The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation, founded in 2011 in support of young global leadership, unveiled its e-fellowship program last week in New York City. In offices located across from the New York Stock Exchange in the Non Profit and Philanthropic Center, the foundation’s fellowship will be electronic and thus global, assisting the foundation’s primary projects as well as its special projects that range from international development and human rights to culture and the arts.
Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh had been a Fulbright Scholar.
Fellows are to uphold the foundation’s mission by applying their own specific training and skills, either in person or virtually. Luce Fellows are selected on a competitive basis, determined by merit and promise. The Fellows may elect one of the foundation’s special projects, including Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) and The Stewardship Report (SR) – or any of the dozen special projects the foundation supports around the world.
Luce Fellows may choose to assist the Foundation itself in hands-on work related to areas such as art curation, branding, communications, development, finance, law, marketing, program development, public relations, and strategic planning. The Foundation committee structure is supported through Basecamp, an on-line project management tool.
Margaret Mead had been a Ford arts and humanities fellow in the 1950s.
Similar to McKinsey’s e-fellowship which was the first online scholarship program in Europe, the J. Luce Foundation e-Fellowship Program is open to those based in New York City and around the world. The program enables exceptional scholars to add value and make an impact in the world through the Foundation’s special projects and funds.
Luce Fellows must have served as a Scholar or Fellow with a prestigious program prior to applying. These programs include, but are not limited to:
Ashoka. D.C. To support leading social entrepreneurs with the goal of elevating the citizen sector to a competitive level equal to the business sector. The organization operates in over 70 countries with 2,000 elected as Ashoka Fellows.
Ford. NYC. The International Fellowships Program (IFP) provides fellowships to students from marginalized communities outside the U.S. to pursue graduate studies at universities anywhere in the world. Fellows are selected in 22 countries.
Fulbright. D.C. This U.S. State Department Award is given to Ph.D.’s to teach in foreign universities. Fulbright aims to increase mutual understanding between the U.S. and other countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills.
Gates. Seattle. The Gates Cambridge Scholarships were established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to enable outstanding graduate students from outside the U.K. to study at the University of Cambridge.
Bill Clinton had earned a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford.
Henry Luce. NYC. Luce Scholars Program provides stipends and internships for young Americans to live and work in Asia each year. The program's purpose is to increase awareness of Asia among future leaders in American society. Luce Scholars have backgrounds in virtually any field other than Asian studies; including medicine, the arts, business, law, science, environmental studies, and journalism.
Rhodes. Oxford. The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford in the U.K.
Rotary. Chicago. The world’s largest privately funded international scholarships program, scholars studying abroad serve as ambassadors of goodwill to the people of the host country. Recipients from 69 countries studied in more than 64 nations.
Fellows sit on Standing Committees of the Foundation, along with directors, staff members and global advisors. All Luce Fellows biographies will be listed on the foundation’s website.
Sadako Ogata, former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.
The foundation supports the United Nations Charter of Human Rights that holds “the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the basis for freedom, justice and peace.”
Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank after Paul Wolfowitz, was a Henry Luce Scholar.
The J. Luce Foundation further supports the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empower women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing global partnership for development.
The foundation strives to spotlight effective organizations and leadership involved in the foundation’s areas of interest. Effectiveness includes best practices to achieve maximum social impact with the least administrative overhead and encouragement of NGOs and NGO leadership to cooperate, partner, and even merge with similar organizations to create economies of scale necessary for best practices.
In 2011 the foundation had 163 Global Advisors contributing professional advice and financial support to the institution. Each Global Advisor contributes at least one hour per month and each Fellow will be asked to contribute 20 hours per month.
Ferdi Kayhan, a former Fulbright and Rotary Scholar from Germany who studied International Relations at Columbia University, chairs the J. Luce Foundation e-Fellowship Program Committee. From the Netherlands, he explains:
Working for a multinational corporation in Europe, I realize the importance of cross-cultural and cross-national collaboration. Since its inception, the J. Luce Foundation has actively supported young global leaders that make a difference in the communities they serve in.
Improving the lives of people in need, communicating the importance of civic duty and responsibility, and connecting business with society are just some of the exciting challenges that our Luce Fellows tackle during their tenure.
I look forward to working with all of you in achieving the Foundation’s mission and vision through your distinguished expertise and excellence in leadership.
In addition to Luce Fellows, the foundation also offers the J. Luce Foundation Associates program for professionals with two years philanthropic or non-profit experience and/or a Master’s degree in a related field.
To apply for The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation e-Fellowship, please submit an electronic cover letter in support of your application that reflects an understanding of the Foundation’s mission and projects with an up-to-date C.V. indicating your former fellowship status to fellow@lucefoundation.org.
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