David Boren: “this week marks an important beginning in the life of a program that I hope will help pioneer this country's commitment…”

“this week marks an important beginning in the life of a program that I hope will help pioneer this country's commitment to international education. For the past several years, I have talked often about our country falling behind the rest of the world in preparing the next generation for the new global environment. As the cold war ended and regional problems became more important, I feared that we lacked an appreciation of the histories and complexities of places in the Middle East, the Baltics and Asia. While the world's economies became increasingly interdependent, I suspected that we lacked the understanding of markets in Beijing or Prague or Santiago. Based on these concerns, I proposed the National Security Education Act. Its aim was simple: To encourage students to study, and schools to focus on, non-Western languages and cultures important to our country's future. The bill created a trust fund to support graduate fellowships for students willing to serve in Government after their studies ended; scholarships for undergraduates to study in foreign countries; and language and cultural programs for universities to establish and maintain. In 1991, the NSEP was created by an act of Congress and signed into law by President Bush. This week, after overcoming obstacles to its implementation, the NSEP began the process of awarding scholarships and fellowships. It hopes to award the institutional programs this fall.”