Madam Dam Bich Thuy served as the founding president of Fulbright University Vietnam. From 2015 to 2023, she led the university’s transformation from an ambitious vision into a vibrant, thriving institution dedicated to serving Vietnamese society through teaching, discovery, and problem-solving.
Madam Thuy’s visionary leadership was instrumental in shaping the university’s ethos and academic culture. Her dedication to creating an environment that fosters liberal education, critical thinking, and a global perspective contributed significantly to the university’s success and to its emergence as a beacon of academic excellence and innovation.
President Thuy recruited, inspired, and led the university’s founding team of faculty, students and staff who built the undergraduate program in engineering and the liberal arts and sciences, the first such program in Vietnam. She also worked tirelessly to cultivate Fulbright’s ties to our external stakeholders including the Vietnamese public, the governments of Vietnam and the United States, Vietnamese and international higher education institutions, and the business community. A Fulbrighter herself, she was deeply committed to the value of educational exchange, stewarding the university’s development into a shining example of Vietnam-U.S. partnership.
Reflecting on President Thuy’s special role in the university’s creation, Mr. Thomas J. Vallely, chairman of the Fulbright Board of Trustees wrote:
“President Thuy always recognized that universities are communities. She devoted countless hours to personal engagement with the people who comprise the Fulbright community, including, especially, the students and families who placed their trust in us when we were a young an unproven institution. This she accomplished with her unique combination of deep conviction in the value of liberal education and personal modesty and self-effacement.”
President Thuy retired on the occasion of the graduation of Fulbright’s first undergraduate class in June 2023, leaving a legacy of accomplishment on which we continue to build.
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