Wilson Center Awards Pakistan Scholarship

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in collaboration with the Fellowship Fund for Pakistan (FFFP), a charitable trust based in Karachi , today announced the appointment of Dr. Sabiha Mansoor as the Wilson Center ‘s new Pakistan Scholar . Mansoor will spend nine months in residence at the Wilson Center beginning in September 2009, carrying out research and writing a book on fashioning a professional development strategy for higher education faculty in Pakistan .

Mansoor is currently professor and dean of the School of Education at Beaconhouse National University in Lahore . Previously, she was professor and head of the Centre of English Language at Aga Khan University in Karachi , and also a professor and lecturer at Kinnaird College in Lahore . She has written a number of books on higher education and language instruction in Pakistan and South Asia , including Language Planning in Higher Education: A Case Study of Pakistan , published by Oxford University Press in 2005.

Mansoor will succeed Ambassador Riaz Mohammad Khan, the Wilson Center ‘s Pakistan Scholar from January-August 2009, who during his stay at the Center has worked on a book looking at the impact on Pakistan of the conflict in Afghanistan , as well as the broader regional and international implications of that conflict.

The Pakistan Scholar Program is the centerpoint of the Wilson Center ‘s Pakistan initiative. The fellowship competition is open to men and women from Pakistan or of Pakistani-origin. Applications are accepted from individuals in academia, business, journalism, government, law, and related professions. Candidates must be currently pursuing research on key public policy issues facing Pakistan , research designed to bridge the gap between the academic and the policymaking worlds. The selection process is a two-tier process, consisting of application evaluation and personal interviews conducted by an independent, international Advisory Council of the FFFP, composed of eminent individuals from the fields of politics, diplomacy, business, economics, academia, and journalism, and followed by final selection by a Wilson Center selection panel.

The Fellowship Fund for Pakistan was established in 2003 to provide Pakistan ‘s most eminent thinkers with opportunities to participate in international deliberations on current and future issues facing Pakistan through dialogue with global opinion leaders and policymakers, scholars, and other experts. FFFP seeks to promote non-partisan scholarship at international forums in order to encourage free, informed and serious dialogue on issues of public interest to Pakistan and the United States .

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living, national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington , D.C. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds and engaged in the study of national and world affairs.