Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program records, 2000-2013

Summary Information

Abstract

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) offered fellowships for post-graduate study to leaders from marginalized communities in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Russia from 2001-2013. Paper, digital, and audiovisual materials document the planning and administration of the program, as well as the selection, placement, and monitoring of over 4,300 Fellows that participated in the program. The records document a unique educational model that linked access to higher education, international development, and social change.

At a Glance

Call No.:

MS#1633

Bib ID:

9489034 View CLIO record

Creator(s):

Ford Foundation. International Fellowships Program

Repository:

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Physical Description:

424 linear feet (352 record cartons 15 document boxes and 4 flat boxes); 3.6 Terabytes

Language(s):

English , Arabic , Chinese , Indonesian , French , Portuguese , Russian , Spanish; Castilian , Thai , Vietnamese .

Access:

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

There are no boxes numbered 158-160, 180, 313, 322, 328, 334, 346, or 357 in the collection

Selected content, such as publications, the IFP media library, and archived Internet sources, is publicly available and searchable online via dedicated website and integrated EAD finding aid. Unrestricted paper and electronic administrative files and correspondence are accessible via the RBML reading room. Paper and digital materials from the collection that contain personal and other sensitive informations are restricted until 2075.

The following boxes are located off-site: Boxes 1-369. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Description

Summary

The International Fellowship Program of the Ford Foundation offered fellowships for post-graduate study to leaders from underserved communities in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Russia in 2001-2013. Their archives cover the issues of social justice, community development, and access to higher education, and include paper and digital documentation and audiovisual materials on the more than 4,300 IFP fellows as well as comprehensive planning and adminstrative files of the program. The records of the IFP Alumni Tracking Study will be added to the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program records when the study concludes in 2023.

Series I: New York Secretariat, 2000-2013

Series I contains paper records (145 linear feet) and digital records (over 3.5 TB) relating to the administration of IFP as a whole. The records in Series I were created and used by staff members at the IFP New York Secretariat, in partnership with local organizations which managed key aspects of the program in each local context. The Secretariat was in operation from 2001 through 2013.

Material formats included in Series I are minutes of the Board of Directors, policy records, staff and Fellow handbooks, evaluation and research papers, records of international and regional meetings, staff correspondence (which took place largely by email), and publications issued both by IFP and external organizations. Grant files document grants awarded by IFP to international partners, placement partners, and other organizations involved in carrying out IFP. Financial records include documentation of interactions between the New York Secretariat and its financial advisors—both the internal Finance and Investment Advisory Committee and the external investment groups Northern Trust and Seix Investment Advisors, which managed the program's funds. They also include documentation of the Secretariat's maintenance of nonprofit status in New York State and the United States, and routine interactions with the Internal Revenue Service and other government entities which occurred as part of IFP's maintaining legal and regulatory compliance. The media library contains photographic and video materials documenting the program. Secretariat staff members' participation in the broader community of nonprofit organizations—especially those concerned with international education—is documented to a lesser extent in these files.

Records created by the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS), an IFP partner which was responsible for conducting program evaluations for the duration of IFP, are also located in Series I because they were used by the Secretariat staff in administering the program. Additionally, starting in 2007, a joint survey of Alumni conducted by CHEPS and IFP was carried out annually. CHEPS digital records consist of data files from the surveys and interviews, as well as periodic summary reports. Copies of the summary reports and Secretariat correspondence with CHEPS are also located in Series I paper records. These files are particularly valuable for summary data on Fellows and for evaluating program impact.

In several cases, the records of multiple IFP Secretariat staff members are located within the same subseries. This arrangement appears to have been a natural function of the processes through which the Secretariat carried out its work, and as such, no attempt has been made to separate them. Joyce Malombe, Director for Africa and the Middle East, left her position in 2007. Her successor, Damtew Teferra, left in 2009 and was not replaced. The records created by Malombe and Teferra are physically grouped together, though their creators can largely be discerned by the dates of their creation, in addition to identifying evidence within the records themselves. The files of Ashok Gurung, Program Officer, and Rita Soni, Program Associate, are also physically grouped together, as both worked on similar projects at the Secretariat. Similarly, records created by Communications Officer Rachel Clift are mixed with those created and maintained by Director of Communications Diana Whitten, and records created by Grants Manager Barbara Wanasek are mixed with those created and maintained by Director of Finance and Administration Robert Oppegard.

