African Students Attend Summer Program at University of Arkansas to Study United States

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Spring International Language Center at the University of Arkansas will host a Study of the U.S. Institute program for 20 student leaders from Africa. The program runs from Sunday, June 28, to Tuesday, July 21. The institute is part of a broader U.S. State Department effort designed to promote a better understanding of the U.S. abroad and to help develop future world leaders. 

Spring International Language Center has organized a program that includes the study of U.S. history, government, institutions, economy, society and culture. Highlights will include an in-depth look at the civil rights movement in the American South. The students, who are from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, will also have the opportunity to experience Fayetteville hospitality and recreational opportunities.

The studies will culminate in a weeklong bus trip, stopping at important civil rights locations throughout the South, including Little Rock Central High School, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., the 16^th Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., and the King Center in Atlanta.

A total of six Study of the U.S. Institutes take place concurrently across the country. The approximately 120 participating student leaders arrived in the United States in late June to take part in the five-week program at select institutions. The program culminates in a conference in Washington, D.C., where the students make presentations highlighting their learning and experiences. The State Department is supplying the grant under the Fulbright-Hays Act with the purpose “to foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” Participating institutions in addition to the University of Arkansas are Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; University of Minnesota; University of Alabama, Huntsville; Nazareth College, Rochester, N.Y.; and Green River Community College, Auburn, Wash.

The Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leadersis designed by the Study of the U.S. Branch in the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to promote a better understanding of the U.S. abroad and to help develop future world leaders and it is administered by the Academy for Educational Development. Institute participants are among the more than 40,000 academic and professional exchange program participants overseen annually by Educational and Cultural Affairs. Other bureau programs include the Fulbright Program and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. For more information about bureau programs, visit http://exchanges.state.gov/.