Dr. Virgil Harold Blanco, 1945 - 2024

Dr. Virgil Blanco

1945 – 2024

It is with great sadness, that the New Jersey Chapter of the Fulbright Association must announce the passing of former president Dr. Virgil Harold Blanco.

Dr. Blanco was born in Havana, Cuba. He held degrees in Economics, Linguistics and Education and graduated Magna and Summa Cum Laude. He was a leader of the International Education and Economic Globalization movement and was instrumental in the creation of the National Defense Education Act Title VI award. The NDEA became one of the most successful legislative initiatives in higher education, and Dr. Blanco
received the first award. Among many other honors, Dr. Blanco received Fulbright awards to both Germany and Puerta Rico. He served as President of the NJWorld Trade Association and the World Trade Council, was Director of HR for a European multinational corporation, and provided consulting services to numerous companies on transcultural management and marketing.

As a professor in the Department of Languages and Cultures at Middlesex University, New Jersey, Dr. Blanco dedicated his life to researching, mentoring and teaching, lifting students to optimize their full human potential. He served as Director of International Education at Middlesex, and was particularly interested in the consequences of the Bologna Agreement reforming International Education in the European Union. Dr.
Blanco’s doctoral research focused on human capital as a variable in exports development, namely knowledge of languages and foreign cultures. He published papers on the subject and developed an online AI export consulting system. His paper The Socio-Cultural Model of Consumption became a chapter in an International Economics text book.

Dr. Blanco served as President of the New Jersey Fulbright Alumni Chapter for many years, and was an inspiration to friends and colleagues alike. His thoughtful counsel both informed and inspired those who worked with him. In a late 2022 webinar, Dr. Blanco shared candid memories of his childhood in Cuba during the revolution. He was concerned about bias and distortions in the story of Cuba’s history as told by American
and European chroniclers. You can watch a video of this webinar at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYkayFmiaJk

A scholarship fund at Middlesex College has been established in his name. His family is asking contributions be made to the Dr. Virgil H. Blanco Memorial Fund at Middlesex College.

Gifts can be made online or sent to:
http://tinyurl.com/InMemoryofVirgilBlanco
Middlesex College Foundation
2600 Woodbridge Avenue

Edison, NJ 08818-3050