Program Updates
2016–2017 Fellows & Host Families Meet
On Saturday, August 27th, Fellows and host families gathered at BU's George Sherman Union for brunch and first greetings.
Some individuals, couples, and families in our host family network have continually hosted Humphrey Fellows for more than two decades. We are grateful to have such an inspired and experienced network of host families and look forward to the new year together!
2016–2017 Cohort Wraps Up Week Two at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
On August 26th, our new cohort enjoyed a guided tour of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, just a twenty-minute walk from our Commonwealth Avenue offices. It was an especially meaningful visit, as Gender Equity is the new theme of the Humphrey Fellowship Program, and our guide gave us deep insights into the life and life-work of Isabella Stewart Gardner.
2016–2017 Cohort Enjoys Orientation Retreat
From August 21 to 23, our new cohort enjoyed a diverse program of activities designed to promote group bonding and teamwork, experience and learn about the New England outdoors, construct a compact of shared values and goals for the coming year, revitalize themselves after their long flights and jet-lag—and have fun!
We are grateful to our facilitators Chris Roland and Paul Hutchinson for their masterful coordination and to Mother Nature, who gave us three days of perfect weather.
BU Welcomes 2016–2017 Cohort
In late summer 2016, the BU Humphrey Program welcomed ten new Fellows—seven specialists in banking & finance, two in English-language education and educational leadership, and one in international maritime affairs.
This cohort brings the number of Fellows in our network to 507—the largest alumni network of any host university in the country.
Please peruse the profiles of our new cohort in the Current Fellows section of our website.
First Ever Research Report: Wealth, Poverty & Opportunity in the 21st Century
We are pleased to announce the publication of our program's first-ever research report, entitled Wealth, Poverty & Opportunity in the 21st Century.
This report, co-sponsored by the BU Center for Finance, Law and Policy (CFLP), represents the culmination of our collective efforts over past year with the CFLP and our Associate Campus Partner, Bunker Hill Community College. We also welcomed an essay by Ms. Vrinda Varma, a Fulbright Fellow currently researching topics in gender empowerment at BU.
The Fellows first presented in business classes at Bunker Hill on financial inclusion initiatives taking place in their respective countries. Then Bunker Hill students and faculty presented alongside the Fellows at our inaugural, Joint Symposium on Financial Inclusion, hosted by the Questrom School of Business.
Following the symposium, all of the presenters incorporated the feedback they gained into essays and papers, which we published in collaboration with the CFLP.
We are delighted that so many strong voices and real-world case studies of financial inclusion challenges and opportunities around the world are represented in this report. Our hope is that our collective effort will improve the quality and depth of dialogue to help make our world a better, more just, and more inclusive place, an essential component of the mission of the Humphrey Fellowship Program. We look forward to many future collaborations in this critical domain.
Download a copy of the report here:
Fellows Complete Certificate Programs in Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Project Management & TESOL
Congratulations to Aly Jafferani and Habibullah Pathan, both of whom completed the Nonprofit Management and Leadership Certificate Program at the Questrom School of Business, to Nermin Helmy and Aly Jafferani, who completed the Project Management Graduate Certificate Program at Metropolitan College, and to Fozilet Simoni, who completed the Graduate Certificate Program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at the School of Education!
2016 Commencement Ceremony
On Monday, May 9th, Fellows, supporters, friends, and affiliates gathered for the first time at the Questrom School of Business, the new administrative home of the Humphrey Fellowship Program at Boston University, to celebrate the conclusion of the 2015–2016 Fellowship Year. Director Jack McCarthy moderated the ceremony, and remarks were given by Questrom Dean Kenneth Freeman, current Fellow Fozilet Simoni of Albania, and the keynote speaker Anne L. Howard-Tristani—a BU alumna, international educational consultant, and the niece of Hubert H. Humphrey. Egyptian Fellow Nermin Helmy also read aloud a letter of thanks and congratulations from Fellow Mouhamadou Kane of Senegal, as Mouhamadou was unable to be with us in Boston at this time. The program also featured videotaped remarks by former President Jimmy Carter and Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Reverend Dr. Robert Alan Hill, Dean of Marsh Chapel and Chaplain to the University, led us in a moment of silence to honor Mouhamadou and then a blessing of the food that would be served during the reception.
Friends & Family Cookout
The weather kept us indoors, but on Saturday, May 7th, Fellows, coordinators, host families, academic advisors, and interns gathered to take in the year we have all spent together. Nestled in a corner room on the second floor of BU's George Sherman Union with a view of the Charles River, we enjoyed a nice lunch and chatted for hours. Several attendees also got up and spoke about their own memorable experiences of the year.
Concluding Seminar Luncheon
On Friday, April 30th, the cohort and coordinators gathered for the final seminar meeting of the year. First we had lunch together, and then Prof. Jack McCarthy led the Fellows through the concluding installment of a seven-part series on leadership development that has been the centerpiece of our seminar throughout the year. Prof. McCarthy emphasized the importance of gap analysis—reflecting on gaps and leveraging strengths—in the personal and professional development cycle, and he underscored the MICEE Model—the five exemplary leadership practices laid out in Kouzes and Posner’s The Leadership Challenge (first published in 1987): Model the way, Inspire a shared vision, Challenge the process, Enable others to act, and Encourage the heart.
The Fellows then undertook an exercise in which they wrote and then discussed in pairs responses to a series of questions on what they imagined they would be doing ten years from now. Here again, Prof. McCarthy emphasized, “if you can envision the obstacles, you will be more likely to achieve your goals.”
This dynamic session concluded with each Fellow and coordinator declaring to the rest of the group what they would do, starting now, to lead change and transformation in themselves and be a more principled, ethical person, colleague, and leader at BU and beyond.
Prof. McCarthy leads second of two, first-ever sessions on leadership with MIT Fellows
On Friday, April 22nd, BU HHHP Director (and Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior) Jack McCarthy led a second joint session on leadership development for BU and MIT Humphrey Fellows. Whereas the first session was hosted by MIT, this one was hosted by the Questrom School of Business. This was the first time in the Questrom School's history when a joint seminar was conducted for MIT and BU Fellows together.
In this session, entitled Leading into the Future: A Vision of Our Leadership, McCarthy guided the participants in examining the ways in which our vision of the future shapes our leadership and guides our career and life trajectories.
McCarthy explained why creativity is one of the most sought-after capacities that CEOs look for in new employees. All participants then engaged in exercises that helped to assess their occupational interests, character types, and whether they gravitated to dependent, independent, or interdependent activities.
The session concluded with a discussion of how Fellows' past and present leadership successes, failures, and lessons served as a context for future commitments, growth, and desired change to enrich our lives and to help make our world a better place.