Friday, December 23, 2011

The Fulbright Program

Origins of the Fulbright Program

Named for former Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, the Fulbright Program was created by the U.S. Congress in 1946 and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.  The program's aim has been and remains "to enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries."  Further, the program is designed to "assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations between the United States and other countries of the world."  That's a humbling charge for someone launched from modest means!  Even as a professor with a major research university now, I'm taken aback at both the honor and the responsibility that accompanies this appointment.  Even so, my field of public relations encompasses the increasingly important arena of public diplomacy, an arena well suited to Fulbright program goals.  PR scholars should, therefore, serve the program well.  The 2007 Private Sector Summit on Public Diplomacy, sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the PR Coalition, in fact identified three areas of activity that circumscribe public diplomacy:
  • Develop business practices that make public diplomacy a core element of international corporate public action.
  • Promote understanding of U.S. American society, culture and values in other countries.
  • Build relationships of trust and respect across cultures.
You can review a summary of that important summit here: http://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/PrivSectorSummitPaper.pdf.  To be fair and balanced, the concept put forward by the Summit has its detractors; here's an example: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5967.  Nevertheless, the point is that a Fulbright Fellowship embodies a role beyond the teaching and/or research purposes for which it was awarded.

Fulbrighters have been participating in exchanges between the U.S. and Poland since 1959.  In 1990, a permanent Office of Polish-U.S. Educational Exchanges was established by the two governments, with the Fulbright Accord signed in 1995 changing the office's name to the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission.  In 2008, Poland committed to significantly increasing its level of contribution to the exchange program.  In 2009, with the marking of the 50th anniversary of the Fulbright program in Poland, a ceremony was held and a permanent plaque commemorating Sen. Fulbright installed in the Warsaw University Library.

Scope of the Fulbright Program

About 800 U.S. scholars and professionals are selected each year to serve in more than 150 countries through the core Fulbright program.  An equal number of scholars from other countries are brought to the U.S., and another 400 U.S. scholars and professionals participate in short-term, sponsored programs.  Grants range in length from a few weeks to a full year.  In its 60+ years, more than 50,000 U.S. scholars and 45,000 scholars from other countries have benefited from the Fulbright experience; it truly represents a massive global exchange of scholars.  Add teachers and students who have participated in Fulbright exchanges, and more than 300,000 people can be listed as part of the program's ongoing legacy. Fulbrighters come from all academic and professional disciplines.  They engage in teaching, research, project work and knowledge exchange.  To date, more than 1,800 Poles have enjoyed Fulbright appointments to the U.S.  This year alone, about 40 U.S. scholars will benefit from Fulbright appointments in Poland.

Administration of the Fulbright Program

The highest oversight body is the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, which establishes polices and procedures and supervises the worldwide program.  Twelve educational and public leaders, appointed by the U.S. President, comprise the board.  The Council for International Exchange of Scholars administers the Fulbright program on a day-to-day, operational basis on behalf of the U.S. State Department.  I had the pleasure of visiting the CIES offices on K Street in Washington, D.C., last November, and I can tell you it is a beehive of activity!  In most countries, the Fulbright program is administered locally through the U.S. Embassy, but 50 countries have established dedicated Fulbright Commissions; Poland is one such country.

Another useful website: The State Department's Official Fulbright Site

Next time, I'll talk about the process of applying for a Fulbright appointment -- a process that requires patience and persistence, but which potentially provides a life-changing opportunity.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Why Choose Poland?

