MEXICO: CURRENT PROGRAMS

Border Ozone Reduction and Air Quality Improvement Program
Sponsor: InterGen
Countries: Mexico, United States
Program focus: Environment (research grants)
Timeframe: 2002–2008
Description: This program offers grants to investigate and implement effective, scientifically based and measurable methods to reduce ozone creation and improve air quality in the border region between Mexicali, Mexico, and Imperial County, California. Sixteen applied research grants have been awarded to environmental and social scientists on both sides of the border. The program also addresses cross-border policy issues such as shared environmental standards and the purchase of emission reduction offsets or other mitigation efforts that achieve a similar benefit. The $2 million initiative is funded by a seed grant from InterGen to LASPAU. More information

Fulbright Faculty Development Program
Sponsor: Fulbright Program; U.S., Latin American, and Caribbean universities, foundations, and corporations
Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
Program focus: Faculty development
Timeframe: 1975–present
Description: The Fulbright Faculty Development Program brings up to 150 educators each year from Latin America and the Caribbean to the United States for advanced studies in a wide variety of disciplines. The program began in 1975 in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador and additional countries were added over time. Cost-share partners supplement the basic grant by providing tuition assistance and other forms of complementary funding. To date, over 3,000 faculty members from higher education institutions throughout the region have obtained advanced degrees or conducted research in the United States through the Fulbright Faculty Development Program. Please see the individual country listings for information on specific cost-share initiatives. More information

Leadership Fellowship Program for Latin America and the Caribbean
Sponsor: W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
Countries: Bolivia, Brazil (Northeast only), Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico (Yucatan peninsula only), Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru
Program focus: Social leadership
Timeframe: 2001–present
Description: WKKF gave LASPAU a $3.6 million grant to administer this initiative. The five-year grant is designed to train up to 50 fellows through short-term, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in thematic areas critical to WKKF’s goal of implementing and disseminating models to break the cycle of poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean. Current fellows and recent alumni were also invited to participate in leadership strengthening workshops in 2003 and 2004. To date, 35 fellows have participated in the program. More information

Lewis A. Tyler Trustees’ Fund
Sponsor: LASPAU Board of Trustees
Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
Program focus: Research grants
Timeframe: 1989–present
Description: The fund provides research support to current LASPAU-administered grantees whose work encourages the exchange of ideas, staff, or resources between institutions in Europe, the United States, or Canada and those in Latin America and the Caribbean. The award enables students to advance their research while strengthening international ties between institutions, two endeavors that embody LASPAU’s vision. The fund, named after former LASPAU executive director Lewis A. Tyler, is sponsored by current and former members of the LASPAU Board of Trustees and by others who support LASPAU’s efforts. More information

Maestría de Desarrollo Comunitario Sustentable (MDCS)
Sponsor: W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
Countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru
Program focus: Sustainable community development
Timeframe: 2004–2007
Description: This distance-learning master’s degree program in sustainable community development is training a cadre of Latin American and Caribbean community leaders working in rural development and food security. Supported by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the program is administered by LASPAU in conjunction with the Universidad Nacional of Costa Rica (UNA) and Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Seguridad Alimentaria y Desarrollo Sustentable (RedLayc). MDCS began in 2005 with 28 students from 11 countries. The grantees were drawn from the Redlayc network of NGOs supported by WKKF and occupy leadership positions in these organizations. In addition to an introductory workshop and distance-learning courses taught by UNA, the students will participate in two extended field trips organized by RedLayc.

OAS-Placed Graduate Scholarship Program
Sponsor: Organization of American States (OAS)
Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
Program focus: Economic diversification and integration, trade liberalization, and market access; education; social development and the creation of productive employment; scientific development and exchange and transfer of technology; strengthening of democratic institutions
Timeframe: 2002–present
Description: This program supports graduate studies for outstanding individuals throughout the Americas who are placed by LASPAU in degree programs at universities in OAS member countries. To ensure that available funds support the maximum number of grants, LASPAU negotiates with admitting universities to secure tuition assistance in the form of scholarships and assistantships. The goal of the program is to fortify the disciplines and institutions most important to building a strong future in the region. To this end, grantees pursue studies in fields critical to addressing issues such as the struggle against poverty and inequality; consolidating democracy; and achieving integral, just, and sustainable social and economic development. To date, over 280 individuals have participated in the program. More information

OAS Self-Placed Graduate Scholarship Program
Sponsor: Organization of American States (OAS)
Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
Program focus: Culture; economic diversification and integration, trade liberalization, and market access; education; social development and the creation of productive employment; scientific development and exchange and transfer of technology; strengthening of democratic institutions; sustainable development and the environment; sustainable development of tourism
Timeframe: 2002–present
Description: This effort supports graduate degree programs for outstanding individuals throughout the Americas who have obtained their own university admission. It is designed to fortify the disciplines and institutions most important to building a strong future in the region. To this end, grantees pursue studies in fields critical to addressing issues such as the struggle against poverty and inequality; consolidating democracy; and achieving integral, just, and sustainable social and economic development. To date, approximately 440 individuals have participated in the program. More information in English | Español

