May 2006

First EF alumni day

Over ninety Fellows, spouses, trustees, staff, and friends of Eisenhower Fellowships attended the first-ever USA alumni day, held in Wilmington, Delaware, and Radnor, Pennsylvania, on May 14. The day was sponsored by new trustee and longtime friend of Eisenhower Fellowships Nathan Hayward.

The day began with brunch at Harry’s Seafood Grill in Wilmington, followed by a walking tour of the city’s redeveloping waterfront. The group then attended a matinee performance of A Murder, A Mystery and A Marriage, a spirited and light-hearted musical written and directed by Aaron Posner ‘01, USA. Attendees then traveled to Villanova Conference Center in Radnor for an informal reception and barbeque dinner, where remarks given by Greg Goldman ’03 and Nina Liebman ’93 indicated their hope for increased interaction and cooperation among USA Fellows.

Thornburgh to head national organization

David Thornburgh ’00, USA, will become the chief executive officer of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, a national organization dedicated to facilitating cooperation on regional economic development projects, as of June 1. The organization will relocate to Philadelphia from Denver as Thornburgh takes the helm.

Thornburgh comes to the position from the Pennsylvania Economy League, where he spent more than 11 years as executive director, promoting regionalism as a development strategy at the state level. In light of the new local presence of the national Alliance for Regional Stewardship, the Pennsylvania Economy League will rechart its mission under new leadership.

Growth in Northeast Asia: Paths to Sustainable Growth

June 23-24, 2006
Peninsula Palace Hotel
Beijing, China

Eisenhower Fellowships and the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) will host a regional conference titled Northeast Asia: Paths to Sustainable Growth on June 23 & 24 in Beijing. The event, which also serves as a kick-off for EF’s 2006 Northeast Asia Regional Program, opens with a welcoming address by Clark T. Randt, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.

The conference will feature a CEO roundtable, with top business leaders from China, China (Taiwan), Korea, Japan and the United States presenting their views on future trends in their countries and industries. EF trustee Governor Christine Todd Whitman will lead a session on the environment. Additionally, the program features break-out groups on energy, the rule of law, information technology, and financial markets.

The Northeast Asia Regional Program will bring 23 emerging leaders from China, China (Taiwan), Japan, and Korea to the United States in September 2006.

For conference information, please contact Susan Kohler Reed at skohler@eisenhowerfellowships.org.
For sponsorship information, please contact Tom Ferguson at tferguson@eisenhowerfellowships.org.

Final call for registration for Istanbul conference

Eisenhower Fellows from around the world will mark the 5-year anniversary of the September 11 tragedies by coming together in an open dialogue on issues of Transitions in Society, Prosperity for Peace, and Religion and Politics at a conference to be held in Istanbul on September 10-12. Middle East and European leaders will offer remarks on the major topics and engage Fellows to extend the discussions in panels and workshops.

Leading figures confirmed for the conference include Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League; Abdullah Gul, foreign minister of Turkey; Hikmet Cetin, NATO representative to Afghanistan and former speaker of the Turkish Parliament; Dora Bakoyannis, Greek Foreign Minister; Suhair Al-Ali, Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation; and Suleyman Demirel ’53, former president and prime minister of Turkey.

Conference participants will enjoy visits to key historic and cultural sites such as the Topkapi Museum, cruise on the Bosporous, and an all-day Istanbul Classics and Ottoman Relics tour. Conference registration continues through June 15.

Further information and conference registration is available on line at www.efistanbul.com.

EU Fellow to head GMES Bureau

Valere Moutarlier ’06, European Union, will lead the Bureau for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES Bureau) within the European Commission's Directorate General for Industry as of June 1. GMES is an EU-led initiative in partnership with ESA to combine ground- and space-based observations to develop an integrated environmental monitoring capability to benefit European citizens. GMES is the European contribution to the world wide GEOSS initiative (Group of Earth Observation System of Systems).

Government appointment to IDFC

Shailesh Pathak ’00, India, has been named by the government to a 3-year position at the Infrastructure Development Finance Company. In 2006, the IDFC financed a quarter of the total private-sector infrastructure expenditures in India. Pathak was previously the managing director of the state industrial development corporation in Chhattisgarh.

Fellow joins EF board

Elia Nuqul ’64, Jordan, has recently joined the Eisenhower Fellowships Board of Trustees. Nuqul is the chairman of the Nuqul Group, a conglomerate of 27 companies and one of the Middle East's leading industrial groups. He founded the group’s mother company, Nuqul Brothers Company, in 1952, to import and distribute foodstuffs. Since that time, its line of business has grown to include raw material and converted hygienic tissue paper, non-woven fabrics, processed meats, aluminum profiles, ready-mix concrete, synthetic sponge/foam, plastic pipes, stationery, and printed packaging materials.

Nuqul joins five other Fellows who also serve as trustees. They are: Donal De Buitleir ’87, Ireland; Jeremy Ellis ’83, Australia; Conrado Etchebarne ’62, Argentina; Jeffrey L.S. Koo ’71, China (Taiwan); Alfonso Vegara ’87, Spain; and Philip Lia T-Kok Yeo ’87, Singapore.

Support for alumni initiatives

Through the generosity of trustee Dr. John Templeton, Eisenhower Fellowships is pleased to make available funds in support of Fellow-initiated gatherings that increase productive interchange and collaboration among alumni. As Fellows have increasingly expressed interest in meeting post-program to continue international dialogue and build on EF’s extraordinary alumni talent, EF is now able to provide matching funds for alumni-initiated activities. To this end, EF welcomes proposals from national and local alumni groups on a smaller scale than the traditional bi-annual world conferences.

These may be for organizing events on relevant national leadership issues or on other topics grounded in Fellows’ diverse individual and group interests; they can range from a weekend get-together to hosting a key dignitary in cooperation with other like-minded organizations (such as Fulbright or Harvard alumni groups). Events involving a larger audience or bringing together Fellows sharing common interests at a major conference (such as agriculture Fellows attending the Farm Journal Forum in Washington, D.C.) are also eligible.

Event criteria and applications for support are available here.

Fellows meeting in Berlin

Hans-Joachim Reck ’88, president of the German Alumni Association of Eisenhower Fellowships, has announced that the Association is organizing a one-day conference on The United States and Europe: A new agenda for their relationship to be held September 23 in Berlin.

Guest speakers will include members of the German Federal Government and Parliament, and leading business people. German Fellows and alumni Fellows from other EU countries will be in attendance.