The New Hampshire Chapter is committed to promoting the mission of the Fulbright Program and engaging the international exchange community across the New Hampshire region through diverse events. This summer, the New Hampshire Chapter did something both exciting and unusual: they paired up with the Maine Chapter to hold a joint chapter event. Together, members of both chapters gathered at the Pease International Tradeport to meet for a personal tour of the port with executive director David Mullen to learn about maritime and international trade. They explored the port’s outreach and commercial exchanges, both in the Portsmouth area and internationally. After the tour and a quick lunch, they boarded a ship for an afternoon trip to the Isle of Shoals.
The trip concluded with a group dinner and informative presentations from two Fulbrighters on issues of economic trade, one representing the New Hampshire Chapter and one representing the Maine Chapter. Dr. Lawrence Reardon, Associate Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of Asia Studies at the University of New Hampshire, presented his topic “China’s Third Way: Opening China’s Coastal Economy in the 1980s”. Dr. Ali Akhtar, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Bates College, presented “The Arts of Diplomacy: Commerce and Material Culture across the Indian Ocean, 1602-1800.”
The event offered the opportunity for Fulbrighters and friends to not only meet local grantees, alumni, and supporters of the Program, but those from the neighboring chapter as well. The variety of events encouraged discussion and education.
That isn’t all the New Hampshire Chapter has been up to. Another recent event was a visit to the Currier Museum, where Chapter member and art historian Kathy Hoffman as well as a museum docent guided the group through a series of exhibits. Fulbrighters had the chance to discuss what they had learned, as well as compare the exhibits to the art and architecture of their Fulbright host countries while they enjoyed one another’s company over lunch.
“The chapter’s strengths are the people and how they have shared their Fulbright experiences,” says Ann Ackerman, President of the New Hampshire Fulbright Association Chapter. “Any time we get together, the discussions are stimulating, and there are so many interesting people from many different professions. We also have several members who are not only Fulbright alumni but so are their spouses or their adult children. Fulbright is a family involvement.”
Ann and the volunteers with the New Hampshire Chapter work to ensure that their events and activities are focused on both promoting international education and providing an opportunity for Fulbright Association members to engage in thoughtful discussions.
The New Hampshire Chapter serves both alumni and prospective Fulbrighters through a variety of partnerships within the broader international exchange community in the New Hampshire region. If you reside in the New Hampshire region and are interested in joining the chapter, please visit fulbright.org/membership.
–Alison Aadland
