SPEA provides overseas scholarships

The School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training will co-sponsor a new program in the fall that will bring 15 students from Vietnam to IU.

The program is the Vietnam Young Leader Awards and will provide the students with full scholarships to enroll in the Master of Public Affairs program.

“We look forward to welcoming these talented young professionals,” said Professor Michael Rushton, director of the Master of Public Affairs program, in an IU press release. “The Vietnam Young Leader Awards program will extend SPEA’s engagement with a region that is growing rapidly in importance and influence.”

This is the first time Vietnam has participated in a program to send young people to the U.S. for training in public policy, according to the release.

Anh Tran, an assistant professor in the SPEA, said he believes the Vietnam Young Leader Awards will strengthen ties between Vietnam and the U.S.

The first class of these students will be chosen this summer and will enroll in the fall with expected graduation and return to Vietnam in May 2012.

— Lindsey Erdody