Message From The Executive Director

During a time when French and American universities alike strive to broaden their activities in the areas of research and education on a global scale, public-private partnerships such as the PUF (Partner University Fund) provide valuable new opportunities for innovative partnerships in multiple disciplines.

Thanks to the generosity of private donors and the multiyear commitment of the French government, the Partner University Fund (PUF) offers a new source of funding for imaginative partnerships and creates the opportunity for new generations of sustained collaborations between institutions of higher learning in each of the two countries.

Partnership projects are reviewed by a committee of renowned academics and high level officials in the areas of international education and research.

The deadline for applications is December 15, 2007; the results will be announced late February 2008 for the following academic year. Grants are awarded for a period of up to three years but are subject to annual review by the committee.

Pascal Delisle, PhD.
Cultural Attaché
PUF Executive Director

PUF

A major grant from a generous private donor and new contributions from the French government laid the groundwork for the PUF which was created in May 2007. The PUF was built on the foundations of the French-American Fund for University Partnerships which had been launched in 2004.

PUF is a program of FACE (French American Cultural Exchange), the American nonprofit foundation and partner of the
Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S.

PUF guarantees the continuity of the projects currently in existence and builds on the experience of the former Fund; it aims to expand the field of cooperation to new eligible institutions. PUF is managed by a new team led by Pascal Delisle, PhD., Cultural Attaché and Executive Director of PUF, at the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. .