For more than 60 years, the Council for International
Exchange of Scholars (CIES) has helped administer
the Fulbright Scholar Program, the U.S. government's
flagship academic exchange effort, on behalf of
the United States Department of State, Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Founded
in 1947, CIES is a private organization. It is
a division of the Institute
of International Education (IIE).
CIES maintains deep ties with the U.S. higher
education community, including individual universities
and colleges and major scholarly organizations.
It also works with a network of bi-national Fulbright
Commissions in 50 countries and 90 U.S. diplomatic
posts around the world, as well as international
universities and higher education associations.
The day-to-day work of CIES is carried out by
more than 60 program officers and staff organized by world
region. An eight-person outreach and public relations team works with CIES program officers, U.S. colleges and universities, professional and scholarly associations and the media to recruit scholars and publicize the Fulbright Scholar Program.
Nearly 300 academics and professionals serve without compensation on CIES discipline and peer review committees. The committees meet throughout the year at CIES to evaluate and recommend candidates for the available Fulbright awards. CIES also has a network of nearly 2,500 Fulbright representatives on college and university campuses that help promote the Fulbright Scholar Program and assist faculty and administrators with their applications.
In addition, CIES-appointed metropolitan coordinators arrange cultural and social activities for foreign Fulbright Scholars in cities such as Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. |