Davidson Testifies Before House Appropriations Subcommittee

Published March 30, 2015

On March 30, 2015, Dr. Dan E. Davidson, President of American Councils for International Education, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations on the need for support of international exchange, research, and training programs—with the regions of the world critical for U.S. national security and economic competitiveness. 

Davidson highlighted three initiatives of importance for our world region: 1) the Title VIII research and training program for U.S. scholars and graduate students; 2) the support of transparent, merit-based scholarships and university admissions testing in Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Ukraine; 3) the U.S. role in trans-Atlantic support for the European Humanities University (EHU).

Davidson argued that Department of State’s Title VIII: Research and Training for Eastern Europe and Eurasia continues to be critical to U.S. national interests. “Title VIII supports policy-relevant research, on-site fieldwork, and advanced language training in areas essential for U.S. policy formation and analysis. At a recent conference convened by the Carnegie Corporation, practitioners in U.S. foreign policy have designated the kinds of region-specific, grounded research supported by Title VIII as the ‘most useful and practical scholarship for their daily work,'" noted Davidson. He testified that US national security and global competitiveness depend on the ability to understand and engage peoples with diverse histories, cultures, politics, economies and languages.

For more information on Davidson's testimony, see the American Councils website.