March 24, 2017.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Dr. Drew Faust met with faculty and alumni of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Programs (FETP), originally a collaboration of Ho Chi Minh City’s University of Economics and Harvard Kennedy School that was transferred to FUV last September. President Faust praised FETP as great distinction part of Harvard’s global engagement over the last twenty-five years.
She also participated in a discussion on the design and development of FUV, which built on FETP legacy and envisioned as the first truly American style university in Vietnam with the FUV leadership.
Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and Fulbright University Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding in which the two sides agree to explore opportunities for collaboration in public policy teaching, research and related areas.
“It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that Fulbright University Vietnam welcomes Harvard President Drew Faust on her first visit to Vietnam. The Harvard Kennedy School Vietnam Program has played a pivotal role in developing FETP as a leading center of public policy teaching and research. We deeply believe that our connection with Harvard will be an important driver in our effort to create a transformative educational experience to students across Vietnam”, said FUV President Dam Bich Thuy.
Dr. Faust is the 28th President of Harvard University and the Lincoln Professor of History in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. During her tenure at Harvard, President Faust has expanded Harvard’s financial resources to improve access to people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Her efforts include raising Harvard’s international profile, embracing sustainability measures, and launching EdX in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to offer Massive Open Online Courses.
Dr. Faust received her bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1968, magna cum laude. She subsequently earned her master’s (1971) and doctoral degrees (1975) at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of six books. Her most recent book, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, won the 2009 Bancroft Prize, was a finalist for a U.S. National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize, and was named one of the 10 best books of 2008 by The New York Times.
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About Fulbright University Vietnam:
Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) is a private, nonprofit Vietnamese university inspired by the American liberal arts education tradition and dedicated to serving Vietnamese society through innovation in teaching, learning, and discovery. FUV emerged from and inherits the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program, a twenty year Harvard Kennedy School initiative to create Vietnam’s first center of public policy teaching and research.
FUV’s first two academic programs are a graduate program in public policy and management (scheduled to launch in 2017) and an undergraduate program in engineering and the liberal arts and sciences (scheduled to launch in 2018). FUV was officially announced by President Barack Obama in May 2016. FUV receives core financial support from the United States Department of State and a number of private supporters. FUV’s founding sponsor is the Trust for University Innovation in Vietnam, a US nonprofit organization.
