Eisenhower Fellowships

Last updated
Eisenhower Fellowships
FoundedJuly 13, 1953 (1953-19-13) [1]
Type 501(c)(3)
Location
Website efworld.org

Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) is a private, non-profit organization created in 1953 [2] by a group of American citizens to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader. The organization describes itself as an "independent, nonpartisan international leadership organization". [1] [3]

Contents

History

In 1953, Thomas Bayard McCabe led a group of Pennsylvania businessmen in the establishment of Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships (EEF) to commemorate President Dwight D. Eisenhower's first birthday in the White House. [4] The program was initiated with donations totaling $125,000, which were reported as having been "pledged by 50 American industrialists". [1]

Format

EF annually hosts two international fellowship programs of 20–25 Fellows each. The first is the Global Program of Fellows from around the world, followed by a fall program targeted to a specific country, region or sector.

Through its USA Program, EF also sends a smaller group of 20 ascendant young American leaders overseas for similar four- to five-week fellowship to one or two countries, half of them to China under the Zhi-Xing China Eisenhower Fellowships Program. In 2020, EF launched the Global Scholars Program, which sends four university graduates abroad.[ citation needed ]

Fellows

Since the organization's founding, nearly 2,000 men and women have been awarded fellowships. [5] Fellows are identified by committees in 48 countries and six U.S. locales (New England, Philadelphia, Research Triangle-NC, St. Louis, Chicago and Los Angeles). [6] They identify men and women who have positions of substantial influence in their fields. [5]

1950s–1970s

Sixteen fellowships were awarded in 1954 to three Americans and thirteen men from overseas. Initially, all funds came from the fundraising efforts of the EF Board of Trustees, [7] but a ten-year $600,000 grant from the Ford Foundation was granted in 1956. [8]

Each year's program included at least two seminars where Fellows shared experiences. It has yearly newsletters and three international alumni conferences. In 1961, the first Eisenhower regional conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland, and in the same year, the first female Fellow, Dr. Pilar G. Villegas, was named. In 1963, the USA Fellow program was suspended temporarily. [7]

As the U.S. celebrated its bicentennial in 1976, 101 Fellows from 56 countries convened in San Francisco for EF's First World Forum. In 1977, President Gerald Ford was appointed president.

1980s–1990s

President Gerald Ford and John Eisenhower helped the company get a grant from the U.S. Congress for $7.5 million. In 1986, the first Single Nation Program was introduced under the leadership of Theodore Friend, EEF President. Prior to 1986, Multi-Nation Programs had only allowed one fellowship to be granted to each participating country. The Single Nation Program was launched in 1986. In 1988, the first Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service was awarded to Ambassadors Walter Annenberg and Thomas Watson Jr. In 1989, the USA Fellow Program returned after a 26-year hiatus, which brought EEF to three yearly programs (the Multi-Nation Program, the Single Nation Program, and the USA Fellow Program) with 50 Fellows participating.

EEF celebrated the centennial of President Eisenhower's birth in 1990 at its second World Forum called "From Fellowship to Partnership" in Philadelphia. Over two hundred Fellows from 63 countries gathered. In the next 18 years, eleven other countries hosted EF conferences. In 1991, legislation sponsored by Senator Bob Dole and Representative Pat Roberts established a permanent endowment for EEF in honor of President Eisenhower. [9] A Single Nation Program in South Africa for nine Fellows was run in 1994 after the country elected its first democratic government.

2000s

Eisenhower Fellowships developed additional programs and foci. In 2003, EF celebrated its 50th Multi Nation Program and 50th Anniversary Conference in Philadelphia called "Connecting Global Leaders." [10] USA Fellows started choosing their fellowship destinations from a list of 27 countries on six continents. The Multi-Nation and Single-Nation programs continued, but the addition of Regional Programs, three in Asia, and one each in Latin America and the Middle East, were also implemented. In 2007 and 2009, two Common Interest Programs were introduced with Fellows from the United States and from overseas participating. In 2010, Eisenhower Fellowships held its first Women's Leadership Program. [11]

Awards

Annually, Fellows are recognized an honorary fellowship in the name of a member of the Board of Trustees. [12]

Distinguished Fellow Award

In 2008, EF established the Distinguished Fellow Award to recognize network Fellows. [5] It is presented at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees. The awardees are:

Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service

In 1988, the EF Board of Trustees established the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service. [13] It is awarded annually to a business leader, statesperson, or other public figure. Notable recipients include Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush,[ citation needed ] United States Secretaries of State Colin Powell,[ citation needed ] Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, U.S. Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan,[ citation needed ] Nobel Prize winner and economist Dr. Amartya Sen,[ citation needed ] Professor Muhammad Yunus, and founding Trustees Ambassadors Walter H. Annenberg and Thomas J. Watson Jr. The Eisenhower Medal is conferred annually at a private gala dinner with Trustees, sponsors, and Fellows.

Recipients

Organization

The governing body of the organization is the Board of Trustees, a group of more than seventy in business and public affairs currently chaired by Dr. Robert M. Gates. Prior chairs include General Colin L. Powell, U.S. (retired), Dr. Henry Kissinger, President George H.W. Bush, and President Gerald Ford. Eisenhower Fellowships is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House Fellows</span> Staff of the U.S. president

The White House Fellows program is a non-partisan federal fellowship established via executive order by President Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964. The fellowship is one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service, offering exceptional Americans first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the federal government. The fellowship was founded based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corporation and later the sixth secretary of health, education, and welfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James R. Schlesinger</span> American politician (1929–2014)

James Rodney Schlesinger was an American economist and public servant who was best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to becoming Secretary of Defense, he served as Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) from 1971 to 1973, and as CIA Director for a few months in 1973. He became America's first Secretary of Energy under Jimmy Carter in 1977, serving until 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston Lord</span> American diplomat

Winston Lord is a retired American diplomat. As Special Assistant to the National Security Advisor and then as Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State, Lord was a close adviser to Henry A. Kissinger and was instrumental in bringing about the renormalization of U.S.-China relations in the 1970s.

The Eisenhower Medical Center (EMC) is a not-for-profit hospital based in Rancho Mirage, California, serving the Coachella Valley region of Southeastern California. It was named one of the top one hundred hospitals in the United States in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 Republican National Convention</span> Political convention of the Republican Party

The 1960 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, from July 25 to July 28, 1960, at the International Amphitheatre. It was the 14th and most recent time overall that Chicago hosted the Republican National Convention, more times than any other city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International House of New York</span> Student residential community

International House New York, also known as I-House, is a private, independent, non-profit residence and program center for postgraduate students, research scholars, trainees, and interns, located at 500 Riverside Drive in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Academy in Berlin</span> American-German research and cultural institution

The American Academy in Berlin is a private, independent, nonpartisan research and cultural institution in Berlin dedicated to sustaining and enhancing the long-term intellectual, cultural, and political ties between the United States and Germany. Each year, the Academy's independent search committee nominates circa twenty fellows from among hundreds of applicants to pursue semester-long research projects at the Hans Arnhold Center, a historic villa on the shores of Lake Wannsee. Fellows, who come from the humanities, social sciences, public policy, and the arts, share their work with German colleagues and audiences at lectures, readings, discussions, concerts, and film screenings, which form the core of the Academy’s programme of nearly 100 public events per year. The American Academy in Berlin has an office in New York City and its board of trustees is composed of several dozen influential leaders from German and American business, finance, culture, and academia.

The Sylvanus Thayer Award is an honor given annually by the United States Military Academy at West Point to an individual whose character and accomplishments exemplifies the motto of West Point. The award is named after the "Father of the Military Academy", Colonel Sylvanus Thayer. The awardee is selected by, and the award is endowed by, a committee formed from the West Point Association of Graduates. It has been awarded annually since 1958 and is the closest recognition West Point has to granting an honorary degree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Cole</span> American art historian

Bruce Milan Cole was a longtime professor of art history at Indiana University, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., a member of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, and the eighth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Harlow</span> American politician

Bryce Nathaniel Harlow was an American congressional staff member, army officer, advisor to U.S. presidents, and corporate lobbyist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonore Annenberg</span> American businesswoman

Leonore Cohn Annenberg, also known as Lee Annenberg, was an American businesswoman, diplomat, and philanthropist. She was noted for serving as Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1981 to 1982. Annenberg was married to Walter Annenberg, who was an Ambassador to the United Kingdom and newspaper publisher. She also served as the chairman and president of the Annenberg Foundation from 2002 until 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Spielvogel</span> American marketing executive and diplomat (1928–2021)

