Benjamin B. Rauch Fellowship for Southeast Asia, China and/or Hong Kong

Scholars at Risk (SAR) announces the Benjamin B. Rauch Fellowship, created in memory of Benjamin B. Rauch and reflects his deep knowledge and involvement in Asia, and will further his commitments to excellence and openness in scholarship, civil society, and the arts. The Benjamin B. Rauch Fellowship will provide temporary fellowship support to at-risk individuals (scholars, writers, artists, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, or others threatened for their work promoting intellectual and creative freedom) or advocates (who are not facing personal risk, but who are working to assist those who are and to promote intellectual and creative freedom generally) from Southeast Asia, China, and/or Hong Kong.

Eligibility: 

Eligible candidates must be:

  • a recognized scholar, practitioner, or advocate;
  • working in or displaced from a country in Southeast Asia (as defined by ASEAN), Hong Kong, or the People’s Republic of China;
  • experiencing significant threats to their work or well-being in the region or elsewhere, as defined by SAR*, or an advocate working to assist such at-risk individuals or to promote academic freedom and free inquiry in the region;
  • located in the country of origin, or outside the country of origin for fewer than 5 years, and
  • able to contribute to, and benefit from, work in a higher education setting, as demonstrated by prior work, publications, and proposed work plan.

Nominations:  

The fund does not accept direct application from awardee candidates. Nominations may be made by SAR staff; SAR network members; select network partners, including especially the Southeast Asia Coalition for Academic Freedom; and representatives of the Benjamin B. Rauch Fund (BRF) and their designees. Higher education institutions or associations which are not yet SAR network members but are interested in nominating a candidate or applying to host an awardee should email SAR-BRFellowship@nyu.edu.

Fellowship duration:

Fellowship awards will range in duration up to 12 months (with a possibility of extension or renewal of up to 12 months) at a host institution in the region or elsewhere. The primary benefits of such fellowship support include direct assistance for at-risk individuals (and their families, if relevant) to continue their work in safety, and building expert capacity in the region to assist even more at-risk individuals over time. We encourage host institutions to nominate candidates with whom they are in contact and would be able to host. SAR will also work with successful candidates to identify suitable host institutions. Priority may be given to applications including matching or greater funds from the host institution or other source.

Application requirements:

A complete application should include:

  • CV
  • Summary (est. 1 page) of the candidate’s individual risk, their prior work assisting at-risk individuals, or their work on free expression/inquiry in the region, in line with eligibility criteria.
  • Proposed work plan, including research, teaching or other activities and how proposed work advances the candidate’s academic goals and/or free expression and inquiry in the region.
  • Proposed fellowship duration (up to 12 months) and location (if known)
  • Proposed budget
  • An attestation signed and dated by the candidate that attests that (1) the information provided by candidate for review is accurate (2) awarded funds will only be used for personal or professional support and (3) awarded funds will NOT be used for (i) lobbying to influence specific current or pending legislation, (ii) advocacy for any specific candidate(s) for political elected office, (iii) any purposes that violate SAR’s mission to promote academic freedom, protect threatened scholars, or (iv) any purposes which violate recognized international human rights principles.

Nomination instructions:

Nominations can be submitted through the Benjamin R. Rauch Fellowship application on the Scholars at Risk website.  Application documents should be submitted in a single PDF document saved as “Benjamin_B_Rauch_Fellowship_Candidate_Name”.

Application

Deadline:

Given the high levels of need among qualifying candidate populations, nominators are encouraged to submit complete applications at their earliest opportunity. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning January 10, 2026, until all current funds are awarded.

Visas and work authorization:

Successful candidates (“awardees”) and their host institution shall be responsible for issuing any invitations, forms, applications, or other requirements necessary to secure any necessary visa or work authorizations for the candidate for the term of the fellowship.

Payment, taxes, and return of unused funds:

Awards shall be made to an awardee’s host institution. This host institution shall agree to receive fellowship funds from SAR for distribution to the awardee, according to the agreed budget, to assume responsibility for any institutional tax or reporting requirements for such funds, and to return to SAR any unused funds due to the awardee’s failure or inability to start the fellowship, early departure, or other unforeseen event impeding completion of the proposed fellowship term.

Awardee publicity:

Absent security concerns, awardees must agree to participate in an event (in-person or virtual) celebrating the memory of Benjamin B. Rauch and the Benjamin B. Rauch Fellowship Fund, and agree to allow SAR and BRF to use the awardee’s identifying information (name, area of work, description of fellowship support) in materials used to advertise and otherwise raise support and additional donations for the BRF. Scholars at Risk is available to discuss security concerns and/or alternate arrangements with awardees as needed.

Selection and fellowship process:

  • Nominations received and reviewed on a rolling basis (beginning January 10, 2026)
  • Review of eligibility and candidate materials and certifications by SAR
  • Presentation of eligible applications to review committee for final recommendations
  • Selection of finalists and communication of results to awardees; terms finalized
  • Notifications to unsuccessful applicant institutions and referrals to other programs, if any
  • Host identification with awardee, SAR, and relevant partners, as needed

Questions:

Email SAR-BRFellowship@nyu.edu with questions. Please do not send nominations by email; submit nomination materials only through the online portal.

Donations:

Tax deductible contributions to the Benjamin B. Rauch Fellowship can be made either by online donation at this link or by check – checks should be made to Scholars at Risk, with “Benjamin B. Rauch Fellowship” in the memo line. Otherwise, the donation will go to Scholars at Risk general fund.

Donate here

*SAR understands an applicant to meet our risk criteria if they are experiencing, or experienced very recently, direct risk, such as threat of violence/harm to the individual, harassment/intimidation, threat of arrest/ imprisonment, etc., or they are experiencing general physical risk from an active conflict in their country of origin.