Upcoming Events

October 14, 2023

Apple Picking and Lunch Event at Rocky Ridge Orchard, Bowdoin, Maine.

Please join us on Saturday, October 14 for a fun morning of apple picking and exploring, followed by lunch [10:00 a.m. to noon] at:

Rocky Ridge Orchard
38 Rocky Ridge Lane (Route 201)
Bowdoin, Maine 04287

We hope to see you there! [Rain Date: Sunday, October 15]

Past Events

June 3, 2023

Storytelling Event, Fields Pond Audubon Center, Holden, Maine.

Members of the Chapter and friends gathered for a guided bird-watching and forest hike through the Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden, Maine, followed by a fun story-telling event.

Fulbright Event Fields Pond
Fields Pond Event June 3
Birds at Fields Pond June 3 2023

May 12, 2023

Will Democracies in the United States and Europe Survive?

Moderator:

Anna Welch, Moderator, is a Professor and Co-Director of the University of Maine School of Law’s Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic and the Founding Director of the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic. Prior to joining Maine Law’s faculty, she taught within Stanford Law School’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic. Before joining academia, she served as the Director of Immigration at the law firm Verrill Dana and as a refugee protection attorney in Nairobi, Kenya.

Panelists:

Jason Beaubien, Panelist, is an award-winning reporter with National Public Radio. His work focuses primarily on global affairs in lower income nations. He’s filed stories from more than 60 countries. Beaubien currently is based out of NPR’s Washington D.C. headquarters. Previously he served as the network’s chief correspondent in Mexico City and before that was stationed in Johannesburg. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a bachelor’s degree in English. And he grew up in Garland, Maine.

Seth Singleton, Panelist, teaches international relations in the School of Policy and International Affairs at the University of Maine. He studied Russian history and literature at Harvard and international relations, with emphasis on Africa, at Yale. He has worked in universities in Tanzania, Canada, Russia, Ecuador, Vietnam, and Mongolia and has served as academic dean in universities in the US and overseas. He was the first Fulbright Senior Scholar at Hue University, Vietnam, in 1999-2000 and a Fulbright senior specialist in Bolivia, 2006. His research for many years was in Soviet and Russian foreign policy in Africa and Asia.

Jennifer Yoder, Panelist, is the Robert E. Diamond Professor of Government and Global Studies at Colby College. She teaches courses on European political systems, the European Union, post-communist politics and the politics of memory and identity in Europe. She is the author of three books on topics ranging from German unification, to regionalization in former communist countries, to the politicization of the past at commemorations of World War II in Europe and Russia.

 

May 12, 2023

Pizza Dinner at Flight Deck Brewing in Brunswick, Maine

Chapter members gathered at the award-winning Flight Deck Brewery in Brunswick on the evening of May 12th for food and fun.

 

Flight Deck Welcome Sign
Flight Deck Event May 12 2023
Flight Deck Event May 12 2023
Pineland Skating

February 11, 2023: The Maine Chapter of the Fulbright Association spent an afternoon of winter fun – skiing, snowshoeing, hot chocolate, etc. — at Pineland Farms, New Gloucester, Maine.

Pineland Snow Globe

Friday, October 21, 2022

Global Cybersecurity Forum

Location: University of Maine, Augusta
(Several portions of event are available remotely)

https://www.uma.edu/

There can be no doubt that concern for privacy and security of cyberspace systems against unauthorized access to data is of paramount concern, not only within the U.S., but also throughout the world.  Therefore, the Maine Chapter of the Fulbright Association and the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) have teamed up to present an event that focuses on the timely topic of Global Cybersecurity. A panel of scholars in this field will examine the most serious threats to cyber security globally, what cyber attacks we can anticipate for the mid-term elections in the U.S., what risk management and mitigation of IT assets entail, effective breach response plans, and more .  And, what better partner than UMA to co-host this event! UMA was awarded the National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designation from the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security and offers acknowledged quality programs in Cybersecurity education ( https://www.uma.edu/academics/programs/cybersecurity/ ).

UMA was also ranked as one of the nation’s 2021 Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs by U.S. News and World Report

 

Schedule of Events:
1:30 – 3 pm
Maine Fulbright Chapter Annual Meeting.
Alumni Center Conference Room
3:00 – 4: 30 pm
Cyber Simulation Presentation.
Farber Forum [Jewett Hall Auditorium].
4:30 – 5:30 pm.
Reception hosted by the University of Maine at Augusta
Danforth Art Gallery.
5:30 – 7:00 pm.
Speaker presentations.
Farber Forum [Jewett Hall Auditorium].

This event was also brought to you in part by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Dept. of State.

Bates Morse Mountain

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Outdoor Day at Morse Mountain

 

Location:

Shortridge Coastal Center
74 Popham Road
Phippsburg, ME 04562

After a light lunch served at the conference center, Dr. Caitlin Cleaver, the Director of the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area and the Shortridge Coastal Center, will provide a brief presentation related to the Bates College student-faculty ecological research underway at Morse Mountain. She then will guide those who are interested on the two-mile walk on the mountain to Seawall Beach (near Popham Beach).  There is no cost associated with this event, though donations are always welcome!

