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
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
Fulbright University Vietnam & Moral Leadership?
Given events of the past few years, these are two phrases that mix like oil and water. Think textbook cognitive dissonance. Or a feeble attempt at rehabilitation in the eyes of the public, an audacious means of gaining the moral high ground from the morass of historical tone deafness and gross insensitivity. My first reaction … Continue reading Fulbright University Vietnam & Moral Leadership?
“PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Harvard University’s professor”
When I saw this headline, I was curious to see who the Harvard professor was. It was none other than Thomas Vallely, who is not a professor but an administrator with neither an academic appointment nor a Ph.D. More importantly, this is the same Thomas Vallely (TV) who made a series of cruel and insensitive … Continue reading “PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Harvard University’s professor”
“More Demons Unleashed After Fulbright University Vietnam Official Drops Rhetorical Bombshells”
This 17 August 2018 CounterPunch article is the third in a trilogy. Here are the first and second articles. This should be my last word about this sad story. Pardon the nasty military metaphor but it's not nearly as nasty as some of the quotes from "one of the most influential figures in the US-Viet Nam relationship you’ve never heard … Continue reading “More Demons Unleashed After Fulbright University Vietnam Official Drops Rhetorical Bombshells”
“Air quality: Vietnamese professor calls for power price increase over unsustainable GDP growth”
The United States, with its love of big cars, big houses and blasting air-conditioners, has contributed more than any other country to the atmospheric carbon dioxide that is scorching the planet. Source: The U.S. Is the Biggest Carbon Polluter in History. It Just Walked Away From the Paris Climate Deal, 1 June 2017, New York … Continue reading “Air quality: Vietnamese professor calls for power price increase over unsustainable GDP growth”
Fulbright University Vietnam & Free Speech: “Do As We Say, Not As We Do”
hy·poc·ri·sy həˈpäkrəsē/ noun noun: hypocrisy; plural noun: hypocrisies the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense. This is a concept to which US Americans, including and perhaps especially those who represent the US government and affiliated institutions, pay lip service. Presumably, this also … Continue reading Fulbright University Vietnam & Free Speech: “Do As We Say, Not As We Do”
Government to ease rules on foreign investment in HE
This is yet another example of the Vietnamese government's flexibility, as well as its ability to make mid-course corrections and learn from past mistakes. A new government decree to ease the way for foreign investment in education in Vietnam, likely to be approved by the country’s leadership as early as June, will streamline procedures and … Continue reading Government to ease rules on foreign investment in HE
The Fat Lady Finally Sings: Bob Kerrey Quietly Resigns from Fulbright University Vietnam Leadership Position
Below is an excerpt from my latest CounterPunch article about Bob Kerrey and Fulbright University Vietnam. Think of it as the 2017 bookend to my 2016 CP article, Bob Kerrey and Fulbright University – What were they thinking?, published a month after the controversy erupted. Follow this link to read it in its entirety. MAA … Continue reading The Fat Lady Finally Sings: Bob Kerrey Quietly Resigns from Fulbright University Vietnam Leadership Position
