Richard Boyum discusses the university partnerships between the United States and South Asian nations. In particular, he discusses the impact of partnerships and exchange programs on people-to-people relations.
Richard Boyum is the university partnerships coordinator at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Office of Press and Public Diplomacy. He oversees collaborative partnerships between American universities and institutions in South and Central Asia. Partnerships focus on developing capacity through faculty enrichment, curriculum revision, research, and cross-cultural understanding. He was previously a foreign service officer in the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Academic Programs, specializing in English language teacher education, exchanges, and programming. He served in Washington, Cairo, New Delhi, Sao Paulo, Bangkok, and Santiago. Richard was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, and received an MA from Georgetown University in bilingual education.