Between 1947 and 1959, Fulton was principal of University College, Swansea, serving as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales between 1952 and 1954, and between 1958 and 1959.
He became involved in university policy making overseas, including in Malta, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Hong Kong, and in 1962, Fulton chaired the committee that established the new Chinese University of Hong Kong.