MEXICO: PAST PROGRAMS

Banco de México Faculty Development Program
Sponsor: Banco de México
Country: Mexico
Program focus: Faculty development (science, technology)
Timeframe: 1975–1982
Description: As the USAID-funded faculty development program wound down in 1975, Banco de México was one of the entities that stepped in to fill the gap, providing scholarships for 75 Mexican university professors and administrators. The program focused on training faculty from post-secondary institutions serving rural, provincial, or regional needs outside the country’s major cities. In particular, the program sought to upgrade teaching and administration in Mexico’s Institutos Tecnológicos Regionales, a network of 50 technical institutes offering degrees in subjects relevant to the industrial and agricultural needs of the surrounding regions.

Coca-Cola Senior Scholar Program
Sponsor: Coca-Cola Foundation
Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, United States
Program focus: Visiting faculty (food science, food technology)
Timeframe: 1991–1992
Description: This program was designed to promote international exchange and the transfer of information in the areas of food science and food technology. Four professors from U.S. institutions traveled to nine Latin American universities, where they conducted seminars and short courses, held meetings, and visited government, industry, and academic facilities.

CONACYT Technical Training Program
Sponsor: CONACYT
Country: Mexico
Program focus: Faculty development (science, technology)
Timeframe: 1980-1984
Description: CONACYT, the national science and technology council of Mexico, supported the effort to bring master’s level technical training to all regions of the country. LASPAU administered the U.S. graduate degree programs of 75 professors from Mexico’s network of 48 Institutos Tecnológicos Regionales and from the 16 regional campuses of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

Dow Química Professional Search Program
Sponsor: Dow Química do Brasil; Dow Química de Colombia; Dow Química Mexicana
Country: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico
Program focus: Corporate development
Timeframe: 1986–1989
Description: Dow Química requested LASPAU’s assistance in locating highly talented non-sponsored Colombian, Brazilian, and Mexican students completing their education at U.S. institutions. The program provided recent graduates with interviews for potential employment at an appropriately challenging level at Dow in the individual’s county of origin, thus addressing the “return of talent” that is of concern to government and industry throughout the region. In 1989, the final year of the program, LASPAU contacted students at 90 U.S. universities and facilitated Dow’s interviews with 109 graduates.

Family Planning Management Training Project (FPMT)
Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Countries: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mexico, Peru, Rwanda, Sudan, Thailand, Zimbabwe
Program focus: Health care
Timeframe: 1988–1990
Description: LASPAU served as a subcontractor to Management Sciences for Health for this USAID effort to help government ministries and private organizations improve family planning programs in developing countries worldwide. Thirty-two family planning professionals from 16 countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa received training through master’s and short-term programs in public health management. LASPAU also provided logistical support for conferences and other activities.

Higher Education in Latin America: Helping Institutions Respond to the Challenges of Reform
Sponsor: Ford Foundation
Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
Program focus: Higher education reform
Timeframe: 1996–1997
Description: A far-reaching grant from the Ford Foundation to LASPAU continued the work of the Latin American Fellows Program on Higher Education. The additional funding supported in-country roundtables on higher education reform; case studies to inform practitioners about reform efforts and form the curriculum for a professional development program; a Harvard symposium on higher education reform; and wide dissemination of the published outcomes of the roundtables, case studies, and symposium.

IBM Network Project
Sponsor: IBM Latin America
Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
Program focus: Electronic communications
Timeframe: 1990–1992
Description: IBM provided a $50,000 grant to enable LASPAU to establish its Network Project in 1990. The project was designed to encourage computer communications for academic purposes throughout the Americas with the intention of stimulating greater communications among former grantees, their colleagues, and faculty in the United States. As a result of this early program, a number of electronic mailing lists were established, some of which are still in active use. More information

International Study Grants Program for Latin America and the Caribbean
Sponsor: W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
Countries: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru
Program focus: Social leadership
Timeframe: 1999–2003
Description: Fellowships for long- or short-term study abroad were granted to professionals at institutions—including universities, nongovernmental organizations, and government agencies and ministries—actively engaged in projects funded by WFFK, with the goal of contributing to the success of those projects. To achieve the greatest impact, WKKF targeted grants toward specific areas of community need such as health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; higher education; and philanthropy and volunteerism. Half of the 61 fellows administered by LASPAU studied in the United States, and the other half studied in Latin America or Europe. More information

