USF Proud to Host Ford Foundation International Fellows

TAMPA, FL (September 7, 2005) – The University of South Florida is proud to host two new Ford Foundation International Program Fellows for the 2005-2006 academic year. President Judy Genshaft and Provost Renu Khator honored the scholars at a reception on August 30, 2005 along with various other scholarship and award winners.

The College of Education is honored to have Yewande (Sade) Afolabi of Nigeria, studying Special Education; and the College of Arts and Sciences will have Charmy Sabigan join them from the Philippines to study Mass Communications. Both scholars are working to earn their Master’s degrees. “We are so excited to have Sade with us,” states Colleen S. Kennedy, Dean of the College of Education, “she is a delightful young woman and I look forward to her time here.”

The Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program (IFP) provides outstanding individuals the opportunity for advanced learning. These individuals are poised to become leaders in their fields, helping to further economic and social development in their own countries. “Ford fellowship recipients come from diverse backgrounds,” states Evelyn Levinson, the Associate Director for International Admissions at USF. The Ford Foundations currently maintains programs in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Russia, and the Middle East.

Fellows are chosen and supported for two to three years of formal graduate work, Master’s or Doctoral level. The selection criteria are based on leadership potential, academic merit, and an applicant’s commitment to serve their community and/or nation. Once the Fellows are selected, they are able to choose a university program anywhere in the world to attend. USF actively recruits Ford Foundation Fellows, and Levinson states, “they (the Fellows) are truly a treasure to have here.” For more information on the Ford Foundation and its programs, visit: www.fordfound.org

For more information contact the College of Education's Communications Director.