LASPAU: Programs Administered by LASPAU

Sponsor: Fulbright Program; U.S., Latin American, and Caribbean universities, foundations, and corporations
Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
Program focus: Faculty development
Timeframe: 1975–present
Description: The Fulbright Faculty Development Program brings up to 150 educators each year from Latin America and the Caribbean to the United States for advanced studies in a wide variety of disciplines. The program began in 1975 in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador and additional countries were added over time. Cost-share partners supplement the basic grant by providing tuition assistance and other forms of complementary funding. To date, over 3,000 faculty members from higher education institutions throughout the region have obtained advanced degrees or conducted research in the United States through the Fulbright Faculty Development Program. Please see the individual country listings for information on specific cost-share initiatives.

Click here to access the online application for the Faculty Development Program.

The Fulbright Academic Exchange Program was established by Congress in 1946 to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries. The program is sponsored by the United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Program planning and administration are outlined by the academic and cultural exchange priorities of the Bureau and are overseen by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, a body of presidential appointees who are ultimately responsible for choosing both grantees and participating institutions. The Fulbright Commissions, which set priorities and select grantees and students in each participating country are characterized by joint funding and equal U.S.–host country representation. Where binational commissions are not established, Public Affairs Section representatives at each U.S. Embassy carry out much of the administration of the Fulbright Program in collaboration with local educators. The exchanges themselves are also binational, providing support for U.S. students and professionals to engage in academic work elsewhere and for citizens of other countries to study and teach in the United States. The competition for Fulbright scholarships is open, and the Commissions and Public Affairs sections are committed to advising all those interested in studying in the United States.

In 1975, after nearly a decade of experience implementing a faculty development program for professors from Latin American universities with financial support from the USAID, LASPAU approached the Fulbright Program about including the faculty development program under the umbrella of the Fulbright Academic Exchange Program. Fulbright Faculty Development Program efforts first took root primarily in South America and the Dominican Republic, but were expanded to countries of the English-speaking Caribbean and Haiti in 1979 and, in significant numbers, to Central America in 1985.

Grantees are selected for the Fulbright Faculty Development Program based on their potential to contribute to their disciplines as well as to their academic institutions. The majority of the grantees study at the master’s level; however, doctoral and nondegree study are also supported. After their studies in the United States, grantees resume teaching, research, and, in some cases, administrative positions at their home institutions, sharing the benefits of their educational experience.

Cost-sharing, or collaborative funding, has long been a fundamental part of Fulbright–LASPAU efforts. To supplement the basic Fulbright grant, other sponsors have contributed to the costs of bringing Caribbean and Latin American faculty and professionals to the United States for academic exchange programs. Traditionally, home institutions have maintained grantees’ salaries in absentia or have provided loans or grants to cover dependents’ expenses. U.S. universities also have responded generously, contributing fellowships, assistantships, or other support to cover tuition costs. Many of the more recent cost-share partners, including corporations and government agencies, have helped fund the basic grant itself, thus increasing the number of awards available.

Following are some of the collaborative endeavors that currently provide support for the Fulbright Program in the Caribbean and Latin America:

Argentina The Universidad Católica Argentina provides a monthly stipend to enable faculty members to pursue graduate degrees in the United States.

Chile The Fulbright Commission has joined forces with the Chilean Ministry of Education to support faculty training in the United States through the Mejoramiento de la Calidad y Equidad de la Educación Superior (MECESUP) Program.

Colombia The Fulbright Commission has joined forces with several local entities to expand grant opportunities. An agreement with COLCIENCIAS and Colombia’s Department of National Planning (DNP) provides funding for graduate studies focused on science and technology. A second agreement, involving DNP, COLCIENCIAS, and the Ministry of Education, established the Regions Program in 2007 to provide opportunities for researchers, academics, and professionals from outside the Bogotá metro-area to pursue graduate studies in the United States. In addition, an agreement with the Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño, a union of industrial and service companies based in the state of Antioquia, supports up to ten grantees per year from companies affiliated with the group.

Mexico Mexican universities contribute to the stipend for faculty studying in the United States under the auspices of the U.S.–Mexico Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange. In 1998, a new collaborative program was established with the Mexican Ministry of Education to support professors from public universities in a variety of fields of study.

