely, oversight responsibility for the university.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Tân chủ tịch Đại Học Fulbright Việt Nam: Trọng trí tuệ thay vì kiến thức". Tuoi Tre News. July 31, 2023. Retrieved Aug 23, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Professor Scott Fritzen Named Second President of Fulbright University Vietnam". Fulbright University Vietnam. June 8, 2023. Retrieved Aug 23, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Fulbright University Vietnam". Trust for University Innovation. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ "A New University for Vietnam". Harvard Magazine. June 20, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Our Story | tuiv.org". www.tuiv.org. Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  6. 1 2 3 "A Nation, Building". Harvard Magazine. 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  7. 1 2 3 Anh, Ha (May 25, 2016). "US non-profit university Fulbright launched in Vietnam". Thanh Niên News. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "New Fulbright University Vietnam to Build Upon Collaborative Effort between HKS' Vietnam Program and the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City". ash.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  9. 1 2 3 vietnamnet.vn. "John Kerry and the journey of Fulbright University Vietnam - News VietNamNet". english.vietnamnet.vn. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  10. ↑ "Remarks to Ho Chi Minh City Business Community and Fulbright Economic Teaching Program Participants". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  11. ↑ "Joint Statement by President Barack Obama of the United States of America and President Truong Tan Sang of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam". whitehouse.gov. 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2017-01-08 – via National Archives.
  12. ↑ "Vietnamese PM approves in principle TUIV's establishment of Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV)". Fulbright Economics Teaching Program. June 5, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  13. ↑ "John Kerry and the journey of Fulbright University Vietnam". VietNamNet. May 27, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Remarks by President Obama in Address to the People of Vietnam". whitehouse.gov. 2016-05-24. Retrieved 2017-01-08 – via National Archives.
  15. ↑ "US non-profit university Fulbright launched in Vietnam". Thanh Nien Daily. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  16. 1 2 "Opportunity | tuiv.org". www.tuiv.org. Archived from the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  17. ↑ "Special Film about the Fulbright Co-Design Year Vietnam". 24 June 2019.
  18. ↑ "The Design Team | tuiv.org". www.tuiv.org. Archived from the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  19. ↑ Paddock, Richard C. (2016-06-02). "Bob Kerrey's War Record Fuels Debate in Vietnam on His Role at New University". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  20. ↑ Vistica, Gregory L. (2001-04-25). "One Awful Night in Thanh Phong". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  21. ↑ "Opinion | Bob Kerrey in Vietnam". The New York Times. 2016-06-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  22. ↑ Nguyen, Viet Thanh (2016-06-20). "Opinion | Bob Kerrey and the 'American Tragedy' of Vietnam". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  23. ↑ Đinh La Thăng, 4 June 2016, https://tuoitrenews.vn/society/35192/hcmc-leader-calls-for-rising-above-hatred-in-debate-of-bob-kerreys-role-at-fuv
  24. ↑ VnExpress. "Fulbright University Vietnam assigns new chair to replace controversial predecessor - VnExpress International". VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  25. ↑ "Fulbright University Vietnam Announces Board Reorganization". 2 June 2019.

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