FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2009

Contact: Felisa Neuringer Klubes 202.663.5626
E-mail: fklubes@jhu.edu

New Initiative on Central Europe Created at JHU SAIS
Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Funds New Professorship and Visiting Fellowships

Washington, D.C.—December 10, 2009—The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University and the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation of Vienna, Austria, today announced a new initiative to support research and related activities focused on Central Europe. Daniel Hamilton, SAIS professor and founding director of the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations, will be appointed the first Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Professor to head the initiative.

Beginning in 2010, two outstanding scholars will be selected in an open, competitive process to conduct research on important issues related to Central Europe at SAIS. The Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Fellows will be appointed for a nine- month period from October to June each academic year. The call for applications for the 2010-11 academic year is available at http://transatlantic.sais-jhu.edu.

“This grant honors the tremendous legacy of the Marshall Plan and the deep ties that have evolved between the United States, Austria and the people of Central Europe,” said Ferdinand Lacina, president of the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation, upon announcing the award. “We are also proud to deepen our association with Johns Hopkins University SAIS, which has a distinguished tradition of scholarship and made many contributions to greater transatlantic understanding.”

“We at SAIS are delighted that the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation has decided to underwrite Dr. Hamilton’s pioneering leadership in the arena of transatlantic relations,” said SAIS Dean Jessica P. Einhorn. “Austria has long had a special relationship with our school, especially through our Bologna Center in Italy. We have enjoyed a standing tradition of collaboration that will enter a new phase with the generous support of a prestigious foundation, whose very name reflects the deep connections between the people of Austria and the United States.”

The Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan endowment established under Austrian law with funds from the original U.S. Marshall Plan to Austria following World War II. The foundation supports cooperation among Austrian and American universities and scholars. The foundation has provided core funding for the new program and will work with SAIS to secure further funding for the initiative.

SAIS is one of the country’s leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international relations. The Washington, D.C., campus is located on Massachusetts Avenue in the city’s Dupont Circle neighborhood and enrolls approximately 600 full-time graduate students and mid-career professionals. SAIS has trained more than 15,000 alumni in all aspects of international affairs. The school also has campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China.

The SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations is the premier university-based think tank in Washington, D.C., focused on contemporary relations between the United States and Europe. For more information, visit http://transatlantic.sais-jhu.edu.