02 May 2013, Calgary, AB – His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, was named the inaugural winner of the Fulbright Canada Award for Outstanding Public Service at a special celebration in Calgary on May 1, 2013 attended by members of the Calgary business community, the University of Calgary, and the Fulbright Canada Board.
Fulbright Canada chose Governor General Johnston as the first recipient of the award to honour his lifetime of tireless devotion and a commitment to excellence.
“The Governor General has promoted new ideas, encouraged open discussion, supported academic and intercultural exchange, and provided, through his words and deeds, a model for mutual understanding, increased prosperity, and social justice,” said Michael Hawes, CEO of Fulbright Canada.
In honour of the recipient, Fulbright Canada also gave a special Fulbright Scholarship to John Devlin, an Alberta graduate student whose aspirations reflect the deeds of the award winner. Devlin, a graduate of the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, will use the scholarship to pursue a LLM in Constitutional Law at Harvard University.
The Fulbright Canada Award for Outstanding Public Service, established in the fall of 2012, honors the largest and most significant educational and cultural exchange program in history, as well as the career and spirit of its creator, the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The award reflects the values of the Fulbright Program and represents a clear statement with respect to its enduring commitment to social responsibility and its firm belief that vibrant public sector – private sector partnerships are critical to our collective future.
On August 1, 1946, President Harry Truman enacted legislation authorizing the international scholarship program bearing the name of Senator J. William Fulbright. Now, some sixty-five years later, Senator Fulbright's dream is a powerful reality. With more than 300,000 Fulbright alumni in some 155 countries, the Fulbright program is the gold standard in academic exchange, a serious arbiter of intellectual capabilities, the world leader in public diplomacy, and a champion of diversity and social justice.
The Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States of America (Fulbright Canada) is a bi-national, treaty-based, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization with a mandate to identify the best and brightest minds in both countries and engage them in residential academic exchange. These individuals conduct research, lecture, or enroll in formal academic programs in the other country. By providing support to students, scholars, teachers, and independent researchers through a variety of programs that are open to individuals in all academic fields, Fulbright Canada aims to grow intellectual capacity, increase productivity, support community development, and assist in the shaping of future leaders.
The Right Honourable David Johnston, the Governor General of Canada, provided an acceptance speech as the inaugural winner of the Fulbright Canada Award for Outstanding Public Service.