Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr. hosted the Fulbright reception honoring the thirty-three (33) 2013-2014 batch of Fulbright, Hubert H. Humphrey, and Global Undergraduate exchange scholars last May 16, 2013 at the US Embassy’s Charles Parsons Ballroom. The 2012-2013 US Fulbrighters who are still in the country completing their research were also recognized. Along with dignitaries from the embassy, Fulbright alumni and guests from the academe, government and business extended their congratulations and best wishes to this batch of scholars heading to the United States.

The Fulbright reception was part of the two-day Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) for the Filipino scholars bound for the US this coming calendar year 2013-2014 that was held at the Philippine-American Educational Foundation office located in Makati City from May 16-17, 2013. The two-day PDO included sessions about adjusting to academic and social life in the US, what to pack and not to pack, final requirements, and a thorough discussion of the benefits, terms and conditions of their awards. Alumni of the various programs that PAEF administered shared their insights about making the most of their US experience as scholars.

The scholars were chosen through an intense screening process under the auspices of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF), also known as the Fulbright Commission in the Philippines. PAEF is the longest continuously operating Fulbright Commission in the world, established in 1948, and has one of the ten largest Fulbright programs in the world. The primary mission is to promote educational exchange through scholarship and research, in order to foster mutual understanding and strengthen the relationship between the peoples of the US and the Philippines.

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March 23, 2013 marks the 65^th anniversary of the Fulbright program in the Philippines. It is the longest continuously operating Fulbright program in the world, and has given close to 2,000 awards to Filipinos and over 800 awards to Americans. The Fulbright program in the Philippines is administered by the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF), a bi-national commission which carries out the cultural and educational exchanges between the Philippines and the United States.

Cameron Siler, a Fulbright student scholar from 2004-2005 and a Fulbright-Hays fellow in 2008, visited the PAEF office to give the certificate of new species named Brachymeles paeforum in honor of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF) for its continued support and contribution to his Philippine biodiversity research program. The species was discovered during Cameron’s Fulbright research in the Philippines. The common name of the species is PAEF Slender Skink. It is a small burrowing lizard with highly reduced limbs that is considered one of only four species in this unique group of Southeast Asian lizards to possess 3 fingers and 3 toes. A scientific paper where the species is described was also published by Dr. Siler and other scientists.