IIE Gala 2012: Celebrating the Scholar Rescue Fund's 10th Anniversary

At the Institute of International Education's awards gala on September 18th at New York’s Cipriani Wall Street, nearly 500 business, education, government, foundation, and policy leaders celebrated the 2012 award winners’ commitment to the Institute’s mission of Opening Minds to the World and rescuing threatened scholars. The event raised $1.2 million for the Institute of International Education and $6 million in support of IIE's Scholar Rescue Fund, which includes $3 million in new gifts and a $3 million match from SRF's founding Chairman, Dr. Henry Jarecki. At the event, Dr. Jarecki announced that he will become Chairman Emeritus and turn over the role of Chairman to Mark Angelson, who is the Treasurer of IIE's Board of Trustees and a longtime member of the SRF Advisory Board. 

Noted New York financial world leaders Henry Jarecki, Henry Kaufman, Thomas Russo, and George Soros, the founders of IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund, received IIE’s Humanitarian Award for their visionary leadership that has saved the lives and work of hundreds of threatened scholars. Senator Patrick J. Leahy was the special guest presenter for this award. Princess Ghida Talal of Jordan, who was an honorary co-chair for the event, spoke about the award recipients' outstanding commitment to the fund, and noted that their work has made a remarkable impact in protecting threatened academics and advancing academic freedom around the world. 

IIE presented Western Union President and Chief Executive Officer Hikmet Ersek with its Opening Minds Corporate Leadership Award on behalf of the company, in recognition of Western Union’s exemplary leadership and outstanding commitment to education and corporate social responsibility around the globe. In addition, HE John Atta Mills, President of Ghana, was honored posthumously with The Fritz Redlich Alumni Award, in recognition of his highly distinguished career as a president whose commitment to education helped prepare an entire generation in Ghana for today's competitive, globalized economy. 

For more information, including slideshows and videos of the IIE Gala, please visit: www.iie.org/gala.