LASPAU Faculty Development Program
Sponsor: North and South American institutions; U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Countries: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Program focus: Faculty development
Timeframe: 1965–1975
Description: A collaboration between USAID, U.S. universities, and Latin American universities, this program was LASPAU’s first effort devoted exclusively to faculty development. 1,600 young people from across Latin America obtained U.S. graduate degrees in preparation for careers in academia and returned home to contribute to the teaching and research missions of their home institutions. More information

Latin American Fellows Program on Higher Education
Sponsor: Ford Foundation
Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, United States, Venezuela
Program focus: Higher education reform
Timeframe: 1995
Description: A grant to LASPAU from the Ford Foundation enabled the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) to host a fellows program to strengthen scholarship in higher education in Latin America. Six academics from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela were given one-semester appointments in the Administration, Planning, and Social Policy area of HGSE. Senior scholars and practitioners were invited to Harvard to enrich the fellows’ understanding of higher education reform efforts in Latin America and other regions of the world.

Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities
Sponsor: Ford Foundation; U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. universities
Countries: Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru
Program focus: Undergraduate and graduate scholarships
Timeframe: 1964–1968
Description: The original program from which LASPAU’s name is derived, this cooperative venture initiated by Harvard University in 1964 provided full scholarships to colleges across the United States for outstanding Latin American youths of limited economic means. More information

Leadership Strengthening Program I
Sponsor: W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru
Program focus: Social leadership
Timeframe: 2000–2001
Description: In 1998, WKKF approached LASPAU and the Tec de Monterrey with a request to develop a leadership strengthening program for leaders of nongovernmental organizations that were recipients of WKKF funding. The central idea was to build a cadre of socially minded leaders who, through their projects, would work for the common good and have an increasingly significant social impact on their respective countries. An important theme was creating willingness in existing leaders to mentor and coach others. The program, launched in July 2000, included a three-week session at ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, one week at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and nine months of online learning for the twenty participants. More information

Leadership Strengthening Program II
Sponsor: W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
Countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru
Program focus: Social leadership
Timeframe: 2001–2002
Description: A continuation of the Leadership Strengthening Program I, this joint LASPAU–Tec de Monterrey program sought to strengthen the leaders of nongovernmental organizations that were recipients of WKKF funding. The program’s goal was to build a cadre of socially minded leaders who, through their projects, would work for the common good and have an increasingly significant social impact on their respective countries. The 20 participants undertook a three-week session at ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, one week at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and nine months of online learning.

Leadership Strengthening Program III
Sponsor: W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
Countries: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico
Program focus: Social leadership
Timeframe: 2002–2003
Description: A continuation of the previous two Leadership Strengthening Programs, this joint LASPAU–Tec de Monterrey initiative sought to strengthen the leaders of nongovernmental organizations that were recipients of WKKF funding. The program’s goal was to build a cadre of socially minded leaders who, through their projects, would work for the common good and have an increasingly significant social impact on their respective countries. The 15 participants undertook a three-week session at ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, one week at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and nine months of online learning.

Leadership Strengthening Program IV
Sponsor: W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
Countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua
Program focus: Social leadership
Timeframe: 2003–2004
Description: A continuation of the previous Leadership Strengthening Programs, this program strengthened the leadership capacity of Latin American grassroots leaders of the Human Nutrition Initiative and rural development projects who have proven their abilities as social leaders committed to promoting social development. The 15 participants undertook a three-week session at INCAE in San Jose, Costa Rica, and one week at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Mellon Foundation Programs in Electronic Communications
Sponsor: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Countries: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Venezuela
Program focus: Electronic communications
Timeframe: 1991–1998
Description: The Mellon Foundation provided grants to LASPAU to support the development of electronic communications systems at universities and research institutions in Latin America and to fund in-country training programs in telecommunications technology and research techniques for Latin American scholars. In all, 4,000 individuals and over 80 institutions in 14 countries benefited from these efforts. More information

Mexican Arts and Crafts Youth Program
Sponsor: United States Information Agency
Country: Mexico
Program focus: Arts (youths)
Timeframe: 1989
Description: LASPAU was awarded a grant to manage an intensive three-week program in the United States for ten young Mexican artisans. The youths exchanged ideas and experiences with a broad cross-section of U.S. artists and craftspeople, visiting museums, galleries, schools, studios, and workshops in Boston and central Massachusetts, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Mexican Youth Leadership Program
Sponsor: United States Information Agency
Country: Mexico
Program focus: Leadership (youths)
Timeframe: 1988
Description: LASPAU was chosen to design and coordinate this program, which enabled six Mexican students (ages 19 to 24) to spend three weeks in the United States in September 1988. In meetings with community, political, agricultural, educational, and corporate leaders, the youths examined the development of leadership skills, management of organizations, and definitions of effective social and political change.