2016 IIE-SRF Forum

2016 IIE Scholar Rescue Fund Forum:
Scholar Voices and University Action

Location: 809 United Nations Plaza, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10017

April 29, 2016

The 2016 IIE-SRF Forum convened partners from diverse sectors—including higher education, human rights, government, and philanthropy—to address the urgent need to support scholars around the world who have suffered under repression and conflict. The Forum included panels on which IIE-SRF fellows reflected on their experiences in 2015, partnering universities explored effective responses to the causes and consequences of scholar persecution, and regional experts examined the impact of the Islamic State (ISIL) on academics.

Speaker Bios

 

Agenda

8:30AM   Coffee and registration

9:05AM   Welcome
Sarah Willcox, Director, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund

9:15AM  Opening Remarks
Mark A. Angelson, Vice Chairman, IIE and Chairman, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund

9:30AM   Panel I: “2015 in Review: Scholar Voices”
IIE-SRF scholar from Azerbaijan, University of Oxford
IIE-SRF scholar from Russia, Columbia University
IIE-SRF scholar from Syria, Rutgers University
IIE-SRF scholar from Venezuela, Harvard University
Moderated by Emily Borzcik, Senior Program Officer, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund

11:15AM   Coffee break

11:45AM   Presentation of the Outstanding Scholar Award
Amal Alachkar, IIE-SRF Alumna from Syria, University of California, Irvine

12:00PM   Presentation of the Henry G. Jarecki Award
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, accepted by H.E. Dina Kawar, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations

12:15PM   Presentation of the Beacon Award
Xiangming Chen, Dean and Director, Center for Urban and Global Studies, Trinity College
Presented by Thomas S. Johnson, Chairman, IIE Board of Trustees

12:30PM   Lunch

2:15PM   Panel II: “The Impact of ISIL on Academics”
Rob Blecher, Deputy Program Director, International Crisis Group
IIE-SRF scholar from Syria, Ohio State University
IIE-SRF scholar from Iraq, Ball State University
Moderated by James R. King, Assistant Director, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund

3:30PM   Coffee break

4:00PM   Panel III: “The Role of the University in Supporting Persecuted Scholars and Responding to National Academies in Crisis”
Keith Watenpaugh, Professor and Director, Human Rights Studies, University of California, Davis
Gerald Doyle, Vice Provost for Student Access, Success, and Diversity Initiatives, Illinois Institute of Technology
Barbara Sheldon, Director of Strategic Planning, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Moderated by Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO, IIE

5:15PM   Closing remarks
Sarah Willcox, Director, IIE Scholar Rescue Fund

5:30PM   Reception