Ambassador Ted Osius has been appointed Vice President of Fulbright University Vietnam.
“We are thrilled that Ambassador Osius will stay in Vietnam and join Fulbright as our vice president,” said Dam Bich Thuy, the president of Fulbright.
“Over the three years that Ted has served as the American ambassador to Vietnam, he has earned the respect and affection of countless Vietnamese, who admire his palpable energy, enthusiasm, and love for the people, culture, and language of Vietnam. His contributions to the relationship between Vietnam and the US are myriad.”
Ambassador Osius served as the American ambassador to Vietnam from 2014 to 2017. During his tenure, the bilateral relationship strengthened and deepened in areas including trade and investment, education, and security.
His ambassadorship was marked by several historic milestones including the 2015 visit to the United States of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, and the 2016 visit to Vietnam of President Barack Obama.
As Fulbright’s vice president, Ambassador Osius’s portfolio will include a wide range of mission-critical responsibilities. As a member of the university’s senior leadership team, he will guide the university’s continued development. He will oversee the Fulbright’s engage in public affairs unit and will build partnerships with constituencies in Vietnam and the United States.
He will also serve as the founding director of Fulbright’s Grand Challenges Initiative, through which Fulbright will engage with some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing Vietnam, the region, and the world.
“I am delighted to be joining the Fulbright University Vietnam team,” said Ambassador Osius. “I have always had a passionate interest in education, and have relished the opportunities I have had during my career as a diplomat to teach and mentor.
It’s especially meaningful to combine education with my love of Vietnam, the country I have been proud to call home for more than five years. During this time, I have come to appreciate the vital role that higher education can play in building a prosperous future for Vietnam.”
“For Fulbright to achieve its transformational potential, we must embed the university in a web of mutually beneficial partnerships and linkages with counterparts in Vietnam, in the United States, and around the world. As ambassador, I was reminded every day of the keen desire on the part of American organizations, including corporations and universities to get involved.
I look forward to helping forge relationships across the public, private, and education sectors to ensure that Fulbright University Vietnam enjoys the resources to thrive and grow and make a difference in Vietnam,” stated Ambassador Osius.
“Fulbright’s Vietnamese and American identities are encoded in our founding DNA and enshrined in our name. It is fitting that Ted, who has done so much to bring our two countries closer together, should join the university’s leadership team,” said Thomas J. Vallely, chairman of the Trust for University Innovation in Vietnam, the US-based nonprofit that is supportingFulbright.
“In addition to Ted’s talents as a leader and a diplomat, he brings a sophisticated appreciation of the challenges confronting Vietnam today and the dynamics that are shaping Vietnamese society. He is uniquely qualified to helpFulbright concentrate its intellectual resources on these issues, which is the objective of Fulbright’s Grand Challenges Initiative,” stated Vallely.
During a twenty-nine-year career at the United States Department of State, Ambassador Osius worked at the United States’ Mission to the United Nations and in six countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Thailand, the Vatican, and the Philippines.
He has taught at the National War College in Washington, D.C. and served as a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He holds an AB from Harvard College and an M.S. from the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies.
Ambassador Osius will officially start work at Fulbright on January 2, 2018.
