Scholar Rescue Fund

The Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. These fellowships permit professors, researchers and other senior academics to find temporary refuge at host universities and colleges anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue their academic work and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community at large. During the fellowship, conditions in a scholar's home country may improve, permitting safe return to help rebuild universities and societies ravaged by fear, conflict and repression. If safe return is not possible, the scholar may use the fellowship period to identify a longer-term opportunity. N.B. This is a program of the Institute of International Education.

In 2007, as a response to an urgent appeal from Iraq's Ministry of Higher Education, SRF launched the Iraq Scholar Rescue Project. The Project's goal is to rescue Iraq's most senior academics – in any academic discipline – by placing them at institutions of higher learning in countries within the Middle East and North Africa region.

History

The Institute of International Education has helped rescue threatened scholars since its inception in 1919, demonstrating a commitment to protecting Academic freedom. In the 1930s, IIE was instrumental in founding the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars, led by Edward R. Murrow. The program assisted scholars who were barred from teaching, persecuted and threatened with imprisonment by the Nazis. Over 300 scholars were rescued, some of whom became Nobel Laureates and many whose work and ideas helped shape the post-war world.

SRF was founded in 2002, when IIE's trustees committed to making scholar rescue a permanent part of its work. Dr. Henry Jarecki, Dr. Henry Kaufman, Thomas Russo and George Soros, founded the Scholar Rescue Fund to aid threatened scholars find safe haven and continue their academic work. Since then, SRF has provided over 600 awards with the collaboration of nearly 250 institutions from 45 different nations.

SRF Mission

The Scholar Rescue Fund formalizes an unwavering commitment to academic freedom that the Institute of International Education has demonstrated for over 90 years. At the heart of the Fund is the idea that each scholar helped who continues his or her work in safety is a beacon of hope. However, the organization is also a political body, unless you can pass their secretary no rescue is possible.

Scholars

SRF grantees are professors, established researchers and other senior academics from any country, field or discipline. Candidates are reviewed for academic qualifications, the quality/potential of the candidate's work, and the urgency of threats faced. As stated by Scholar Rescue Fund, preference is given to scholars:

"-who are facing immediate, severe and targeted threats to their lives and/or careers in their home country or country of residence;
-with a Ph.D. or other highest degree in their field who have extensive teaching or research experience at a university, college or other institution of higher learning;
-who demonstrate superior academic accomplishment or promise;
-whose selection is likely to benefit the academic community in the home and/or host country or region."

SRF also states that:

"-Applications from female scholars and scholars who are members of ethnic, racial, cultural or religious minority groups, or those otherwise underrepresented in their field, are encouraged."
-Fellowships are approved by the SRF Selection Committee which convenes at least three (3) times per year.
-The final fellowship award is dependent upon the location of the host institution, the cost of living, and the value of any additional contributions from the host institution or other source.
-Host academic institutions agree to accept the fellowship funds and disburse the funds to the scholar. In most cases, host institutions are required to match the SRF fellowship award through partial salary/stipend support, research materials, and other in-kind assistance."

Reports

Scholar Rescue in the Modern World is the Scholar Rescue Fund's world report, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, to share with a larger community the breadth and nature of the persecution of scholars around the globe. It is based on the data from the first five years of activity of the Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF), from its founding in April 2002 until May 2007. During this time, SRF received more than 1,000 inquiries from persecuted academics around the world. The report is based primarily on data collected from that time period from 847 applicants, 140 of whom were awarded grants.

According to the "Scholar Rescue in the Modern World," life- and career-ending threats to scholars are widespread and egregious. Individuals in 101 countries, from a wide range of academic disciplines and fields, requested assistance; SRF provided direct support to scholars from 38 of these countries. While countries of origin spanned almost all regions of the world, seventy-five percent of SRF grantees came from two regions: the Middle East/North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report also identified five factors that cause scholar oppression: Low Gross Domestic Product (GDP); high level of conflict; low academic population; low academic population per million of country population; and Failed state status. The report also states that governments outnumber non-state actors, such as militias and rebel groups, in oppressing scholars by a factor of 3:1. The report also recommends several new programs or activities to mitigate scholar oppression worldwide. Recommendations include: a United Nations convention against the persecution of academics; special visas to enable persecuted scholars to cross borders to safety; and an index of academic oppression that might predict violence against scholars and in particular when and where the next big academic emergency might occur, much like Iraq.

Scholars’ countries of origin

The SRF Fellowships have no geographic limits on awards, on the disciplines, or fields supported. Fellowships may be awarded to scholars from any country and/or institutions. Below is a list of the nations from which scholars have been granted SRF fellowships:

Afghanistan Azerbaijan Bangladesh Belarus Bhutan Botswana Brazil Burundi Cameroon Chad China

Colombia Congo-Brazzaville Côte d'Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Indonesia Iran Iraq Italy Kenya

Kyrgyzstan Liberia Malawi Macedonia Mexico Morocco Myanmar Nepal Pakistan Palestinian Territories Russia

Rwanda Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Swaziland Syria Turkey Uganda Ukraine Uzbekistan Zimbabwe

Host Institutions

The SRF Fellows undertake their fellowships at host universities, colleges, research centers and other such academic institutions in any safe country. The host institution provides the scholar with professional and personal support. Below is a list of some of the nations that have participated as host institutions and have provided scholars a safe environment to continue their academic work:

Australia Austria Bahrain Belgium Canada China (Hong Kong) Côte d'Ivoire Egypt

France Germany Greece Hungary Iraq Ireland Israel

Italy Japan Jordan Kenya Lebanon Lithuania Malawi Malaysia

Mexico Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Senegal South Africa Sweden

Switzerland Syria Tanzania Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Ukraine United States

External links

• Scholar Rescue Fund Official Website
• Scholar Rescue Fund: Iraq Scholar Rescue Project
• International Institute of Education Official Website

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