PPIA News & Events

Media Release

July 21, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Awards PPIA $200,000
to Help Diversify the Next Generation of Public Policy Professionals

(Washington, DC) The Public Policy & International Affairs Fellowship Program (PPIA) is launching a new internship program to encourage careers in public policy. The aim is to link talented students who are more representative of America’s diverse makeup with institutions from around the nation that are studying, overseeing and helping shape public policy. The program is intended for PPIA Fellows who, just before the senior year of their undergraduate studies, are required to complete an intensive summer institute that covers economics, quantitative analysis and policy issues. Once they graduate, these students will have a great opportunity to apply this professional training in real world settings and to further develop skills and reinforce their public service interests.

This project has been made possible by a generous two year, $200,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The funding enables PPIA to administer the program and help provide paid internships. A portion of the funds will support the PPIA Junior Summer Institutes. PPIA’s Executive Director Chris Matias says, “To more effectively confront public problems and implement systematic solutions, it is critically important for policy professionals to be more representative of the public they seek to serve. PPIA is uniquely qualified to enhance the level of diversity in positions dealing with those policies that govern society and impact the quality of life for so many communities.”

For over 20 years the PPIA Fellowship Program has been preparing students, primarily from historically underrepresented communities, for graduate school in public and/or international affairs and ultimately for leadership in public service. A recent survey, funded by the Ford Foundation, found that 96% of PPIA Fellows enrolled in graduate school and nearly 8 out of every 10 graduated with an advanced degree in public or international affairs. The survey also found that over 84% of PPIA Fellows would hold a public service job at some point in their careers.

The W.K Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 “to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.” Its programming activities center around the common vision of a world in which each person has a sense of worth, accepts responsibility for self, family, community and societal well-being; and has the capacity to be productive and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions and healthy communities.