FOR PRESS P. M. No. 61/ 1964
ESTABLISHMENT OF A JOINT AUSTRALIAN-AMERICAN
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
Statement by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Menzies
The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, announced today
that the Governments of the United States and Australia have
agreed to establish a joint Australian-American Eduational
Foundation. It will succeed and be modelled upon the Fulbright
Scheme. Beginning with the present financial year, the two
countries will contribute equally to provide an aniual budget not
exceeding œ 180,000 to finance the exchanges between the United
V States and Australia. The Prime Minister recalled that the Fulbright
Programme came into being in 1949 as one of the elements in the
settlement of Australia's debt to the United States under the
final accounting of the var time lend-lease and reciprocal lendlease
arrangements. At that time, the United States generously
agreed to apply part of the money it received in settlement of
these debts to financing the United States Educational Foundation
in Australia. As a result, a Trust Fund equivalent in Australian
pounds to five million dollars was set up. This Fund together
with interest has since been used by the Foundation to fin, 3nce the
Fulbright Programme of educational exchanges between the United
States and Australia. It is now nearly exhausted and the two
Governments, conscious of the great value that has been derived
from the Fulbright Programme, and of the desirability of continuing
with something similar, readily agreed to establish as equal
partners a scheme to succeed it.
Under the Fulbright Programme, Australians have
received travel grants to enable them to visit the United States
where they have taken up awards and posts made available by
American institutions. Some of them have been lecturers and
research scholers and others have been post-graduate students.
The scheme has also provided travel grants to enable Australian
teachers to exchange with American teaohers. Under the Fulbright
Programme also, United States citizens in similar categories have
been assisted to visit Australia by the provision of travel grants
and allowances. The new Foundation will be controlled by a joint
Australian-American Board of Directors, which will be established
in Australia. The Prime Minister said that he had every confidence
that under the new arrangements the educational exchange programme
would at least match the great success of the present programme.
The money available annually to the new Foundation will be above the
annual expenditure in any year by the United States Educational
Foundation in Australia. The Prime Minister added that this was only a
preliminary announcement corresponding with one being made in
Washington at this time by the United States Government. In due
course there would be more detailed announcements of the terms of
the agreement, and of the membership of the Board of Directors of
the Australian-American Educational Foundation.
CANBERRA, August, 1964.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Since 1949, when the Fulbright Programme was established,
1396 academic grantees have been exchanged between the two
countries: 801 Australians and 595 Americans.
Categories of grants made to Australians were
University study 373
Teachers 132
Professors and
Research scholars 296
Corresponding figures for Americans were
University study 243
Teachers 88
Professors and
Res3arch schol. ar,-264