The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board jointly awarded Leslie Waggener Professor in the College of Fine Arts Beili Liu a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Distinguished Scholar Award: Arctic Chair, Norway. Liu will research and teach at the Academy for the Arts at UIT The Arctic University of Norway as part of a project to Dreams of the High North: Between Survival and Belonging.
The Fulbright Arctic Chair is one of the Fulbright Distinguished Chairs programs; these awards are among the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholarship Program. The Arctic Chair for US scholars is a three-four month grant to do research and lecture at any institution of higher education or research in Norway. Just one award is given to a U.S. scholar each year. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.
As the Fulbright Arctic Chair, Liu will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Norway. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, counter misunderstandings, and help people and nations work together toward common goals. Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enabled more than 390,000 dedicated and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and find solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.