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| Secretary of State Rice and Chile's Foreign Minister Alejandro Rioseco signed an agreement on education earlier this month. J. Scott Applewhite/AP |
US woos top Latin American students
US universities are 'open for business,' said US education secretary Margaret Spellings as she announced new student exchange initiatives this week.
By Matthew Malinowski | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitorfrom the August 24, 2007 edition
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Santiago, Chile - When US Education Secretary Margaret Spellings arrived in Chile this week, she brought an important message.
The US wants "Chilean students to know that American higher education is open for business to students from our neighbors," said Ms. Spellings.
Her trip to South America this week is an attempt to attract students put off by lengthy visa delays in the years after 9/11.
While in Chile, she confirmed the creation of 100 annual scholarships for students who want to complete their doctorate studies in the United States, as well as future programs aimed at furthering education exchange between the two countries.
The initiatives will sponsor the best and brightest of Chile's students in an effort to open up opportunities that had until now been possible mainly for the country's elites.
The move reflects the Bush administration's interest in education and is part of a renewed US effort to win back hearts and minds in a region that it has been heavily criticized for ignoring, say analysts.
"Anything that the [US] can do to increase the number of Latin American students who study at US universities is going to be very positive," says Jeffrey Puryear, vice president for social policy at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. "I think that the [Bush] administration is showing a concern to reaching out to Latin America. It is a win-win situation."
Looking toward the future
The recently announced scholarship program aims to draw potential PhD students who study in fields deemed to be pertinent for Chile's future, such as science and technology, public policy, environmental studies, education, and public health. The Chile program stipulates that participants return to Chile and work for at least two years after receiving their PhDs.
Aside from covering the costs of doctorate studies, the scholarship will also pay for predeparture English language training.
Chilean and US officials hope the language training will attract capable students from more modest backgrounds who ordinarily would not have the opportunity to study in the US.
"This way we can go beyond the usual candidates that would normally apply to a study abroad program," Spellings said.
Spellings told reporters Monday that there are also future plans in the works, such as teacher exchanges for both high school and university programs. She also said she was hopeful that Chileans would find jobs in both the public and private sectors upon returning to their home country.
This initiative comes as part of the US officials' increased emphasis on education as a centerpiece of foreign policy in the region.
"We have expanded the educational exchange program. We have tried to expand the notion of what cultural exchange is," explained Craig Kelly, former US ambassador to Chile, shortly before leaving his position in early August.
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