Fulbright University Vietnam Board Member Shows His True Colors

It may seem, at first blush, an unlikely connection: Leon Botstein, the president of Bard, one of the country’s most progressive colleges, and Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced billionaire accused of sexually abusing teenage girls. Leon Botstein has led Bard College for nearly five decades. Credit: Richard Beaven for The New York Times Leon Botstein (LB), … Continue reading Fulbright University Vietnam Board Member Shows His True Colors

A Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) Student Speaks Out

I recently received an intriguing message via LinkedIn from a Vietnamese undergraduate enrolled at FUV (Tagline: Creating the next generation of change-makers in Vietnam for a rapidly evolving world) in HCMC. Here's the unedited back-and-forth between the student and me, which he gave me permission to share on an unattributed basis. I appreciated his candor … Continue reading A Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) Student Speaks Out

Business as Usual at Fulbright University Vietnam

Do As We Say, Not As We Do I was checking my LinkedIn feed and noticed a Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) post about its new partnership with Columbia University. The phrase that jumped off the screen was Understand the Past, which I happen to take seriously. Thinking about the ill-fated appointment of self-confessed war criminal … Continue reading Business as Usual at Fulbright University Vietnam

“Nothing is Impossible” Finds It Impossible to Tell the Truth About Vietnam

Here's my latest for CounterPunch. Thanks to Rutgers University Press for the review copy. Better late than never. Here are some excerpts, including the two paragraphs followed by a section entitled The Measure of the Man. Enjoy (or not)! Just before the Lunar New Year, I finally received my review copy of Nothing is Impossible: America’s … Continue reading “Nothing is Impossible” Finds It Impossible to Tell the Truth About Vietnam

Fulbright University Vietnam Professor Gets the Ax

This post definitely falls into the intrigue category. Buckle your seat belt, dear reader. It's one hell of a story. Christopher Balding (CB), a one-time Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) professor recently went down in professional flames because of a red line he chose to cross for 15 minutes of infamy while indulging his hatred of … Continue reading Fulbright University Vietnam Professor Gets the Ax

“Beijing’s Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam”

Screenshot of the webinar On Saturday, 10 October, Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) organized a webinar entitled Beijing's Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam in which Murray Hiebert, one of whose titles is Senior Associate (Non-resident), Southeast Asia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), spouted the prevailing anti-China party line and hawked his new book … Continue reading “Beijing’s Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam”

Coming to Terms with the Past by Honoring Historical Truth: The Case of Fulbright University Vietnam

Here's my latest essay about Fulbright University Vietnam.  Below is an excerpt from the conclusion to whet your appetite (or not). Education is one way to heal the past, assuming it is objective, comprehensive, and truthful. FUV has yet to live up to its billing as a university with a mission grounded in the liberal … Continue reading Coming to Terms with the Past by Honoring Historical Truth: The Case of Fulbright University Vietnam

Expanding the Fulbright Legacy in Vietnam (?)

It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.  -Mark Twain (1835-1910)   This was the title of a 2018 article written by Mary Beth Marklein (MBM) for Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning (Volume 50, 2018 - Issue 1, pp. 63-70).  The online … Continue reading Expanding the Fulbright Legacy in Vietnam (?)

New Approaches to University Education in Asia

While I will reserve judgement, the theme of this Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) conference sounds like yet another example of US Americans telling others, in the case, Asian universities, how it should really be done a la Daddy knows best.  Why not just New Approaches to University Education?   Or, as one colleague put it, "It's … Continue reading New Approaches to University Education in Asia