Institutional Changes

As founder and president of the Institute of World Affairs, Maude Miner Hadden remained a driving force behind the Institute until her death in 1967.  In the decade following her passing, IWA went through a period of institutional change.  Faced with the increasing costs of conducting the annual summer seminar and a lack of general funding, Board members began to search for programs that would preserve IWA's general purpose and principles and utilize its facilities.   The search led to a merger with the American Universities Field Staff (AUFS) in September 1977.

Consisting of a consortium of colleges and universities throughout the United States, AUFS was formed to promote a better understanding of world conditions through the dissemination of knowledge.  To that end, the consortium maintained a corps of academic observers, located around the globe, who were responsible for analyzing and writing about current events and issues within a particular region.  After returning to the United States, these academicians would share their findings through lectures at consortium universities.

During the 1970s, IWA summer seminars became more professionalized.  Participants were increasingly drawn from graduate and post-graduate programs.  An emphasis was placed on recruiting participants with academic backgrounds in law, political science, economics, history, government, business, and international relations.

In addition to its yearly summer program, IWA expanded its activities to include year-round seminars and workshops for various academics, lectures to the community by visiting scholars, American studies courses for international students, and orientation programs for American business professionals traveling overseas.

From 1988 to 1994, IWA went through another organizational change, merging with the Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA), a non-profit organization which offers overseas fellowships to American students interested in studying contemporary issues in foreign countries.  IWA summer seminars continued to be held up until 1993.