 Sponsor: Fulbright
Program
Countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
Program focus: Undergraduate scholarships
Timeframe: 1984–1999
Description: The Fulbright
Program initiated CAMPUS to enable academically gifted students to obtain
bachelor’s
degrees at U.S. colleges and universities. CAMPUS provided scholarships
for students to complete 30 months of academic course work, including intensive
English language training, general education courses, and specialization
in disciplines including business administration, communications, computer
science, education, natural sciences, and social sciences. Over the course
of the program, 795 young people from Central America studied at 28 institutions
and returned home to pursue professional careers.
More
information
The CAMPUS program included intensive orientation and reentry workshops and an emphasis on community service both in the home country and the host community.
The effects of the program on participating U.S. universities were significant:
- Linfield College reported a 150% increase in study abroad applications following the arrival of CAMPUS students.
- The University of Louisville established a Center for Latin American Education, building on interest generated from the very first CAMPUS exchange.
- In 1988, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire held a three-day conference on Latin America attended by over 400 delegates, including four Latin American ambassadors, a representative of the U.S. State Department, and CAMPUS students themselves. The university subsequently set up a Latin American Institute, providing undergraduate courses on Latin American history, geography, economics, and political studies, as well as field trips to Latin America.
- The CAMPUS program at Saint Michael's College in Vermont was visited by Madeleine Albright, then Secretary of State, in April 1998. In a speech on foreign policy and human rights, Albright commended the college on its strong commitment to international education.
The program also yielded far-reaching returns for the individual grantees and their home countries, where CAMPUS alumni serve as educators, environmentalists, health care professionals, information technology specialists, and advisors to government ministries, among many other professions.
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The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. |
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