Thirteen Tufts students have found their summer plans in disarray after the Director of the Institute of Global Leadership announced the temporary suspension of the TILIP program last week.
Program Director Sherman Teichman informed students in Tufts Institute for Leadership and International Perspective on April 20 that the program will be suspended indefinitely due to lack of funds.
Problems with funding for this summer's program first became apparent on April 15 after a meeting planned for that day with the program's Chinese counterpart was postponed to April 15.
Issues revolve mainly around the construction of a financial package suitable for both parties of the program. "It's the equivalent of companies merging together," Teichman said.
"I alerted the students as soon as I knew of the circumstances," Teichman said. "They had to be freed to plan alternative summers for themselves."
Broader financial problems with TILIP began to emerge last year after the SARS epidemic forced the program to change its program. The participants went to New York City and Washington, D.C. instead of going to China.
"It was a very powerful year for the Chinese students," Teichman said. "But for some of the [Tufts] students, the disappointment was too profound."
Teichman said that this unexpected program resulted in greater expenses as living costs in the U.S. are higher than that of Hong Kong. The repercussions of last year's event are now falling upon this year's group of participants.
Absence from Hong Kong last summer also means the Institute's has lost many of its relationships with financial sources.
"There are a number of donors from Hong Kong who give us a good amount of money," senior Meena Sharma, a TILIP 2003-04 participant said. "There's earmarked money for students coming to Hong Kong. We didn't have the opportunity to [access that] money [this year]," she said.
"The fact that we were away for a year, and the fact that politics have changed, [is forcing us to face] external realities," Teichman said.
Work is ongoing to ensure that the TILIP program gets back on track for both this year and into the future, according to Heather Barry, Associate Director of the Institute of Global Leadership. "We're concerned [TILIP] may not happen, but we're working to make sure that it does," she said. "Should the program not happen, we could provide money [that we already have]," to provide other options for the participants.
Teichman stressed that TILIP has not given up. "This is not an epitaph for the program, it's a serious bump in the road," he said. "SARS gave us a curveball. Now we have to learn how to hit the knuckleball."
"Last year's program was finally decided on June 24," he said. "We are almost two months ahead of the curve, which is why I remain completely optimistic."
Aside from the primary goal of reestablishing the program, the Institute is investigating opportunities for individual research and internships in Hong Kong.
"We're asking the students to send us e-mails of all their resumes so that we can send them to internship providers in Hong Kong," Teichman said.
TILIP has been holding year-long programs since 1998 that, according to its website, "are leading the way toward building lasting bridges between cultures."
Through the TILIP program, 13 Tufts students travel to Asia to work with 13 students from the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Peking University for a cross-cultural experience.
In the past, students met in Hong Kong in July for team-building exercises. Tufts students then participated in research and internships for eight weeks in a one-on-one setting with a Chinese student.
By summer's end, the participants would return to their respective universities, keeping in touch to create an international symposium usually held at Tufts.
"By fostering cross-cultural exchanges between American and Chinese students both in the workplace and in academic settings, TILIP prepared me to engage in contemporary issues and future developments with an informed understanding of Chinese perspectives," senior and 2003-04 TILIP participant Abdul Farah said in a program evaluation.
Students and administrators continue to stress TILIP's importance and remain optimistic about its future, despite the program's dire financial situation.
"We [the participants] all agree that that TILIP is too important a program for Tufts to lose," junior Chris Roughton said. Roughton had been accepted into this upcoming year's program. "China is becoming a world power, both economically and politically, and TILIP provides Tufts and Chinese students the opportunity to work together cross culturally and build relationships that will help in the future."
