Fulbright Guest Lecture Program

Brief Introduction

(Current as of August 16, 2004)

The Fulbright Guest Lecture Program seeks to share the knowledge and experience of U.S. Fulbright Lecturers with institutions and scholars throughout China beyond their semester- or year-long Chinese host insitution. To encourage Fulbright Lecturers to participate in the program, the U.S. Embassy Educational Exchanges Staff provides travel support and a modest per diem associated with Guest Lectures. The Educational Exchanges Staff solicits Guest Lecture topics from Lecturers and distributes them to the universities on the pre-approved Chinese Ministry of Education List.  The U.S. Fulbright Lecturer and the potential short-term host then make arrangements for Lectures and travel, directly.

Rules and Procedures

Letter of Invitation

Fulbright Lecturers should receive a formal, written invitation from a university department chair, foreign affairs office (FAO) director, or professor of the host institution. Faxed and e-mailed letters are acceptable. The formal invitation from a university official signifies that the authorities at that institution have agreed to the visit and are prepared to host the Lecturer.  It also serves as a formal confirmation to the Lecturer's host university.

Letters of invitation from fellow Fulbrighters are not sufficient.  While it is appropriate for the Fulbright Lecturer to initiate inquiries about the possibility of lecturing at a particular institution, it is necessary to obtain a written invitation from the institution. This is true even when one Fulbright Lecturer makes initial overtures on behalf of another, an efficient approach that the Fulbright Program encourages. 

Notification to the Educational Exchanges Staff 

In order to insure that funds are available to cover the reimbursement claim, Fulbright Lecturers should forward invitations to and receive approval from the Educational Exchanges Staff before accepting any invitation. The amount of funding per Lecturer for the Guest Lecture program will be specified at the arrival orientation. Lecturers should try to forward invitations for approval to the Exchanges Staff at least two weeks in advance. 

Notification to Host Institution

Lecturers should advise both the department chairperson and the foreign affairs office at their university and share with them proposed Guest Lecture dates and topics. Some negotiation may occasionally be required. It is important that departmental and foreign affairs office colleagues have confidence in the Fulbright Program's and the Lecturers' commitment to teaching assignments at their host institutions, and that the Guest Lecture opportunity will not interfere with regular teaching duties. Rescheduling classes is not an uncommon practice in Chinese universities, but Lecturers should limit their absence from regularly scheduled classes to a minimum.

Two Lecture Minimum and Short-Term Duration of Travel

Fulbright Lecturers must present at least two Guest Lectures in order to claim reimbursement for travel and per diem.  The two lectures may both be given at a single institution or one each at two institutions in the same city. The program is intended only for short-term visits. Any trip in excess of 5 days must be approved in advance by the Educational Exchanges Staff. 

Travel Arrangements 

Lecturers should check first with their foreign affairs office to see if they can assist in making the arrangements. Some FAOs have adequate staff to perform this service; others do not. If the FAO is unable or unwilling to do so, the China International Travel Service (CITS) is available at most major hotels and has English-speaking personnel who can arrange for roundtrip air tickets. There are also a number of private travel agencies that cater to foreigners. Lecturers may be able to arrange their own travel directly with the various regional airline offices and/or the railways if they have the requisite Chinese speaking ability or bring along a university colleague or student to act as an interpreter.  Some online resources are also available (most are in Chinese).
 
Round-trip air tickets are available in China, but only one-way train tickets in most cases.  In the latter case, the FAO of the inviting institution can assist with the return ticket. 

Housing at the Inviting Institution

The Fulbright Guest Lecture Program operates on the same cost-sharing principle that underlies the whole Fulbright Program. For its part, the inviting institution should provide housing, usually in on-campus facilities. The institution's willingness to provide housing is considered to be an indication of their support of the lecture opportunity. However, no housing need be provided if the Lecturer is resident in the same city as the inviting institution. 

Lecturers should ask the inviting institution to meet them at the airport or train station and escort them to the housing provided. If the inviting institution does not offer to provide housing, Lecturers are advised to decline the invitation. If they decide to accept an invitation that does not include housing, those costs will be borne by themselves.

Payment of Travel and Per Diem

The Embassy Educational Exchanges Staff provides reimbursement for inter-city travel within China plus airport fees and taxis to and from the airport/train station. In addition, it provides a modest, US$10 per day for lecture and travel days. In the case of Guest Lectures taking place in the Lecturer's city of residence, taxi fees are covered but no per diem is offered. 

Requests for reimbursements should be submitted no later than 10 days after the lecture travel. Lecturers should submit the originals of the following to the Educational Exchanges Staff by mail: the invitation; receipts for inter-city travel, (including air ticket stubs or train ticket receipts showing cost, airport fees and taxes, taxi receipts, etc.); the standard reimbursement form including requested information on date(s), subject(s) of the lecture(s) and the audience, as well as candid comments on the university, audience response, etc.
 
Processing time averages four to six weeks from the receipt of the reimbursement claim.  

Reimbursements will not include the following:
1.      housing & hotels,
2.      travel/per diem for accompanying spouses, children or others,
3.      travel insurance,
4.      expenses other than inter-city travel, taxis to/from the airport,
5.      phone calls, faxes, e-mail access and photocopying,
6.      meals, or
7.      sightseeing tours.
 
The Educational Exchanges Staff reserves the right to waive the above rules in exceptional cases. The Staff also reserves the right to terminate the Guest Lecture Program at any time in a given academic year, in the event that allocated funds are exhausted before the end of that year.
 
Any questions about these rules should be directed to the Educational Exchanges Staff.

Inviting Institutions

The attached list of pre-approved institutions includes 56 Chinese institutions that have been determined eligible to receive Fulbright guest lectures. This also means that they are familiar with the Guest Lecture Program rules and procedures. If you wish to visit an institution not included on this list, please notify the Educational Exchanges staff, keeping in mind that the Educational Exchanges staff cannot guarantee that the university will provide accommodations, etc., nor provide students with adequate language skills. That said, often these visits to universities not on the pre-approved list have proven very exciting and the audiences very appreciative.

Combining Fulbright Guest Lecture with Embassy Speaker Program 

The U.S. Embassy in conjunction with its Consulate Public Affairs Sections in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang manages a Voluntary Speaker Program of American speakers visiting the area. 
Often the Embassy or the Consulates will take advantage of a Fulbright Lecturer traveling in their Consular District to reach out to other universities, research institutions, think tanks, government agencies, news agencies, NGO’s with whom they might be developing relations.  

The main topics on the Voluntary Speaker Program agenda are those related to U.S.-China relations, Rule of Law, Political and Economic Security, Environment, Economic Liberalization, and Trade, and U.S. Society and Culture.

Because Fulbright Lecturers are U.S. government grantees, they are NOT eligible to receive honaria.  The Voluntary Speaker Program, however, will provide for any additional in-country travel and/or accommodations as well as a modest per diem to cover any additional expenses.

In order to make timely speaking arrangements in other consular districts, Lecturers should notify the Educational Exchanges Offices well advance of their intended travel.  This way, they might coordinate Fulbright Guest Lecturing with Embassy Speaking Engagements.

Finally, when consulate PAOs would like to have universities in their consular district invite Fulbright Lecturers to speak on their campuses, please discuss the opportunity with the Educational Exchanges staff.  While we hope to support consulate program goals whenever possible, our primary concern will be to ensure that the Guest Lecture program funds are used to support the speaking goals of the Fulbright Lecturers themselves.