The first-ever award to rescue scholars in the arts from parts of the world where they are oppressed and denied freedom of expression has been announced by the Institute of International Education (IIE), one of the largest international exchange organizations in the world.

Established with gifts from IIE Trustees Robert L. Dilenschneider and Mark A. Angelson, the Janet Hennessey Dilenschneider Scholar Rescue Award in the Arts will provide life-saving fellowships to 10 threatened scholars in fields such as painting, dance, music, architecture, and the performing arts.

Candidates apply through IIE's Scholar Rescue Fund, which provides fellowships of up to $25,000. Each selected scholar is then placed at a host university, which matches the fellowship and provides a safe place for the scholar to continue to advance his or her work.

The Janet Hennessey Dilenschneider Scholar Rescue Award in the Arts becomes part of IIE's Scholar Rescue Fund, which over more than a decade has rescued 525 scholars from more than 50 countries.

“Scholars of the arts are an extremely important part of the intellectual fabric of open societies and, sadly, are too often neglected in the face of emergencies or persecution from tyrannical regimes,”

said Dr. Allan E. Goodman, IIE’s President and CEO.

“We lose their creative work, which includes teaching the next generation of artists. This new program will protect free expression and creativity, so essential to any country’s growth and development, and to fostering peace and prosperity.”

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The Scholar Rescue Fund is open to applications from scholars at risk (professors, researchers and public intellectuals) in any country of the world, from potential host partners (universities and other institutions of higher learning) in any safe country in the world and from anyone who wishes to donate to the fund.