UND senior, Grand Forks city council member awarded fellowship

Patrick Miller

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

8-2011

Campus Unit

University of North Dakota

Abstract

Tyrone Grandstrand, University of North Dakota senior and Grand Forks city council member, has been awarded the American Council on Germany (ACG) 2011 McCloy Fellowship in Urban Affairs.

As a McCloy Fellow, Grandstrand will spend three weeks in Germany from Sept. 17 to Oct. 8 with two or three officials from other U.S. cities. Currently majoring in political science, business economics and honors, he plans to graduate in December. Last year, he was elected to the Grand Forks City Council at the age of 24.

Grandstrand said he applied for the fellowship after learning about it from a city administrator while attending a conference in Grafton.

“I want to learn as much as I can about other cities and use different ideas to make Grand Forks a better place to live,” he said.

McCloy Fellows in urban affairs receive an up-close look at city management and government administration across the Atlantic. Past German fellows have taken part in city council meetings, toured U.S. cities, and attended the annual National League of Cities convention.

Founded in New York in 1952, the ACG is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes dialogue among leaders from business, government, and the media in the United States and Europe. The ACG strengthens transatlantic understanding and coordinates policy initiatives on key issues.

According to ACG, over the past 30 years, more than 700 American and German journalists, scholars, and other mid-level professionals in a variety of fields have had the opportunity to travel overseas and broaden their personal and professional horizons through the organization’s fellowship programs. Roughly 40 Americans and Germans travel each year through the organization’s fellowship program.

The McCloy fellowship is named in honor of Ellen McCloy, one of ACG’s early leaders and the wife of the United States High Commissioner in Germany from 1949 to 1952. In post-war Germany, she was active in relief and reorientation efforts. She spoke fluent German and promoted American democratic ideals while encouraging German women to become more politically active. McCloy died in 1986 at the age of 87.

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