James Coffman, Ph.D.

Executive Director
Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange
 MACEE is a bi-national educational commission established in 1963 by
agreement between the governments of Malaysia and the U.S.A.
 It is one of 49 such commissions around the world.
 MACEE is jointly funded by the two governments.
 In the spirit of collaboration, MACEE is led by a Board of Directors
consisting of 5 Malaysians and 5 Americans.
 The Malaysian board members are appointed by the Minister of Education.
The Americans are appointed by the Ambassador of the United States in
Malaysia.
 The Board of Directors hires an Executive Director to administer the
commission and to carry out the Board’s directives.
 To serve as an official, objective source of
information on higher education in the U.S.
and to advise and assist students seeking to
attend U.S. universities.

 To administer the Fulbright grant programs for

study, research and teaching, which sends
Malaysians to the U.S. and brings Americans to
Malaysia each year.
 Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by Senator J.
William Fulbright.
 U.S. Congress appropriates money each year for the Fulbright
program -- $234.7 million in 2014 (plus about $80 million from
foreign partner governments).
 Goal: To promote international good will and mutual
understanding through the exchange of students and scholars.
 Today, the program is active in 155 countries.
 Since the beginning, about 300,000 “Fulbrighters” have
participated in the program: 114,000 from the U.S. and 186,000
from other countries.
 Since its beginning in Malaysia in 1963, over 1,100 Malaysians
and 1,000 Americans have participated.
 Fulbright Senior Scholar – Scholars come to Malaysia to lecture
and/or conduct research for one or two semesters. (5-6 per
year)
 Fulbright Senior Specialist – A short-term complement to
traditional Fulbright program. U.S. scholars come to serve as
expert consultants for 2 to 6 weeks. (Up to 10 per year)
 Fulbright Student Researcher – Grants to graduating college
seniors, post-graduate students, and artists to conduct research
in Malaysia for 10 months. (5-6 per year)
 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships (ETA) – Places recent
graduates as teaching assistants in public schools in 8 Malaysian
states for one academic year. (100 per year)
1. Fulbright Senior Scholar
2. Fulbright Professional Exchange
3. Fulbright Graduate Study and Research (MA/MS and PhD)
4. Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching (FLTA)
5. Hubert H. Humphrey North-South Fellowship
6. International Leaders in Education (ILEP)
7. Global Undergraduate Exchange (UGRAD)
8. American-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM)
9. East-West Center Scholarships
The late Tan Sri Dato Haji Dr. Ani Bin Arope - 1964
M.S. Agricultural Economics – University of Vermont
Previous: Executive Chairman, Tenaga Nasional Berhad,
Chairman of USM and Chairman of Toprank Corporation Sdn Bhd

Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Elyas Bin Omar – 1964

M.A. Public Administration - University of Pittsburgh
Previous: Mayor of Kuala Lumpur 1981-1992, and Director, Low
Yatt Group of Companies
Current: Director of Malayawata Steel
Dato Dr. Fong Chan Onn – 1979
Industrial Economics, Stanford University
Previous: Human Resource Minister 1999-2008
Deputy Minister of Education, 1990-1999
Current: Member of Parliament for Alor Gajah, Melaka

Senator Tan Sri Dato’ Koh Tsu Koon - 1980

Economics and Sociology of Education, Stanford University
Previous: Chief Minister of Penang State
Current: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department

Tan Sri Emeritus Datuk Dr. Augustine Ong - 1966

Chemistry, Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Previous: Director, Scientific and Technical Services
Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council
Current: President of Malaysian Oil Scientist and Technologies
of Palm Oil
Y.B. Dato’ Mustapa Bin Mohamed - 1980
Hubert Humphrey Program, Boston University
Previous: Parliamentary Secretary
Ministry of Finance Malaysia
Minister of Higher Education
Minister of Agriculture
Current: Minister of International Trade and Industry

Tan Sri Panglima Prof. Dato’ Dr. Abu Hassan Othman

1973 - Fulbright Malaysian Student Program
PhD in Sociology, Michigan State University
1983 – Fulbright Scholar Grant in Sociology, U.C. Berkeley
Previous: Dean of Centre for Graduate Studies, UKM
Vice Chancellor, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Current: Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer
Berjaya University College of Hospitality
Datuk Paduka Marina bte Mahathir - 2002
Professional Exchange Program, University of Southern California
Previous: President, Malaysian Aids Council
Current: Steering Committee of the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum
on HIV; Global Advisory Group of AIDS 2031; Board Member
of Sisters in Islam, newspaper columnist, and TV producer

Mr. Ramli Ibrahim - 1999

Dance, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Currrent: Artistic Director, Sutra Dance Theatre

Dr. Mohammed Ghouse Nasuruddin - 2005

Professional Exchange Program
Current: Emeritus Professor, USM; and Director of ASWARA
Prof. Dato’ Dr. Marimuthu - 1987
Scholar Program, Stanford University
Previous: Member of Paliament – Teluk Kemang
Current: Vice President, Institute of Graduate Studies College

Prof. Dato Osman Bin Bakar - 1992

Scholar Program in History, Harvard University
Previous: Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), University of Malaya
Current: Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Malaya; Deputy
CEO of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies Malaysia;
Senior Fellow at the Prince al-Waleed Center for Muslim-Christian
Understanding at Georgetown University; Senior Research Fellow at the
Center for Civilisational Dialogue in the University of Malaya; and Visiting
Research Fellow at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan

Prof. Dr. Saran Kaur – 2005

Scholar Program in Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania
Previous: Professor, School of Language Studies and Linguistics, UKM
Current: Deputy Vice Chancellor, UKM
• As of 2015, MCMC and MACEE have joined in a
collaborative effort to offer special Fulbright grants!

 These grants will address the needs of the multimedia and

communications field in Malaysia.

 Four types of grants offered in first phase:

1. Malaysian Senior Scholar (academic and professional)
2. Malaysian Graduate Study (MA/MS and PhD)
3. U.S. Senior Researcher
4. U.S. Senior Specialist
Requirements/Eligibility:
1. Applicants for the academic grant must hold a doctoral degree.
2. Applicants for the professional grant must hold a Master’s degree and
have significant experience in the public or private sector.

Duration:
Up to 5 months of research in a U.S. university.

Process:
1. Respond to announcement/advertisement by deadline.
2. Pitching of proposal for shortlisted applicants.
3. Selection by joint MACEE/MCMC selection committee.
Requirements/Eligibility:
Applicants must hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree with honours
and a GPA of 3.0.

Duration:
One or two years for the Master’s and up to five years for the PhD.

Process:
1. Respond to announcement/advertisement by deadline.
2. Evaluation and interview by a panel.
3. Selection and placement in a university in the U.S.
Requirements/Eligibility:
Applicants must hold a doctoral degree.

Duration:
Up to 5 months of research in a Malaysian university.

Process:
1. Respond to announcement/advertisement in U.S. by deadline.
2. Evaluation of project proposal by joint MACEE-MCMC selection
committee.
3. Selection by committee and attachment to Malaysian host institution.
For Malaysian Organizations/Universities
Purpose: To bring renowned U.S. experts to Malaysian for periods of 2 to
6 weeks for consulting, training, technical assistance, etc.

Process:
1. Malaysian institution submits a project proposal by deadline.
2. Pitching of proposal for shortlisted applicants.
3. Selection by joint MACEE/MCMC selection committee.
4. MACEE secures a U.S. expert in required field and sets up match.
5. U.S. Senior Specialist comes to Malaysia at an agreed upon period.