2018-19 Humphrey International Fellows arrive to UMN

“What you do, what each of us does, has an effect on the country, the state, the nation, and the world.”
~Hubert H. Humphrey     
           
Fourteen Humphrey International Fellows, representing 13 countries, arrived at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, to start their three-week orientation for the 2018-19 program year. This is the 38th cohort hosted by the University of Minnesota.  The program and the Humphrey School are each celebrating their 40 year anniversary in 2018-2019.

Inbar Ben Menda

● Country: Israel
● Area of Study: Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

Mariana Bicalho
● Country: Brazil
● Area of Study: Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

Lucy Chivasa
● Country: Zimbabwe
● Area of Study: Law and Human Rights

Issam Yahyaoui
● Country: Tunisia
● Area of Study: Law and Human Rights

Mubanga Kalimamukwento
● Country: Zambia
● Area of Study: Law and Human Rights

Zintle Koza
● Country: South Africa
● Area of Study: Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

Mohamed Naciri
● Country: Morocco
● Area of Study: Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

Mir ‘Reza’ Ozgen
● Country: Pakistan
● Area of Study: Urban and Regional Planning

Bimal Poudel
● Country: Nepal
● Area of Study: Law and Human Rights

Arlind Rama
● Country: Albania
● Area of Study: Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

Anakhita Saymidinova
● Country: Tajikistan
● Area of Study: Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

Suonvisal Seth
● Country: Cambodia
● Area of Study: Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

Suilieti Sika
● Country: Tonga
● Area of Study: Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

Sarfraz Khan Virk
● Country: Pakistan
● Area of Study: Law and Human Rights

During the 2018-2019 academic year, the International Fellows and Scholar Programs office at the Humphrey School is hosting 14 international fellows and 13 international visiting scholars from 16 countries. 

 

In addition to the leadership development training, access to academic coursework and research faculty and facilities, and cultural immersion, Humphrey Fellows have the opportunity for professional development and colleagueship through the Hennepin County Mentorship Program. 

The Hubert H. Humphrey International Fellows program is managed by the International Fellows and Scholars (IFS) program at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs.  Staffing the program are Coordinators Pepe Wonosikou (public policy/public administration) and Afua Quarshie (law/human rights), and Office Administrator Riley Grittinger.  Sherry Gray is the current director of the IFS. Volunteers from around the University and the community assist the Fellows as cultural and social Hosts, as mentors and advisees, and as colleagues and friends. 
 

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program was initiated in 1978 to honor the late Senator and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and his lifelong commitment to international cooperation and public service. The program brings accomplished mid-career professionals from designated developing nations and emerging democracies to the United States for a year of academic study, related professional experience, and cultural exchange. The people-to-people approach to international understanding provides a basis for lasting ties between U.S. citizens and their professional counterparts in other countries and strengthens the global exchange of knowledge and experience essential to a sustainable world.

Fellowships are granted competitively to professional candidates with a commitment to public service. The program is sponsored by the United States Department of State and is administered nationally by the Institute of International Education (IIE), which assigns fellows to a host university based upon each fellow’s interests and needs.

Each year, about a dozen Humphrey Fellows come to the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, which serves as their base for their fellowship year. The goals of the Humphrey Fellowship Program at the University of Minnesota are:

• to enable each fellow to develop a program that fosters personal and professional growth and that prepares the fellow for leadership roles in his or her country;
• to provide opportunities for a rich exchange of information among Fellows, and also between Fellows and host families, community members, professional colleagues and students/faculty at the University;
• to help fellows understand as broadly and deeply as possible the U.S. cultural, political, and economic systems; and
• to help fellows develop a fuller sense of the global context in which they and their countries operate.

The IFS office and the Humphrey School do not administer the application process for this fellowship. For detailed information about the fellowship and its application process, please visit the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program's website.

The Humphrey Program is funded primarily by a Congressional appropriation to the United States Department of State. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State and the Institute of International Education (IIE) administer the program jointly through a cooperative agreement. IIE contributes donated staff time, recruitment of pro bono experts and speakers, shared event costs, and other administrative resources to the Humphrey Program. Participating governments and host institutions contribute financial support through direct cost-sharing.

The Program also benefits from the generous support of several co-funders: 

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) – The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a leading supporter of global research on drug abuse and addiction, sponsors several Humphrey Fellows. In order to be considered for funding by NIDA, candidates must hold an advanced graduate degree in medicine, health, biomedical, behavioral, or the social sciences and have significant research experience.
• Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health – Emory University has donated support for an Enhancement Workshop on Global Development and Social Justice at the School of Public Health for more than a decade.
• Employers – In addition to granting leave status to Humphrey Fellows, many employers continue to pay Fellows their annual salaries. This generous assistance enables Fellows to support their families and participate in the Humphrey Fellowship Program.
• Host Campuses – Each Humphrey host university provides in-kind support to the Program, including tuition reduction, donated office space, computers, and staff time.