Columbia University announced this spring that it has partnered with the Obama Foundation, created by former president Barack Obama ’83CC and former first lady Michelle Obama, to host an annual cohort of Obama Foundation Scholars.
“These will be rising leaders from around the world, for whom we will design a special yearlong resident program of education and training, on full scholarship, after which the scholars will return home and continue their work,” wrote President Lee C. Bollinger in an e-mail announcing the program on March 23.
About a dozen Obama Foundation Scholars will arrive this fall; in subsequent years, the University will host a larger number of scholars selected through an open application process.
The residency program is part of the Columbia World Projects (CWP) initiative, which Bollinger established last year to support academic endeavors that address pressing global problems.
“The Obama Foundation Scholars program will be one aspect of what we hope is a vibrant intellectual life at CWP, with classes, fellowships, conferences, and publications,” Bollinger wrote. “Our special area of interest is studying the ways in which academic research is successfully (or unsuccessfully) implemented, so that people outside universities can benefit from this knowledge.”
