International Exchange
The Starr Foundation’s support for international exchange programs foster cultural and mutual understanding through educational experiences.
Funding for these programs emerged from Mr. Starr’s personal experiences in business and philanthropy, going back to his early days in Japan and China. He ensured local management of his worldwide insurance offices and valued international education among his employees. Mr. Starr was convinced that exposure to other cultures helps people understand global issues from multiple viewpoints, which broadens their perspective, enables them to collaborate with peers across the globe, and makes them more aware and appreciative of different customs, economies, and political systems.
Many Starr Foundation–funded exchange programs have focused on the United States and China. AFS Intercultural, for example, pioneered exchanges that enable Chinese English teachers to live with American families, immersing themselves in the language and culture, while Yale-China allows students from Yale to immerse themselves in Chinese education and culture through their various exchange programs.
Grantee Highlights
The Starr Fellowship for the Visual Arts, established in 1983, and the Starr Fellowship for Performing Arts, established in 2008, support opportunities for U.S. artists to travel to Asia, and for Asian artists to travel to the U.S. to pursue opportunities for cultural immersion, research, and creative exploration, promoting cross-cultural and mutual understanding.
Endowed by The Starr Foundation, the Middlebury C.V. Starr Schools Abroad program provides students with immersive, language-centered educational experiences in more than 40 locations worldwide including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Greater China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Participating schools prioritize cultural integration, enabling students to develop advanced language skills while engaging with local communities. The Schools Abroad program offers tailored academic courses, internships, and opportunities for cultural exchange, ensuring students gain a deep understanding of their host country’s language, culture, and history. The Middlebury Language Schools, supported by the T.C. Hsu Endowment, have provided world-renowned language education since 1915. Middlebury’s immersion method produces tremendous results, and the Middlebury Language Schools provide instruction in 13 different languages every summer on campuses in Vermont and California.
Middlebury College campus in Vermont
The C.V. Starr Scholarship Fund was established in 1999 to support academic exchange for students of Chinese medicine at the University of Hong Kong, a leader in attracting and nurturing scholars from around the world. The exchange experience provides a global perspective to advance medical sciences throughout Asia and in the West.
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Yale-China was established in 1901 as an independent NGO to develop deep, two-way relationships between Americans and their Chinese counterparts through immersive service and academic exchanges in health care and education. Fellowships—such as the Chia at Xiangya Fellowship serving women in medicine, nursing, and public health from Hunan Province—send Chinese health professionals and teachers to Yale, many of whom lead Chinese culture and language workshops in New Haven public schools. Others, such as the two-year Yale-China Fellowship, send select Yale graduates to serve across China and Hong Kong. The Starr Foundation has supported Yale-China since 1962.