College faculty and students said they learned a great deal about themselves, other cultures and American culture while completing Fulbright Scholarships at yesterday's panel discussion commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Academic Exchange Program.
Members of the panel included Mary Bachman '90, Alexander Edlich '96, Religion Professor Hans Penner, John Sargent '94, Holden Spaht '96 and English Professor Brenda Silver.
The panel was held in 3 Rockefeller and moderated by Director of the Dickey Center Gene Lyons.
College President James Freedman addressed the Fulbright Scholars at a reception after the discussion in Hinman Forum, which honored the 45 members of the Dartmouth faculty who were Fulbright Scholars.
Speaking first, Edlich said he is traveling to France next year to research how France's experience during World War II affected its current foreign policy and conceptions of national security. He will also teach conversational English to French students for 10 hours each week.
Edlich said the scholarship will afford him the opportunity to immerse himself in French culture.
Next, Bachman spoke of the unique view of American culture she witnessed while completing her Fulbright scholarship in Germany six years ago.
Bachman said the U.S. was engaged in the Persian Gulf War while she was in Germany and that it was enlightening to view American foreign policy form a German perspective.
Bachman is graduating from the Georgetown School of Public Policy this year and plans to pursue a career in international public health.
She said the scholarship "serves a reference point in my life" and that she learned a great deal about herself while in Germany
Sargent, a student at Harvard Medical School, studied anthropology at Oxford University as a Fulbright Scholar in 1994.
Sargent said the experience served to augment his knowledge of anthropological aspects of international heath care, while affording him the opportunity for personal introspection.
"It was a year of growth," he said. "I grew in so many ways. I immersed myself in a different culture -- it was a year of unlimited opportunities."
Speaking next, Silver said her Fulbright Scholarship changed her life.
"I can't imagine what I would be like today if I hadn't won the Fulbright," she said.
Silver, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, studied the writings of Virginia Wolff at King's College in England from 1964 to 1966.
Silver said she learned much about American culture while in England.
She recalled being called to the American Embassy in London when the Vietnam War was raging and being instructed how to respond to questions concerning Vietnam.
Penner, who traveled to India in 1965 to study contemporary Indian society, said his experience as a Scholar "sealed my decision to concentrate on the history of Indian religion."
Penner reminisced about traveling from Bombay to Calcutta and discovering the place where Buddha was enlightened.
Speaking last, Spaht, who will travel to Germany next year to research the amalgamation of West German and East German firms, said he decided to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship because he "was looking for something fulfilling to do for a year."
He said he looks forward to completing the scholarship, which combines his two favorite subjects, Germany and economics.
Freedman, who `met Fulbright on three occasions, described him as "engaging."
Freedman said he thinks Fulbright regarded sponsoring the bill for the academic exchange program as one of his most significant accomplishments.
"What I see as so important about what Fulbright did was that he expressed faith in going to other countries and absorbing something about their own culture," Freedman said. "That was a great act of faith on the part of Fulbright."
"Fulbright did us and this country a big service," Freedman added.
Dean of the Faculty James Wright, who spoke after Freedman, said the high number of Fulbright scholars among the faculty demonstrates the strength of the College's teaching staff.
