The Olmsted Scholar Program, named after George H. Olmsted, awards scholarships to highly qualified, active duty junior officers in the United States military in order to pursue language studies and overseas graduate-level education. Created in concert with the Department of Defense, the Scholar Program provides one year of foreign language training followed by two years of study at a foreign graduate school.
The Scholar Program was established with an initial grant from George and Carol Olmsted in 1957. In his original Statement of Donor, Olmsted noted, "Fundamental to the initial purpose of creating the scholarship program is the conviction that the greatest leaders must be educated broadly." Since its inception, the Olmsted Scholar Program has provided grants for over 600 officers, many of whom have gone on to the highest levels of leadership and responsibility in the military, government and private sector.
The Olmsted Scholar Program was founded in 1959 by the George Olmsted Foundation (later the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation). Utilizing General Olmsted's initial $80,000 grant, the Foundation's Board of Directors and the Department of Defense authorized the establishment of Scholar Program. The first six scholars were selected in October, 1959 and began their training in 1960 (See Class of 1960).
From 1960 through 1970, the program consisted of two Scholars from each service academy for a total of six annually. Beginning with the Scholar Class of 1971, the program was expanded to nine Scholars annually with the additional three being graduates of ROTC programs.
Since its inception, the Scholar Program has encouraged attendance at universities in countries throughout the world. In 1975 the first Scholar was sent behind the Iron Curtain when Col Bill McKeever (USAF, Ret.) attended the University of Belgrade. GEN John Abizaid (USA, Ret.) became the first Scholar to study in Arabic when he attended the University of Jordan in 1978. In 1981 LTC Lonnie Keene (USA, Ret.) became the first Scholar in mainland China at Beijing University, and in 1994 COL Tom Donovan became the first Scholar in Russia, attending Saint Petersburg State University.
Beginning with the Scholar Class of 2003, additional funds from General Olmsted's estate have allowed the program to expand to approximately 18 participants per year. While the actual number of Scholars in a given year depends on selection of the most highly qualified individuals, the nominal distribution is five Scholars each from the Navy, Army and Air Force and three from the Marine Corps.
To date, over 600 Scholars comprising 57 Olmsted Scholar classes have been selected. These Scholars have been assigned to more than 200 universities in 60 distinct non-English speaking countries. 40 Olmsted Scholars have become flag officers, to include 12 Army generals, 12 Navy admirals, 2 Marine Corps generals, and 14 Air Force generals.
The original class of Olmsted Scholars began language training in 1959 and began their overseas graduate studies in 1960:
ADM Carlisle Trost, USN, University of Freiburg, GermanyLTG Frederic Brown, USA, University of Geneva, SwitzerlandCOL William Albright, USAF, University of Geneva, SwitzerlandCOL Richard Hobbs, USA University of Lyon, FranceJohn Karas, USAF University of Göttingen, GermanyForrest Lockwood, USN, University of Grenoble, FranceWhile the specific qualifications differ by service branch, the following general requirements for participation have been designated by the Olmsted Foundation:
Active duty officer in the United States MilitaryAt least 3, but no more than 11, years of active duty serviceHave served primarily in an operational capacityOutstanding professional performance and promotion potentialDemonstrated scholastic achievementApproval of respective service career planner/detailer/assignment officerA commitment to the The Foundation's goals as evidenced in a personal interviewApplication and Selection Process
Specific application and selection procedures differ by service branch, but generally consist of the following:
Candidate submits application to chain of command for approvalIf Approved by Chain of Command
Candidate's application forwarded to individual service's Olmsted Scholar board for consideration (convened in the Summer or Fall)If Selected by Individual Service
Candidate's application forwarded to Olmsted Foundation for consideration, interview scheduled (interviews held in the Fall or Winter)The Olmsted Foundation's final selections are typically announced in late March. Along with overall selection, it is at this point that Scholars are told in which city and country they will study.
