Secretary Rice Says U.S. Needs More Black Diplomats
From Blacknews.com - September 17, 2008
Fairfax, VA - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice recently called the paucity of black Americans at her agency "unacceptable," saying that she would like see more African American students interested in foreign affairs careers. Speaking in Washington, D.C. at a conference convened by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Rice commented on how she can participate in an entire day of meetings at the agency without seeing "somebody who looks like her." She later called on HBCUs and other conference attendees to help address this disparity.
For the past fourteen years, the Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP), a program of the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP) has worked to increase the number of students from HBCUs participating in the IIPP's Fellowship Program. The Fellowship--which also includes Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian-Pacific Islanders--is one of the nation's most prestigious programs for minority students interested in pursuing careers in international affairs.
Darryl Crompton, IIPP Director says, "Our goal has always been to put highly educated, well-trained professionals into the international affairs pipeline, preparing them to eventually assume leadership roles; the IIPP surely represents Secretary Rice's call for global workforce diversity. We're proud that seventy two percent of our Fellows are women and one hundred percent are from underrepresented groups. As Secretary Rice suggested, the time has passed when the only face America sends abroad is white and male."
Rice spoke bluntly about her desire to see a Foreign Service where black Americans are highly visible and directly involved in the development and promotion of America's foreign policy. Crompton responded saying, "Our organization has a 14-year track record recruiting students from HBCUs. The number of IIPP Fellows from these institutions grew in 2008 and we are working with several HBCUs to increase the pool of applicants again for 2009."
The IIPP has placed more than 300 Fellows in more than 50 countries across the globe. Over a five-year period, students participate in international policy institutes, study abroad during their junior year, intensive foreign language training, workshops on global workforce diversity, internships, and graduate study. Students may apply for the Fellowship beginning in the fall semester through the spring semester of their sophomore year in college.
To learn more about the program, please visit www.UNCFSP.org/IIPP
About The UNCFSP
The United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP), a spin-off of UNCF, is an all-inclusive advocate and resource for the minority higher education community--Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Other Minority Institutions (OMIs)--both domestically and internationally. We provide vital, high-quality programs and services to address the challenges, innovations, and opportunities impacting Minority Institutions.
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