Fulbright Foundation’s 60th Anniversary
In the current Odyssey magazine Artemis Zenetou, director of the Fulbright
Foundation in Greece, describes the significant role that the American
School of Classical Studies has played in the life of that institution since
its inception 60 years ago. “Numerous American scholars received Fulbright
grants to study at the American School of Classical Studies, and three
distinguished archaeologists (M. Alison Frantz, cultural attaché at the
U.S. Embassy and the first unofficial director of the Fulbright Foundation
in Greece, Bert Hodge Hill, and Carl W. Blegen) contributed greatly to the
program’s implementation in its early years. All three envisioned the
Program ‘as a means of incalculable value in stimulating classical studies
in the United States’ and, since 1948, more than 300 students and scholars
have received grants for the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
On June 25, the anniversary will be officially commemorated at the Zappeion
in Athens. Edmund (Mike) Keeley, Trustee of the Gennadius Library and one
of the first class of Fulbrighters, will be among the speakers. Archivist
of the School, Natalia Vogeikoff, describes the early days of Fulbright in a
special anniversary booklet that will be distributed at the festivities.