What an exciting opportunity to come together to meet and network with other Fulbrighters and Friends of Fulbright after the isolation we have experienced during the pandemic. Please join us for this interesting and fun indoor/outdoor activity; you may wish to do only one or the other activity, or both—whatever suits you. More information will follow upon your registration.

We look forward to seeing many of you on October 1st.  Registration at this Eventbrite Link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/outdoor-day-at-morse-mountain-registration-409558459377

October 2, 2021

First Annual Maine Chapter Outdoor Day

We hiked, biked, kayaked, ran, played tennis, strolled through parks, climbed mountains, walked dogs, raced with kids, gardened and lots more activities in this statewide outdoor challenge.

Our goal was to have fun in the great Maine outdoors while raising money and awareness for the Maine Fulbright Chapter. Funds raised will be used to support our mission to promote continued opportunities for life-long learning, collaborative networking, service, and programming that celebrate international educational and cultural exchanges. Your support is vital to our mission!

biker on Maine coast

March 18, 2021

International Migration During Uncertain Times: What Triggers the Flow

Virtual Event | In partnership with Colby College

This virtual event was a collaboration between the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs at Colby College and the Maine Chapter of the Fulbright Association. The event focused on the very topical subject of international migration and the global circumstances (such as the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and food insecurity) that drive its flow. Additionally, the topic was very global in scope, targeting mutual understanding between peoples of the world—perfect for the 75th Anniversary celebration of the Fulbright Program.

We were very excited about partnering with the Goldfarb Center again, particularly as their mission, “connect[ing] Colby to the world of public affairs and inspir[ing] active citizenship to explore creative, interdisciplinary approaches to complex challenges” is so complementary to the legacy of J. William Fulbright. The Maine Fulbright Chapter has a rich history of collaboration with this institution. In fact, our first reception celebrating the inauguration of our Chapter took place at Colby, back in 2007.

The panel discussion was moderated by Professor Christel Kesler, Associate Director of the Goldfarb Center at Colby, and featured:

  • Erol Yayboke, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
  • Dr. Susan Rottman, anthropologist and faculty member in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Southern Maine
  • Kathleen Newland, Senior Fellow and co-founder of The Migration Policy Institute.

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Celebrating Global Education: Focus on K-12 Teachers, Higher Education, and Teacher Exchanges

October 24, 2020 was the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and 2021 is the 75th anniversary of the Fulbright Program! What a perfect opportunity to focus on a segment of our alumni and friends who have been recipients of awards that target support of global education, distinguished achievement in the realm of teaching, and international teacher exchange, such as Distinguished Awards in Teaching (DAT)Teachers for Global Classrooms, and English Teaching Assistant (ETA).

The Oct. 24 virtual event featured an informational session and overview provided by Outreach & Recruitment of the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), Washington, DC, of the types of Fulbright awards that are available to U.S. teachers of early, secondary, and higher education. A panel of recently returned alumni addressed the value and impact of their awards. Additionally, a panel of representatives from area colleges discussed global teacher exchange programs at their respective institutions.

Our Speakers:
Emily Dudley, Deputy Project Director for Fulbright Teacher Exchange Programs at IREX
Lee RiversOutreach and Recruitment Specialist at the Institute of International Education

Our Panelists:
Lillian Eckstein, English Teaching Assistant, Spain 2018-19
Guy Hamlin, Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms, Indonesia 2018
Miranda Richman, English Teaching Assistant, South Korea 2019-20
Erin Towns, Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms, Kazakhstan 2012-13 
Dr. Linda Beck, Fulbright Hays Scholar, Senegal 1992
Dr. William Lindblad, Husson University
Dr. Joanne Williams, University of Southern Maine

The Maine Chapter of the Fulbright Association gratefully acknowledges the support of Bangor Savings Bank in sponsoring this event.

June 18, 2020

Celebration of the Legacy of Cultural Exchanges: A Story Telling Event

This community event was a collaboration between the Maine Chapter of the Fulbright Association and the World Affairs Council of Maine (WACM).

The program and stories demonstrated the impact and value of international education programs, people to people diplomacy, and global outreach in Maine and internationally. WACM and the Maine Chapter of the Fulbright Association represent the two flagship programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department, which made this get-together particularly special.

Storytellers included Shaz Akram, Deputy Director, Fulbright Association, Washington, DC; Susan Crystal, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, DC; Karen Massey, exemplary host to over 40 international visitors from around the globe and retired social studies teacher, Freeport High School, Freeport, ME; Rick Peterson, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Environmental Studies, University of New England; Dean Shankle, PhD, Town Manager, Amherst, NH; Nancy Smith, Executive Director, Grow Smart, Maine; and Michael Socolow, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine, Orono.