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The Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) is known for its extensive
experience and expertise in conducting international exchange programs for scholars and
administrators. For the past sixty years, CIES (www.cies.org) has administered the
Fulbright Scholar Program, the United States flagship academic exchange effort, on behalf of the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). CIES was founded as a private organization in 1947 by four highly respected and prestigious academic associations – the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Social Science Research Council (SSRC), and American Council on Education (ACE).
Since 1996, CIES has been a division of the Institute of International Education (IIE), a premier nonprofit educational and cultural exchange organization established in 1919. CIES is led by an executive director who also serves as a vice president of IIE (www.iie.org). A twelve member Advisory Board makes recommendations on operational and policy issues to the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB). The four academic societies (ACLS, NAS, SSRC, and ACE) that founded CIES continue to be represented on the CIES Advisory Board.
CIES maintains deep ties with the U.S. higher education community, including individual
universities and colleges and major scholarly organizations. CIES also collaborates with a
network of bi-national Fulbright Commissions in 50 countries and 90 U.S. diplomatic
posts around the world, as well as international universities and higher education
associations. Since its inception, CIES has conducted a rigorous annual peer review
process that assures the competitive selection of scholars for lecture and research awards.
Nearly 300 academics and professionals with exceptional expertise in their fields serve
on CIES discipline and peer review committees reviewing applications of U.S.
scholars and some foreign scholars. In addition, CIES facilitates connections between
scholars and host institutions, manages visa application issues, provides an effective
orientation program for scholars, and facilitates cultural awareness and understanding to
support the effective integration of scholars in their host institutions and
countries.
The core Fulbright Scholar Program attracts some 800 U.S. faculty and
professionals each year to 140 countries to lecture, teach and conduct research. An equal
number of academics and professionals from overseas visit the United States each year
under a Fulbright Scholar grant. In addition, CIES administers a number of short-term,
innovative Fulbright programs that bring scholars from around the world together to offer
expertise on issues of global interest from cutting-edge research to policy, technical
expertise in curriculum development, institutional planning and institutional capacity
building. To date, the Fulbright Scholar Program has placed more than 44,000 scholars in
over 140 countries and more than 42,000 overseas scholars have visited U.S. colleges,
universities and research institutions.
Together, CIES and IIE create effective and holistic synergies across continents. IIE works with the U.S. Department of State and with many other governments, foundations, corporations, colleges and universities, international organizations, and generous individuals, to provide educational exchange and development training opportunities for students, scholars and professionals world wide. IIE currently administers over 200 programs, including the Fulbright Student Program and the Fulbright Scholar Program through CIES. These programs benefit nearly 20,000 men and women from 175 nations. In addition, IIE conducts research and provides information on international exchange opportunities to students, prospective students, educators, government officials, and business leaders worldwide through publications, conferences, seminars, advising, and Web-based services.
IIE employs a staff of 450 worldwide, including those at CIES, and is governed by a 40-member Board of Trustees and a president. With headquarters in New York City, IIE has 19 offices around the world, including U.S. representative offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, Houston, and San Francisco and offices abroad in China, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Vietnam. The nonprofit organization has a network of over 900 college and university members, and more than 5,000 volunteers.
As a division of IIE, CIES works closely with other IIE divisions to capitalize on
U.S.-wide and world-wide networks in carrying out the professional and scholarly
exchange programs for which CIES is so well known. This global reach and extensive
experience have earned CIES the reputation of being a quality organization superbly
knowledgeable of and connected to the academic community around the world. The day
to-day work of CIES is carried out by over 60 program officers and staff organized by
world regions. An external relations unit assists program officers with recruitment and
works with U.S. colleges and universities, professional and scholarly associations, and the media to publicize the Fulbright Scholar Program and other CIES undertakings.
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