UT Austin Joins Scholar Rescue Fund Alliance to Support Threatened and Displaced Scholars
- Nov 16, 2021
- Ellen Stader
The University of Texas at Austin is proud to announce a new partnership with the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) to support threatened scholars from areas in crisis around the world. The IIE-SRF Alliance is the only global program that arranges and funds fellowships for imperiled and displaced scholars at partnering higher education institutions worldwide. With this partnership, UT Austin commits to matching funds from IIE-SRF and joins a network spanning nearly 30 countries to provide safe refuge and academic opportunities for threatened scholars.
“I am delighted that The University of Texas at Austin has joined the Scholar Rescue Fund Alliance, especially during such perilous times for academics across the globe,” said Sonia Feigenbaum, Ph.D., senior vice provost for global engagement and chief international officer at Texas Global. “As a Commitment Partner, we proudly pledge our support for institutionalizing this extraordinary initiative by engaging Texas Global with our 18 colleges and schools to welcome IIE-SRF fellows to the Forty Acres. This partnership is an important step toward achieving our greater mission, and we look forward to welcoming talented scholars displaced from their home countries.”
Texas Global leads, supports, and coordinates the international engagement efforts of UT Austin. Objectives include fostering strategic partnerships on campus and abroad, and supporting a diverse community of international students and scholars. Both are embodied in the university’s commitment to the IIE-SRF program, offering the campus as a safe haven from which threatened scholars can continue their research and rebuild their lives and careers.
“In many contexts across the globe, our colleagues face threats to their lives and careers,” said Allan Goodman, Ph.D., CEO of the Institute of International Education. “Though academics have always been persecuted for their scholarly work and are among the first to be targeted during conflict and instability, the magnitude of the current crisis is unprecedented in IIE's history. We are extremely grateful to Texas Global and UT Austin for taking this concrete step to support scholars in need.”
The Scholar Rescue Fund Alliance launched in August 2020, expanding the efforts of IIE-SRF and its partners to assist threatened and displaced scholars globally. The alliance builds upon IIE’s 100 years of providing resources and support to vulnerable professors and university students, including those affected by Nazism and Fascism, apartheid in South Africa, and today, the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.
To learn more about the IIE-SRF and ways to support threatened and displaced scholars, visit ScholarRescueFund.org.