The bulk of the digital records of the IFP Secretariat were transferred to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library on a Columbia University Libraries-provided hard drive on September 26, 2013. Additional digital records in the series were transferred from more than 400 digital media carriers received in 2013 and 2014 in shipments of paper records from the IFP Secretariat.
Series II: Archived Websites, 2012-present

Series II contains archived websites created by the IFP Secretariat, many of its international partners, and some IFP alumni associations. The websites were archived by Columbia University Libraries web archivists using the Internet Archive's Archive-It software beginning in 2012. Websites which are still live and being updated continue to be crawled twice a year. Inactive websites or those which have been removed from the live web are no longer crawled by Columbia University Libraries. All archived websites can be accessed online through theRare Book and Manuscript Library's Archive-It web page, or through the links to individual archived websites below.
Series III: IFP Alumni Tracking Study, 2013-present

Series III contains the records of the IFP Alumni Tracking Study. Launched in 2013, the IFP Alumni Tracking Study is a ten year longitudinal study of IFP alumni intended to assess the long-term impacts of the International Fellowships Program on its alumni and their communities. The study is being carried out by the Institute of International Education's Center for Academic Mobility Research and Impact, with support from the Ford Foundation. Additional records of the study will be added to the Ford Foundation IFP Records at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library as work progresses. See also Series II: Archived websites for access to archived versions of the Alumni Tracking Study's website.

Further additions are expected.
Series IV: IFP Countries, 2000-2013

Series IV contains the paper records (272 linear feet) and digital records (367.1 GB) of the IFP's operations in 22 countries around the world. Local partner organizations managed key aspects of each country's program. Program materials document the recruitment, selection, academic preparation, and monitoring of the Fellows; Alumni programs; publicity efforts; and program evaluations. Files for individual Fellows include their program application, academic history, application for graduate study, and progress reports. See also Series II: Archived Websites for additional materials created by partner organizations.

Paper records and a significant quantity of digital materials are only available onsite in the RBML reading room. Some materials in both digital and paper formats are closed until 2075 due to confidentiality and privacy restrictions.

Arrangement

The IFP Records are arranged into series according to the entity originally responsible for their creation and use. All files in the IFP Records are arranged in the order in which they were received by the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The collection is arranged into four series.

Series I: New York Secretariat, 2000-2013

Series II: Archived Websites, 2012-present

Series III: IFP Alumni Tracking Study, 2013-present

Subseries III.1: Reports

Series IV: IFP Countries, 2000-2013

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access

There are no boxes numbered 158-160, 180, 313, 322, 328, 334, 346, or 357 in the collection

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Paper records may not be photocopied. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program records; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Selected Related Material--at other institutions

The Rockefeller Archive Center - Ford Foundation Records

The Internet Archive - Ford IFP Archived Website

Accrual

Additions are expected

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program, 2011-2014.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers Processed by AT 2015-2016.

Papers Processed by CB 2016.

Digital records Processed by JG 2014-2016.

Ford IFP staff created restrictions guidelines and contacted IFP Fellows for consent prior to the transfer of the files to RBML. Archivists at RBML worked to ensure that the files were properly sorted into unrestricted and restricted sections based on the consent guidelines provided by Ford IFP.

Revision Description

2014-12-12 xml document instance created by Jane Gorjevsky

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Historical Note

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) was a decade-long program that offered advanced study opportunities to more than 4,300 social justice leaders from the world's most vulnerable populations in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Russia. Launched with a grant from the Ford Foundation in 2001, IFP was based on an inclusive higher education model that prioritized social commitment over traditional selection criteria. In addition to academic and leadership potential, candidates were selected from groups and communities who lack systematic access to higher education. These groups included women, indigenous people, people with disabilities, and people from rural areas, among other groups.

A Secretariat in New York managed the program as a whole and set policy guidelines, while partner organizations in 23 countries managed key aspects of the program in each local context. Though IFP was a program supported exclusively by the Ford Foundation, the IFP Secretariat operated as an independent agency called the International Fellowships Fund, Inc., with its own administrative structure and Board of Directors. IFF distributed the funds provided by the Ford Foundation to partner organizations, which in turn distributed the funds to Fellows. IFF also partnered with the Institute of International Education for Fellows' university placement and financial management support, as well as office space and other administrative support for the staff of the IFP Secretariat.

During a one-year "Fellow-elect" period, IFP provided preparatory training and placement support to Fellows for entrance into universities. Working with local providers, the program offered pre-enrollment training on an as-needed basis in areas such as computer literacy, research skills and academic writing, as well as foreign language study. For about one-third of IFP Fellows, preparatory training continued after arrival at their host universities. During the Fellow-elect period, the selected candidates also received educational advising to help them refine their study objectives, which in turn facilitated their placement in universities.