Why Poland?
Poland holds tremendous fascination for me, and I can identify three phases in that attraction:
First Impressions
Growing up on Milwaukee’s south side in the 1950s and ‘60s, our neighborhood was almost exclusively German and Polish in terms of family names and cultural influence, with Polish the dominant presence.  My friends and classmates had names such as Wisniewski, Roszak, Michalski, Cerwinski, Braniak, Pacholczyk, Zawicki, Karshna, Wroblewski and so forth.  Their grandparents often spoke only Polish, and their parents could function in Polish and English.  Signs in stores were sometimes written in Polish.  The neighborhood Catholic churches held festivals that featured Polish foods such as kielbasa and pierogies.  It seemed very exotic and alluring.  Of course, even as a youth, I had a vague notion of the Cold War and the isolation that lay beyond the Iron Curtain.  The idea of visiting this exotic and impenetrable country was preposterous.
Incidentally, the Polish presence and influence in Milwaukee are still strong.  A couple weeks ago, I enjoyed a meal at the Polish-American Center there.  And there is an effort to restore the monument in Milwaukee to one of Poland’s favorite sons and American Revolution hero, General Tadeusz Kościuszko.  Additionally, Milwaukee boasts what is billed as the largest annual Polish Festival in the U.S.
Cold Warrior
Entering the U.S. Air Force in 1973, I first served as a navigator on C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft, then transitioned into public affairs.  From 1980-84, I was stationed in Frankfurt, just 50 miles from the Fulda Gap and the Iron Curtain that split the two Germanys.  Standing at the Wall, staring at the East German guard towers, I had the strong feeling of frustration as well as hopelessness at the apparent permanence of the dividing line separating Western from Central and Eastern Europe.  Subsequent assignments to England and the Pentagon did little to assuage that frustration, though the Solidarity movement in Poland seemed to be establishing a foothold through the mid-1980s.  Then in 1990, I was assigned to NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium to serve as head of media relations and traveling press aide to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (General John Galvin for the first two years, then General John Shalikashvili for my final year).  The velocity of change during those three years was breathtaking: the collapse of the Soviet Union, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the reunification of Germany, etc.  The most tangible manifestation of those changes for me involved the rapid development of exchanges and relationship building with counterparts in Central and Eastern Europe.  Journalists and public relations practitioners started visiting our headquarters for briefings and discussions.   I found myself traveling with the SACEUR and other top officials to Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Zagreb and other places I could not have conceived of visiting.  In future blogs I will plan to describe some of those extraordinary experiences.
Regrettably, I was not able to travel to Poland during my assignment with NATO.   Nevertheless, the opportunities that were emerging during that remarkable period rekindled my nascent fascination with Poland, and my travels to other parts of Central and Eastern Europe only intensified the appeal the region held for me.  How amazing it would have been to have traveled to Warsaw with General Shalikashvili, who had been born in Warsaw shortly before World War II.
Invited Scholar
Following my Air Force career in 1995, I entered Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, earning a doctorate and launching my academic career with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1998.  Here, we have built a strong program focus on global public relations.  Based on that reputation, I received an invitation in 2005 to speak at an International Public Relations conference in Poznan, Poland.  I confess I had to look it up on the map.  The timing was perfect; I would just be finishing the 4-week course on international public relations I was teaching in London.  My wife joined me at the end of the course in London, and we made the simple flight to Poland – a simple flight I could not have imagined making during those early years in Milwaukee or as a "Cold Warrior" in Europe during the 1980s.  Robin and I were instantly smitten with Poland.  We loved the architecture, the countryside, the sights, the people, and we especially loved the spirit.  My host for the conference, Dr. Ryszard Ławniczak with the Poznan University of Economics, was supremely gracious.  The graduate students, faculty and public relations practitioners I was privileged to meet were consummate professionals.  I was bowled over by the quality of the program and of the conference.
At the end of our visit, Robin and I resolved to cultivate the new relationships we had made and to find an appropriate way to return to Poland to continue and build upon those relationships.  The Fulbright program now opens that door.
Some of the scholars and practitioners attending the International PR conference in Poznan, Poland, in 2005.  Freitag is front row, far right.  Front row, 3rd from left, is Dr. Ryszard Ławniczak, then Dr. Larissa Grunig and Dr. James Grunig.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Welcome and Introduction

Introduction
Welcome to the inaugural post of my blog reporting on my Fulbright research fellowship to Poznan, Poland!  This blog’s intended audiences include the following:
·         Scholars in public relations and related disciplines
·         Public relations practitioners
·         Students of public relations
·         Fulbrighters and potential Fulbrighters
·         People with an interest in Polish culture, business and higher education
·         Friends and family curious about this latest adventure my wife, Robin, and I are embarking on
The blog’s aims are:
·         Discuss the nature, status and apparent trajectory of public relations practice in Poland and, by extension, Central and Eastern Europe
·         Similarly, explore public relations higher education in Poland
·         Provide status updates on the progress of my research project (see below)
·         Share impressions of the vitality of the Polish economy and its role in Europe and the world
·         Describe the cultural experience of living in Poland, with the hope of encouraging travel to Poland
·         Encourage public relations scholars and practitioners to consider applying for Fulbright fellowships
Fellowship Basics
It was a lengthy and rigorous process, but my Fulbright application was approved early last spring (2011).  I will be spending six months, February through July 2012, in Poznan, Poland – roughly midway between Warsaw and Berlin.  Mine is a research-only fellowship, so I will not have regularly scheduled teaching obligations with the Economics University of Poznan, my host institution.  However, a Fulbright carries with it an expectation that I will participate in activities that increase understanding between the U.S. and Poland.  I accept that expectation eagerly and seriously.  In that capacity, I anticipate providing guest lectures, participating in discussions with scholars and practitioners, providing reports on my research, attending social and cultural events, and perhaps most importantly – listening and learning.  These activities could be viewed within the context of public diplomacy, and I consider this blog as contributing to that process.
I will publish a more complete description of my research project in a future blog, but basically I will be exploring the nature of employee communication in Polish organizations.  Through focus groups and survey research, I hope to be able to profile employee communication approaches and gauge their effectiveness in recruiting, retaining and motivating the best employees.  We know a great deal about those processes in the U.S. thanks to considerable research (even though “best practices” are not often applied!), but I plan to identify similarities and differences between U.S. and Polish employees.  For example: What channels of communication are being used by management?  Are those the channels employees prefer?  What categories of information do employees seek?  Are those the categories management is using?  How does effective employee communication affect employee trust in organizational leadership, employee loyalty and employee morale? 
My hope is to work with three large organizations in or near Poznan, and I am now in the process of seeking the cooperation of potential organizations.  My plan is to follow an ambitious but achievable timeline:
Month
Agenda
February
Arrive, acclimate, build relationships, confirm agenda
March
Conduct research with first organization
April
Conduct research with second organization
May
Conduct research with third organization
June
Process data and draft reports
July
Complete and present reports

Blog Parameters
Blog entries will generally be 500-750 words in length.  I will aim to generate at least one entry per week from now until the end of my Fellowship, perhaps two or three per week if time permits and follower interest warrants.  Topics I expect to address in upcoming entries will likely include:
·         Details on the research project
·         The Fulbright application process
·         Why my interest in Poland?
·         Preparation progress
I welcome questions and comments to the blog, and those that are of general interest I may incorporate in subsequent postings. 
Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you will choose to become a “follower!”  Talk with you again soon.