Fulbright University Vietnam has announced the appointment of Dr. Ian Bickford as Acting Provost and Vice-President effective July 26, 2019. Dr. Bickford is responsible for strengthening Fulbright’s undergraduate and graduate academic programs and carrying out our developing strategic plan.
“We are thrilled to have someone with Dr. Bickford’s experience and record of success join us as our Provost and Vice President for academic affairs,” said Dam Bich Thuy, President of Fulbright University Vietnam.
“This addition to the Leadership Team is critical in this time of dramatic growth for the University as we will welcome the inaugural cohort of undergraduate students this Fall. Dr. Bickford brings a wonderful understanding of the University’s mission, and of the larger goals we share as an institution dedicated to providing the world-class education to our students.”
Dr. Bickford earned his B.A. from University of California, Berkeley and his M.A. from Stanford University, both in literature, and his Ph.D. in early modern studies from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
He began his college journey, however, at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, a campus designed for students ready to start college at younger than the conventional age. This was the beginning of his interest in innovative models for higher education.
Inspired by Bard’s efforts, he says, “to use the liberal arts and sciences to create opportunity where it is missing,” Dr. Bickford went on to serve for more than a decade as a professor and campus leader within Bard College’s global educational network, most recently as Provost and Vice President of Simon’s Rock.
The educational model at Simon’s Rock motivated Bard’s development of several public, tuition-free early college programs serving under-resourced communities in New York City, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. Dr. Bickford helped to launch several of these campuses and served as their academic dean.
He was also deeply involved in Bard’s efforts in Myanmar since 2014 to establish the Parami Institute, to drive innovation in Writing and Thinking pedagogy for Myanmar’s high-school teachers and university faculty, and to build a Bard-affiliated undergraduate university in Yangon.
Dr. Bickford assumed his new role at Fulbright on September 1. “From my earliest visit to Fulbright University Vietnam, the dedication and talent of its leadership, faculty, and staff were extremely clear. This is a community defined by a rich culture of student success and commitment to service,” says Bickford. “It is also a growing community, I am excited to be part of its growth and to learn how I can best serve and promote the university.”
