The UNCFSP Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship Program Seeks to Recruit More HBCU Sophomores

Applications for IIPP Fellowship Program Due by March 15, 2008

Fairfax, VA (BlackNews.com) - At its annual strategic planning meeting held last month, the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation launched a recruitment initiative to increase the number of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that participate in the Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship Program. Now entering its fourteenth year, the Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) has placed more than 300 Fellows abroad in over 50 countries across the globe to study foreign affairs and global policy.

"If national security is threatened from outside our borders, the lack of diversity in international affairs threatens American security from within," says Aaron R. Andrews, President and CEO of the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation. "It's critical that we act now to prepare graduates to fully participate in an international arena."

The IIPP Fellowship Program provides students from underrepresented minority groups with education and training experiences necessary for entering and advancing in international affairs careers. Fellows experience a comprehensive program of summer policy institutes, study abroad, intensive language training, internships, graduate study, and student services, including mentoring and career development.

"IIPP is shaping a diverse talent pool that will positively impact America at home and abroad," says IIPP Director Darryl E. Crompton, J.D, M.P.H. "We especially encourage students from HBCUs to apply for admission to the Fellowship Program because they have been underrepresented in our applicant pool."

During its two-day strategy meeting on January 17-18, the IIPP convened a panel to discuss long-term strategies for minority education in international affairs. Participating in the panel were Ambassador Charles Baquet, Director, Center for Intercultural and International Programs, Xavier University of New Orleans; Dr. Paul Brown, Associate Professor, Clark Atlanta University; Dr. Margery Ganz, Professor, Spelman College; and Dr. Carol Pretlow, Associate Professor, Norfolk State University.

College sophomores may apply for the IIPP Fellowship Program online at www.UNCFSP.org/IIPP. Applications must be submitted no later than March 15th for the program year beginning in early June.

About the Institute for International Public Policy
Congress created the Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) in 1992 in Title VI, Part C, Section 621 of the Higher Education Act with the specific mission of preparing minority students for careers in international service. When the law passed, the Senate Committee on Labor and Human resources noted with concern that only 13 percent of those serving in the U.S. Foreign Service were minorities, and only 6 percent were black (Slater, 2006).