Image: Kansas State University Photo Services
Fulbright and Kansas State University From one Oz to another In 2013, Kansas State University became the first U.S. university to partner with the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, beginning a series of ongoing collaborative programs that have had significant and wide-ranging impacts in various disciplines. The Fulbright/Kansas State partnership consists of three primary programs for Australian candidates, including a Distinguished Chair in Agriculture and Life Sciences; a Senior Scholarship in any academic discipline; and a program of engagement known as Oz to Oz, enabling Australian Fulbright scholars already in the U.S. to travel to Kansas State.
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Through this partnership, the visibility of Kansas State in the Australian academic and business landscape has been greatly enhanced. More Australian Fulbrighters now pass through Kansas State annually than through any other U.S. university, shining a spotlight on the excellent research culture the university offers and clearly demonstrating a mutual commitment to international outreach. The programs also demonstrate significant potential for future commercial and academic collaborations offering mutually beneficial research outcomes. Incoming Kansas State President Richard Myers is looking forward to continuing and broadening the university's Australian activities, which were initiated by his predecessor, Kirk Schulz. To find out more about this symbiotic relationship, we spoke with Professor John Leslie, university distinguished professor, Fulbright alum, and one of the key driving forces behind the Fulbright/Kansas State initiative.
Kansas State was the first U.S. university to partner with the Australian-American Fulbright Commission. What motivated your decision to establish this connection back in 2013? "An important goal of K-State's 2025 strategic plan was to strengthen our institutional level international activities, and to do so in a novel manner. Australia was selected as a target country for interaction because of many similarities in climate and economic interests, and the large number of diverse, high quality academic and research institutions with whom we could potentially interact. "We wanted a way to get Australian scholars to Kansas that could stimulate and broaden our endeavours and to both broaden and strengthen our collaborative networks. "The Fulbright Distinguished Chair at K-State is in an area of the university's strength — Agriculture and Life Sciences — where we are highly ranked both in the U.S. and internationally. We need to feed 9 billion people globally by 2050. If that is going to happen, then Australia and the United States will be providing much of the food and the technology required to do so.