Olmsted Scholars have attended the following universities, listed by continent and country:
EgyptAmerican University in CairoMoroccoAl Akhawayn UniversityMohammed V UniversitySenegalCheikh Anta Diop UniversityTunisiaMediterranean School of BusinessAzerbaijanAzerbaijan University of LanguagesChinaFudan UniversityGuangxi Normal UniversityNanjing UniversityPeking UniversityQingdao UniversityRenmin UniversityShenzhen UniversitySun Yat-Sen UniversityTongji UniversityTsinghua UniversityUniversity of BeijingUniversity of Hong KongYunnan Nationalities UniversityYunnan UniversityYunnan Minzu UniversityZhejiang UniversityIndiaITM UniversityJadavpur UniversityJawaharlal Nehru UniversityUniversity of MumbaiIndonesiaUdayana UniversityIsraelTel Aviv UniversityThe Hebrew University of JerusalemJapanChubu UniversityDoshisha UniversityHitotsubashi UniversityKeio UniversityKyoto UniversityOsaka UniversityRitsumeikan UniversityUniversity of ShizuokaSophia UniversityUniversity of TsukubaWaseda UniversityJordanUniversity of JordanOmanSultan Qaboos UniversitySingaporeInstitute for Defence and Strategic StudiesNational University of SingaporeSouth KoreaSeoul National UniversityYonsei UniversityTaiwanNational Chengchi UniversityNational Sun Yat-Sen UniversityNational Taiwan UniversityThailandChiang Mai UniversityChulalongkorn UniversityTurkeyAnkara UniversityAtilim UniversityBilgi UniversityBogazici UniversityBosphorus UniversityCankaya UniversityEge UniversityIstanbul UniversityVietnamVietnam National UniversityAustriaUniversity of InnsbruckJohannes Kepler University of LinzUniversity of SalzburgUniversity of ViennaBelgiumFree University of BrusselsCatholic University of LouvainBosnia and HerzegovinaUniversity of SarajevoBulgariaSofia UniversityCroatiaUniversity of ZagrebZagreb School of Economics and ManagementCzech RepublicCharles UniversityMasaryk UniversityDenmarkUniversity of AarhusEstoniaUniversity of TartuFinlandUniversity of HelsinkiFranceInstitut d'études politiques de LyonParis Institute of Political StudiesParis-Sorbonne UniversityUniversity of BordeauxUniversity of BurgundyUniversity of GrenobleUniversity of LyonUniversity of MontpellierUniversity of NancyUniversity of StrasbourgSciences Po AixGermanyFree University of BerlinHumboldt UniversityJohannes Gutenberg UniversityRuhr UniversityTechnical University of DresdenTechnical University of MunichUniversity of AugsburgUniversity of BonnUniversity of CologneUniversity of FrankfurtUniversity of FreiburgUniversity of GoettingenUniversity of HamburgUniversity of HeidelbergUniversity of JenaUniversity of KielUniversity of KonstanzUniversity of LeipzigUniversity of MunichUniversity of RegensburgUniversity of StuttgartUniversity of TuebingenUniversity of WurzburgGreeceAristotelian University of ThessalonikiUniversity of AthensHungaryBudapest University of Economic SciencesCorvinus UniversityItalyCatholic University of MilanUniversity of BolognaUniversity of FlorenceUniversity of MilanUniversity of PadovaUniversity of ParmaUniversity of SienaLatviaUniversity of LatviaLithuaniaVilnius UniversityMontenegroUniversity of MontenegroNetherlandsUniversity of AmsterdamUniversity of GroningenUniversity of LeidenNorwayUniversity of BergenUniversity of OsloPolandAdam Mickiewicz UniversityJagiellonian UniversityUniversity of GdanskUniversity of WarsawPortugalUniversity of CoimbraTechnical University of LisbonRomaniaBucharest University of Economic StudiesBabeș-Bolyai UniversityUniversity of BucharestWest University of TimisoaraRussiaEuropean University of St PetersburgMoscow State UniversitySaint Petersburg State UniversityUniversity of St PetersburgSerbiaUniversity of BelgradeSlovakiaComenius UniversitySloveniaUniversity of LjubljanaSpainCEU San Pablo UniversityComplutense University of MadridUniversity of CadizUniversity of DeustoUniversity of GranadaUniversity of MadridUniversity of NavarraUniversity of SalamancaUniversity of ZaragozaPompeu Fabra UniversitySwedenStockholm UniversityUniversity of UppsalaSwitzerlandUniversity of GenevaUniversity of LausanneUniversity of NeuchatelUniversity of St GallenUniversity of ZurichUkraineNational Aviation UniversityNational University of Kyiv-Mohyla AcademyTaras Shevchenko National University of KyivUkrainian Catholic UniversityUnited KingdomOxford UniversityCosta RicaUniversity of Costa RicaMexicoEl Colegio de MexicoMonterrey Institute of TechnologyNational Autonomous University of MexicoUniversidad IberoamericanaUniversity of GuanajuatoArgentinaUniversity of BelgranoUniversity of Buenos AiresCordoba UniversityUniversity of CuyoTorcuato di Tella UniversityUniversity of TucumanBrazilUniversity of BrasíliaFederal University of Santa CatarinaPontifical Catholic University of Rio de JaneiroUniversity of São PauloChilePontifical Catholic University of ChileEcuadorPontifical Catholic UniversityPeruPontifical Catholic University of PeruUruguayUniversity of the RepublicVenezuelaCentral University of VenezuelaSimón Bolívar University