Throughout their studies, Fellows maintained contact with program staff, submitting progress reports, requesting professional enhancement funds, and communicating about academic and personal issues. Program staff also provided support for "re-entry" into home countries after study was complete, and alumni organizations were often formed for networking and support. At the close of the program, IFP reported that more than 80% of IFP Alumni were living and working in their home countries or regions.

The IFP Secretariat was headed by Executive Director Joan Dassin. Dassin, who had previously served as the Ford Foundation's Regional Director for Latin America, coordinated the initial design process for IFP beginning in December 1999. She held the position of Executive Director from the date of IFP's formal launch in April of 2001 to its formal closing in 2013. She also served as IFP's regional director for Latin America.

Other members of the Secretariat staff included Rob Oppegard (Director of Finance and Administration); Mary Zurbuchen (Director for Asia and Russia); Joyce Malombe (Director for Africa and the Middle East from 2001-2007); Damtew Teferra (Director for Africa and the Middle East from 2007-2009); Barbara Wanasek (Grants Manager); Toby Volkman (Director for Special Projects), Ashok Gurung (program officer) and Rita Soni (Program Associate); Michelle Henry (Administrative Assistant); Alan Divack (Senior Project Manager, Archives and Knowledge Management); Diana Whitten (Director of Communications); Rachel Clift (Communications Officer); Daniel Reisner (Multimedia and Archives Officer); and Adriana Thoen (Administrative Manager).

IFP's international partners carried out the program in each of the 22 countries in which IFP operated. International partners' responsibilities included Fellow recruitment and selection, Pre-Academic Training, visa coordination for Fellows studying outside of their home countries, and monitoring Fellows' academic progress and general well-being during their graduate educations. International partners also helped to support local IFP alumni organizations which began to develop in the mid-2000s. International Partners and the countries in which they carried out IFP are as follows: Carlos Chagas Foundation (CCF), Brazil; La Fundación Equitas (EQUITAS), Chile; Institute of International Education (IIE), China and Russia; America-Mideast Educational and Training Services (AMIDEAST), Egypt and Palestine; Association of African Universities (AAU), Ghana; Center for Research on the Mesoamerica Region (CIRMA), Guatemala; United States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI), India; Indonesian International Education Foundation (IIEF), Indonesia; The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Kenya; Center for Research and Higher Education in Social Anthropology (CIESAS), Mexico; Africa-America Institute (AAI), Mozambique and South Africa; Pathfinder International (PI), Nigeria; Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP), Peru; Philippines Social Science Council (PSSC), Philippines; Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD) and West African Research Center (WARC), Senegal; The Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), Tanzania; Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF), Thailand; Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and Association of the Advancement of Higher Education and Development (AHEAD), Uganda; and Center for Educational Exchange with Vietnam (CEEVN), Vietnam.

IFP partnered with additional organizations and individual consultants to carry out projects including Fellow placement and education at universities around the world, program evaluation, the series of Leadership for Social Justice Institutes hosted by IFP between 2002 and 2007, and the development and maintenance of IFP's information technology infrastructure. These partners include over 100 universities worldwide with whom IFP established what the program referred to as strategic university partnerships (SUPs), based on the universities' demonstrated ability to support IFP Fellows. Other major partners include the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies at the University of Twente, the Netherlands, which conducted program evaluation and alumni surveys for IFP. Nuffic and the British Council assisted the Institute of International Education in placing Fellows at universities in Spain and Portugal and the United Kingdom, respectively. The Spring International Language Center at the University of Arkansas provided English language training for Fellows who wished to study in the United States and United Kingdom. Finally, the Advocacy Institute and School for International Training played major roles in planning and carrying out IFP's Leadership for Social Justice Institutes.

IFP staff members recognized the long-term research value of the program's records, and began working to collect and preserve them well before the program ended. Alan Divack, Senior Project Manager, Archives and Records Management, joined the Secretariat staff in 2008. Divack worked with other IFP staff members and the Board of Directors to identify records with long-term value, develop policies and procedures for gathering and preserving those records, and make arrangements with an archival repository to house the records. The Board of Directors ultimately selected the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University for the latter role.

The Institute of International Education, which worked closely with IFP throughout the program, began a longitudinal study of IFP alumni in 2013 with support from the Ford Foundation. Its first report was released in April 2016. The records of this study will be added to the IFP Records when it concludes in 2023.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Application forms	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Correspondence	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Grant proposals	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Reports	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Web archives	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
electronic records (digital records)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
minutes (administrative records)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
publications (documents)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Name
Ford Foundation. International Fellowships Program	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Place
Africa	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Asia	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Latin America	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Middle East	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Russia	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Subject
Access to higher education	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Community development -- 21st century	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Social justice	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID

Collection Overview

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