2016 IIE Scholar Rescue Fund Forum:
Scholar Voices and University Action
Location: 809 United Nations Plaza, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10017
April 29, 2016
The 2016 IIE-SRF Forum convened partners from diverse sectors—including higher education, human rights, government, and philanthropy—to address the urgent need to support scholars around the world who have suffered under repression and conflict. The Forum included panels on which IIE-SRF fellows reflected on their experiences in 2015, partnering universities explored effective responses to the causes and consequences of scholar persecution, and regional experts examined the impact of the Islamic State (ISIL) on academics.
Speaker Bios
Agenda
8:30AM Coffee and registration
9:05AM Welcome
Sarah Willcox, Director, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund
9:15AM Opening Remarks
Mark A. Angelson, Vice Chairman, IIE and Chairman, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund
9:30AM Panel I: “2015 in Review: Scholar Voices”
IIE-SRF scholar from Azerbaijan, University of Oxford
IIE-SRF scholar from Russia, Columbia University
IIE-SRF scholar from Syria, Rutgers University
IIE-SRF scholar from Venezuela, Harvard University
Moderated by Emily Borzcik, Senior Program Officer, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund
11:15AM Coffee break
11:45AM Presentation of the Outstanding Scholar Award
Amal Alachkar, IIE-SRF Alumna from Syria, University of California, Irvine
12:00PM Presentation of the Henry G. Jarecki Award
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, accepted by H.E. Dina Kawar, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations
12:15PM Presentation of the Beacon Award
Xiangming Chen, Dean and Director, Center for Urban and Global Studies, Trinity College
Presented by Thomas S. Johnson, Chairman, IIE Board of Trustees
12:30PM Lunch
2:15PM Panel II: “The Impact of ISIL on Academics”
Rob Blecher, Deputy Program Director, International Crisis Group
IIE-SRF scholar from Syria, Ohio State University
IIE-SRF scholar from Iraq, Ball State University
Moderated by James R. King, Assistant Director, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund
3:30PM Coffee break
4:00PM Panel III: “The Role of the University in Supporting Persecuted Scholars and Responding to National Academies in Crisis”
Keith Watenpaugh, Professor and Director, Human Rights Studies, University of California, Davis
Gerald Doyle, Vice Provost for Student Access, Success, and Diversity Initiatives, Illinois Institute of Technology
Barbara Sheldon, Director of Strategic Planning, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Moderated by Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO, IIE
5:15PM Closing remarks
Sarah Willcox, Director, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund
5:30PM Reception