A tribute to Harriet Mayor Fulbright
By Sherry MuellerIt was my privilege to know Harriet as a colleague and friend since 1987. I first met her when she was head of the Fulbright Association and I was working at the Institute of international Education.
When many think of Harriet, they initially think of her as the second wife, and later the widow, of Senator J. William Fulbright. She certainly played that role with aplomb and grace, and greatly enriched the last years of Senator Fulbright’s distinguished life. She accompanied him around the world as he received many awards and honors.
I vividly remember being in the audience on May 5, 1993 when President Clinton presented the Senator with the Medal of Freedom. I also recall the pride in Harriet’s eyes to be at his side for this ceremony and many other special occasions. Perhaps one can best appreciate their relationship when viewing the documentary film she helped orchestrate entitled Fulbright: The Man, the Mission, and the Message (2011).
However, Harriet was certainly a personage in her own right. An accomplished teacher, administrator, NGO leader, and public servant, her own contributions were significant. They reflected the same values of promoting international understanding and cooperation that the Senator embraced. She served in various capacities, including as the first Executive Director of the Fulbright Association and as the Executive Director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in the Clinton administration. We established an Advisory Council when I served as President of Global Ties U.S. Harriet was a charter member.
Along with her three daughters, I was cheering her on when she received an honorary degree from George Washington University May 19, 2013. It was a rainy day, but Harriet’s bright spirit and well-crafted words were inspiring. It was just one of many well-received presentations she delivered over the course of decades.
In various ways, large and small, she worked to promote international education. The last public event we shared was an event my students and I organized at the AU School of International Service. It was entitled: Making the Hard Case for Soft Power. (That event was cosponsored by PDC and PDAA, the predecessor organizations that merged to form PDCA in 2022). I remember introducing Harriet as a special guest, and the burst of applause for her that followed that announcement. Like the Senator, she was as kind to students as she was to university presidents. For some years Harriet was my neighbor. Whether I asked her to provide a homestay for a visiting Dutch scholar, or to loan a large cooking pot for a buffet dinner she would be attending, the answer was always an enthusiastic yes. Her generosity, her vivaciousness, and her encouraging ways are remembered with gratitude. She was a remarkable ambassador for the Fulbright Program and a force for good in our turbulent world.