Press Release | American Academy of Diplomacy Wrote to Secretary Rubio in Support of UAA Letter and the Payne Fellows

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the leadership of the American Academy of Diplomacy transmitted a formal letter to the Secretary of State Rubio in which they expressed the Academy’s endorsement and support for the letter from the USAID Alumni Association, which was sent to Secretary Rubio on Friday, March 15, 2025. The Academy’s letter also brings to the Secretary's attention to the importance of continuing the fellowships of Payne Fellows.

March 19, 2025

The Honorable

Marco Rubio

Secretary of State

Harry S. Truman Building

2201 C. St. NW

Washington DC, 20021

Dear Mr. Secretary,

On behalf of the American Academy of Diplomacy, we wish to endorse and support the request you have received from the Board of Directors of the USAID Alumni Association. The letter makes the following pleas. First, treat all USAID employees with the respect they deserve as career public servants who have given years of dedicated service to the United States of America. If the nation no longer requires their services, it should do no less than treat them with honor. Second, they also deserve clarity about matters of pay and transport important to their lives. And third, it is likewise important to our bilateral relations with numerous countries that local law concerning pay be respected for locally engaged staff.

We would also like to request that you continue the fellowships for Payne Fellows. These dedicated students, after rigorous examination, received two year fellowships in return for their commitment to join USAID. When the Department’s reexamination of priorities is complete, we believe that these dedicated young men and women can play an important role in advancing United States’ development and foreign policy priorities. Those in the second year of their Fellowship deserve particular consideration.

Mr. Secretary, treating our departing colleagues with respect will preserve America’s honor and reputation. We appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Shannon, Jr.

Chairman

Alonzo L. Fulgham

Vice Chairman

Ronald E. Neumann

President

END

###