Trinidad & Tobago The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad & Tobago raises funds each year from local corporations to support grantees who will pursue master's degrees in the United States. Thirty-six grantees have benefited from this program, which is now in its eighth year.

The specialized programs created by Fulbright and LASPAU over more than three decades are fulfilling the goals of both organizations to increase understanding among the countries of the Americas. The success of the collaboration is shown not only in the substantial roster of grantees who have been placed in U.S. graduate programs, but also in the knowledge and cross-cultural experience that Fulbright grantees carry with them when they return to their home countries.

“The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby to increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.”

— U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright

The Publications section of this website includes issues of the LASPAU Informativo newsletter, which feature updates on the activities of current grantees and alumni. The Spring 2004 issue contains the executive summary of an extensive survey of Faculty Development Program alumni.

The Workshops section includes information on seminars LASPAU has designed and administered to enhance the knowledge and skills of Fulbright Program grantees and alumni.

The Current Grantees section includes information for Faculty Development Program grantees at every stage of their programs.

Click here for general information about the Fulbright Program, sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State.

Click here for more information about Senator J. William Fulbright.

For information about LASPAU's administration of the Fulbright Faculty Development Program, please contact:

Craig E. Hastings, Associate Director for Programs
LASPAU
25 Mount Auburn St.
Cambridge, MA 02138-6095
Tel: 617-495-0432
Fax: 617-495-8990
E-mail: craig_hastings@harvard.edu

Fulbright Faculty Development Program opportunities vary from country to country. For additional information about the program in a specific country, contact the Fulbright Commission or Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in that country, as listed below:

Argentina
Comisión de Intercambio Educativo entre los Estados Unidos y la Argentina
Viamonte 1653, Piso 2
(C1055ABE) Buenos Aires
Tel: (54 11) 4814-3561
Email: info@fulbright.com.ar
Web: http://www.fulbright.edu.ar/esp/index.asp

Barbados
Public Affairs Section
U.S. Embassy
Wildey Business Park
St. Michael
Barbados
Tel: (246) 227-4102
Email: bridgetownpublicaffairs@state.gov
Web: http://bridgetown.usembassy.gov/laspau.html

Bolivia
Diego Ballivian
U.S. Embassy, La Paz
Sección de Asuntos Públicos
Avenida Arce No. 2780
San Jorge, La Paz
Tel: (591) (2) 216-8471
Email: BallivianDI@state.gov
Web: http://www.megalink.com/usemblapaz/educacion/laspau.htm

Brazil
Comissão Fulbright
Ed. Casa Thomas Jefferson
SHIS QI-09, Conj. 17 Lote L
CEP: 71625-170 - Brasília/DF
Tel: (55) (61) 3248-8600
Email: fulbright@fulbright.org.br
Web: http://www.fulbright.org.br

Costa Rica
Embajada de los Estados Unidos
Oficina de Asuntos Públicos
Pavas
Frente al Centro Comercial Oeste
San José
Tel: (506) 2519-2211, (506) 2519-2282
Email: perezal@state.gov, brenessx@state.gov
Web: http://usembassy.or.cr/laspau.html

Dominican Republic
Oficina de Asuntos Públicos
Embajada de los Estados Unidos de América
José Andrés Aybar Castellanos #71 (Prolongación Avenida México)
El Vergel, Santo Domingo
Tel: (809) 566-3131
Email: HernandezFG@state.gov
Web: http://spanish.santodomingo.usembassy.gov/fulbright_academicos.html

Ecuador
Comisión para Intercambio Educativo entre Estados los Unidos y Ecuador
Diego de Almagro N25-41 y Av. Colón
P.O. 17-07-9081
Quito
Tel: (593 2) 222-2103/4
Fax: (593 2) 250-8149
Email: advisorecuador@fulbright.org.ec
Web: http://www.fulbright.org.ec/english/faculty.htm

