Future leaders from 14 foreign nations
Archived article from Oct 15, 1999
By Steve Manas
Among the students on campus this semester is a group of newcomers who are somewhat older and definitely more experienced than the average graduate student.
These are the 14 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows, mid-career professionals from developing nations, Eastern Europe and states once controlled by the former Soviet Union, who come to the United States for a year of graduate study and professional development. The 1999-2000 contingent -- from Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey -- represents Rutgers' ninth class of Humphrey Fellows, named to honor the late vice president and longtime senator from Minnesota.
Rutgers, one of a select group of 12 host universities this year -- others include American, Boston, Cornell, Emory, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Minnesota and Penn State -- has welcomed the distinguished visitors annually since 1991, and counts 79 alumni from 59 countries.
"Hubert Humphrey, not John F. Kennedy, actually proposed the Peace Corps, and President Jimmy Carter created the fellowship program in 1978 as sort of a 'Peace Corps-in-reverse' to honor him," said Salah El-Shakhs, professor of urban planning and policy development at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and coordinator of the program. He is assisted by Charlotte Wesley-Musonda, the program's primary contact.
"This really is a mutual exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education," El-Shakhs observed. "The fellows come here to attend classes and to develop their professional and leadership skills in their chosen fields, but they also teach us. We circulate their bios to many academic departments and investigate opportunities for their active participation as visiting professionals-in-residence. They and their families live in campus housing, and we involve them in community service -- many through our CASE program -- to integrate them fully into life at Rutgers."
As part of their education, the fellows work with government officials and agencies at all levels; with community development organizations; and with such international institutions as the United Nations and World Bank. They also undertake a six-week professional affiliation with an agency or organization in their field of interest.
For example, Naresh Palikhe, the local chair of the Nepali Congress Party and a former deputy mayor of his city, intends to split his affiliation between members of New Jersey's Democratic and Republican parties. "I want to get exposure to and a vision of the American system of government," he said. "While there are many differences between governing in Nepal and America, officials do face similar problems, such as how to generate and collect revenues."
Alima Mahama, a senior planner and gender and development coordinator in Ghana, intends to affiliate with several women's organizations, including Rutgers' centers for Women's Global Leadership and the American Woman and Politics. "In Ghana, there is a great need for rural development and mobilization programs, but women do not have much of a role in the public sector," she said. "We need to get women out of private, domestic life and into decision-making roles. To have a woman governor in New Jersey is a tremendous achievement."
El-Shakhs, who teaches a seminar for the fellows, likened the Humphrey Program to the MacArthur "genius" grants. "This isn't strictly an academic program," he said. "Fellows come from business, government and academia. Their expenses are paid, and they are encouraged to think freely, away from the pressures of their work.
"Dollar for dollar, this is our best foreign-aid program," he concluded. "We invest directly in people who go on to become leaders in their homelands."
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