Mark Angelson named new SRF Chairman

NEW YORK, August 1, 2012—The Institute of International Education (IIE) announced today that its Treasurer and Trustee, Mark Angelson, after stepping down as Chicago’s Deputy Mayor later this year, will succeed Dr. Henry Jarecki as Chairman of IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) and of SRF’s scholar selection committee. Dr. Jarecki is one of the founders of SRF and has served as its Chairman as it grew from a start-up initiative into a thriving international rescue effort that has saved the lives and work of nearly 500 threatened academics around the world.

IIE has been a world leader in the rescue of persecuted scholars since its founding in 1919. During the 1930s, IIE’s Assistant Director, Edward R. Murrow, worked to rescue more than 300 threatened European scholars, several of whom went on to win Nobel Prizes.

In 2002, IIE and co-founders George Soros, Henry Kaufman, Thomas Russo and Dr. Jarecki launched SRF as a formalized response to this ongoing international dilemma, creating a fund that is ready to respond quickly to urgent crises and to assist individual scholars who have immediate need. The outstanding commitment to SRF of these noted financial world leaders has made a remarkable impact in protecting threatened academics and advancing academic freedom around the world. SRF provides fellowships and safe haven for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. SRF, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, has been supported by prominent international philanthropic institutions, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Open Society Institute, as well as the U.S. Department of State.

IIE President and CEO Allan E. Goodman said, “IIE has been privileged to benefit from Mr. Angelson’s knowledge and expertise as a member of the SRF scholar selection committee throughout his tenure as a Trustee. He continued to advise us and to mentor Fulbright students during his period of public service. We are grateful to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for acquiescing in Mr. Angelson’s return to private life to take on an ever more active role in these key activities of the Institute.”

“We are extremely grateful to Henry Jarecki for his remarkable service and his deep personal commitment to the Scholar Rescue Fund. He has devoted a tremendous amount of time and energy to launching the fund and leading its expansion, and we are pleased to announce that he has agreed to stay on as Chairman Emeritus of the fund,” said Thomas S. Johnson, Chairman of IIE’s Board of Trustees. “Looking ahead, we are privileged that Mark Angelson has agreed to bring his considerable talent and management experience to leading the Scholar Rescue Fund into the future, building on the strong foundation developed by its founders. We are confident that SRF will continue to grow and flourish with this strong leadership transition.”

“I am grateful to Mark Angelson for his selfless dedication and tireless commitment to the people of Chicago in his role as Deputy Mayor. Mark’s outstanding efforts facilitated the creation of tens of thousands of jobs for Chicagoans, unprecedented cooperation with labor unions, the rebirth of World Business Chicago, and the launch of the largest municipal wellness program in the United States, among other initiatives,” said Mayor Emanuel. “I have known Mark for many years, and I asked him to join my team with confidence in his ability to support the administration and improve the city. He exceeded my expectations, and his work will pay dividends for years to come. I look forward to continuing our friendship and his professional advice.”

Soros, Kaufman, Jarecki and Russo will receive IIE’s Humanitarian Award for their visionary leadership in founding and guiding SRF at IIE’s awards gala on September 18th at New York’s Cipriani Wall Street, where 400 business, education, government, foundation and policy leaders will celebrate the 2012 award recipients’ commitment to the Institute’s mission of Opening Minds to the World® and rescuing threatened scholars.


About the Institute of International Education

The Institute of International Education, a private not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. IIE designs and implements over 250 programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government and private sources. These programs include the Fulbright Student and Scholar programs, the Gilman International Scholarship Program, and the Humphrey Fellowships, administered for the U.S. Department of State, as well as corporate and foundation training and scholarship programs. IIE also conducts policy research, provides advice and counseling on international educational opportunities abroad, and provides emergency support to students and scholars in danger. The Institute of International Education has a network of 17 international offices around the world and more than 1,000 college and university members. More than 60 Fulbright alumni, IIE alumni, IIE trustees and advisers have received Nobel Prizes.

About IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund

The Scholar Rescue Fund provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. These fellowships permit professors, researchers and public intellectuals to find temporary refuge at universities, colleges and research centers anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue their academic work in safety and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues and the community. In its first 10 years, SRF has provided fellowships to nearly 500 remarkable scholars from 48 countries, including leading an effort of historic proportion to save the intellectual capital of Iraq. The Iraq Scholar Rescue Project has saved the lives and work of more than 250 of Iraq’s most senior and threatened academics in a wide range of academic disciplines through temporary academic positions at universities, colleges and other institutions of higher learning in the Middle East and North African regions.

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