News and Events

Former IIE-SRF Chair Mark A. Angelson Elected New Chair of the IIE Board of Trustees

 

Dr. Mariët Westermann                                             Dr. George Rupp

IIE is delighted to announce that Dr. Mariët Westermann and Dr. George Rupp have assumed new leadership roles within the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund program. Dr. Westermann is now Chair of the IIE-SRF Selection Committee, while Dr. Rupp is Chair of the Scholar Rescue Fund Committee of the IIE Board of Trustees. They succeed Mark A. Angelson, who served in both roles from 2012 until his January 2021 election as Chair of the IIE Board of Trustees.

The need for scholar rescue is greater today than ever before. Thousands of academics each year experience the impacts of conflict and war on their lives and scholarly work. Others face targeted threats and repression due to their research or identities. These realities are reflected in IIE-SRF’s daily work: In every year since 2017, we have received a record number of requests for support from threatened and displaced scholars across the globe.

IIE-SRF is pleased to announce the launch of IIE-SRF Dialogues, a new webinar series that will explore the threats facing academics globally as well as the ongoing efforts to help these scholars resume their work and rebuild their lives and careers. These hour-long discussions, which will be held monthly via Zoom, will feature IIE-SRF fellows and alumni, IIE-SRF partners, and other experts discussing the world’s most urgent higher education emergencies, key topics related to academic freedom, and best practices in assisting threatened and displaced scholars as identified by IIE-SRF and our Alliance partners. Participants attending each webinar will have the opportunity to ask questions of panelists during a Q&A session.

IIE and GCPEA to host Attacks on Higher Education webinar on January 27

Between 2015 and 2019, more than 9,100 university students and personnel were injured, killed, abducted, arrested, or otherwise harmed, according to Education Under Attack 2020, a global study authored by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA).

The first webinar in the IIE-SRF Dialogues series will focus on this topic: “Attacks on Higher Education: A Discussion Hosted by IIE and GCPEA.” The discussion, which will take place on Wednesday, January 27th from 10-11 am Eastern Standard Time, will feature:

• Dr. Allan E. Goodman, IIE’s President & CEO
• A representative from UNESCO
• Dr. Marika Tsolakis, GCPEA Lead Researcher for Education Under Attack 2020, and Dr. Jerome Marston, GCPEA Researcher
• James Robin King, IIE-SRF’s Director
• Dr. Hasan Maridi, IIE-SRF scholar from Yemen
• A Q&A session for participants

Register here: https://iie-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oHIzA4yQQdOYdglWgQBA3Q

We hope to see you there!

Medical parasitologist Dr. Irene Sumbele of Cameroon has been named the 2020 IIE-SRF Beau Biden Scholar. This distinction is awarded annually to an IIE-SRF fellow who embodies the legacy of Beau Biden, the former Attorney General of Delaware, in pursuing justice and safeguarding vulnerable populations. Dr. Sumbele, who is undertaking a second-year IIE-SRF fellowship at Cornell University, conducts research that has contributed to the prevention and management of infectious diseases prevalent in Cameroon, such as malaria and parasitic worm infections. She has also led public health initiatives to reach local communities in her home region.

The COVID-19 pandemic and entrenched crises like climate change, poverty, and systemic racism have reinforced the essential role that scholars play in addressing our world’s most urgent problems. Yet the threats facing academics today are unprecedented in both scale and complexity. Now more than ever, IIE is committed to saving the lives and careers of scholars across the globe who are vulnerable to conflict and repression. The newly launched IIE-SRF Alliance strengthens this work that IIE has been doing for 100 years.