El Salvador
Especialista Cultural
Oficina de Asuntos Públicos
Embajada de los Estados Unidos
Final bulevar Santa Elena
Antiguo Cuscatlán, La Libertad
San Salvador, El Salvador
Tel: (503) 2501-2471
Email: FulbrightElSalvador@state.gov
Web: http://spanish.sansalvador.usembassy.gov/educacion/laspau.html

Guatemala
Oficina de Asuntos Culturales
Embajada de los Estados Unidos en Guatemala
Avenida Reforma 7-01, Zona 10
Guatemala Ciudad, Guatemala
Tel: (502) 2332-4173
Email: fonceac@state.gov
Web: http://spanish.guatemala.usembassy.gov/fulbright_laspau.html

Haiti
Bureau des Affaires Publiques (PD)
Ambassade des États-Unis d’Amérique
Boulevard 15 Octobre, Tabarre no. 41
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Tel: (509) 2229-8000
Email: FulbrightPAP@state.gov
Web: http://haiti.usembassy.gov/culturalsection.html

Honduras
Sección de Asuntos Públicos
Embajada de los Estados Unidos
Avenida la Paz
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Tel: (504) 236-9320, ext. 4086
Email: castanedaKM@state.gov
Web: http://honduras.usembassy.gov/pas.html

Jamaica
Mrs. Angella E. Harvey
Cultural Affairs Specialist
Office of Public Affairs
Embassy of the United States of America, Kingston
142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6, Jamaica, W.I.
Tel: (876) 702-6113 or 383-0753
Fax: (876) 702-6348
E-Mail: harveyae@state.gov
Website: http://kingston.usembassy.gov/educational_exchange.html

Mexico
Comisión México–Estados Unidos para el Intercambio Educativo y Cultural (COMEXUS)
Berlín No. 18, 2do. Piso
Col. Juárez, Del. Cuauhtémoc
CP: 06600, México, D.F.
Tel: (52) (55) 5592-2861
Email: becas@comexus.org.mx
Web: http://www.comexus.org.mx/

Nicaragua
Embajada Americana
Sección para Asuntos Públicos
Km. 5.5 Carretera Sur, frente entrada Parque Las Piedrecitas
Managua, Nicaragua
Tel: (505) 252-7100 ext. 7458
Email: fulbrightmng@state.gov
Web: http://nicaragua.usembassy.gov/public_affairs.html

Panama
Belsi B. de Medina, CA
Public Affairs Section
U.S. Embassy/Panamá
Edificio 783, 2do Piso
Calle Demetrio B. Lakas, Clayton
Ciudad de Panamá
Tel: (507) 207-7196
Fax: (507) 207-7350, (507) 207-7352
Email: medinabt@state.gov
Web: http://spanish.panama.usembassy.gov/educa.html

Paraguay
Ricardo Espinosa
U.S. Embassy, Paraguay
Public Affairs Section
Avda. Mariscal López 1776
Asunción
Tel: (595) (21) 213-715
Email: espinosaR@state.gov
Web: http://paraguay.usembassy.gov/fulbright_program.html

Peru
Comisión para Intercambio Educativo entre los Estados Unidos y el Perú
Juan Romero Hidalgo, 444
San Borja, Lima 41
Tel: (511) 475-3083
Email: commissi@fulbrightperu.info
Web: http://www.fulbrightperu.info

Trinidad and Tobago
Jacqui Gregoire
Public Affairs Section
U.S. Embassy, Port of Spain
7-9 Marli Street
Port of Spain
Tel: (868) 622-5979
Email: GregoireJ@state.gov
Web: http://trinidad.usembassy.gov/fulbright_scholarships.html

Uruguay
Comisión para el Intercambio Educacional entre Uruguay y Estados Unidos (Comisión Fulbright)
Colonia 810, Piso 7
CP: 11100 Montevideo
Tel: (598) (2) 901-4160, (598) (2) 903-2031
Email: fulbrigh@chasque.apc.org
Web: http://www.fulbright.org.uy

Venezuela
Oficina Cultural – PAS
Embajada de los Estados Unidos
Calle “F” con Calle Suapure
Colinas de Valle Arriba
Caracas 1060
Tel: (58) (212) 907-8013
Email: GarciaAG2@state.gov
Web: http://caracas.usembassy.gov/?c=663

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State.