Carl Spielvogel was an American marketing executive and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen H. Hess</span>

Stephen H. Hess is a senior fellow emeritus in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He studies media, the U.S. presidency, political dynasties and the U.S. government. He first joined Brookings in 1972 and was distinguished research professor of media and public affairs at the George Washington University (2004–2009). He served on Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon's White House staff and as an adviser to Presidents Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunnylands</span> Estate-retreat in Rancho Mirage, California

Sunnylands is the former Annenberg Estate in Rancho Mirage, California. The 200-acre (0.81 km2) property is currently run by The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, a not-for-profit organization. The property was owned by Walter and Leonore Annenberg until 2009 and had been used as a winter retreat by the couple beginning in 1966, when the house was completed. The city of Rancho Mirage considers the property to be “rich with historical significance” and declared Sunnylands a historic site in 1990. Located at Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope Drives, the property has been the vacation site of numerous celebrities and public officials. Sunnylands is sometimes referred to as the "Camp David of the West."

John Stern Wolf served as a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State from 1970–2004, including tours as Ambassador to Malaysia, Assistant Secretary for Nonproliferation, and Chief Monitor, The Middle East Roadmap for Peace. He retired in July 2014 as President of Eisenhower Fellowships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Relations Council</span> Educational organization in Kansas City, Missouri

The International Relations Council (IRC) is a non-profit non-partisan educational organization in Kansas City, Missouri, and a member of the World Affairs Councils of America. As an educational nonprofit, the IRC works in partnership with a range of businesses, universities, community organizations, K-12 schools, and other interested individuals to grow a global perspective and find international connections within the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area. The IRC works to foster interest in an understanding of international affairs among the citizens of Kansas City through the development of various programs and events. As a membership organization, the IRC welcomes individuals and families, businesses, universities, and other organizations to join as IRC members in order to help sustain global-affairs education in the Kansas City community and receive various benefits.

The Chubb Fellowship is a fellowship based and administered through Timothy Dwight College, one of Yale University's twelve residential colleges, and is one of Yale's highest honors for a visiting lecturer. In 1936, Hendon Chubb established a fund for “…the encouragement and aid of students interested in government and public affairs.” In 1949, Chubb and the Master of Timothy Dwight College collaborated to create a visiting fellowship program as the principal means to achieve this goal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles E. Cobb</span> American businessman

Charles Elvan Cobb, Jr. is an American businessman. He is currently the chief executive officer and senior managing director of Cobb Partners, Ltd., an investment firm. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Arvida Corporation and Disney Development Company during the 1970s and 1980s. Arvida was a public company and then a subsidiary of Penn Central Transportation Company and later of The Walt Disney Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld</span> TV producer, former US Press Secretary

Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld is a television producer and the former Press Secretary to First Lady Betty Ford and Special Assistant to President Gerald Ford. She is the author of the "First Lady's Lady," a book about her experiences in the Ford White House.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ike Birthday Gift Is Peace Weapon", Indianapolis News (October 14, 1953), p. 25.
  2. ↑ "Eisenhower Fellowship Group Brings the World to America". The New York Times. 1984-10-03. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  3. ↑ "Dr. James McCain Selected For Study In Foreign Country", The Manhattan Republic (January 30, 1957), p. 1.
  4. ↑ "Eisenhower Fellowships 1". Efworld.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  5. 1 2 3 "Eisenhower Fellowships". Efworld.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  6. ↑ "Eisenhower Fellowships". Efworld.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  7. 1 2 "Eisenhower Fellowships". Efworld.org. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  8. ↑ "Grants / Ford Foundation". Fordfoundation.org. 2011-11-22. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  9. ↑ Congressional Record, V. 150, Pt. 11, June 25, 2004 to July 14, 2004 By Congress
  10. ↑ Perrone, Marguerite. "Eisenhower Fellowship: A History 1953-2003". 2003.
  11. ↑ "Eisenhower Fellowships". Efworld.org. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  12. ↑ "Eisenhower Fellows". www.efworld.org. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  13. ↑ "Eisenhower Fellowships". Efworld.org. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.