75 Years of Our Mission in Motion: Honoring Those Who Have Shaped IES Abroad Through the Decades

Since our founding in 1950, IES Abroad has been driven by one bold belief: that crossing borders can change lives. What began as a post-war initiative in Vienna has grown into a global movement that now includes more than 180,000 alumni whose impact spans across continents and generations.

Check out our 75 Years of Our Mission in Motion video and our Digital Booklet, which reflects on IES Abroad’s story and the impactful people who have helped lead the way and uphold our core values in all that we do. This campaign honors the work of outstanding individuals through the decades:

Founders & Visionaries: Who laid our roots and imagined what was possible
Trailblazers & Changemakers: Who champion access, inclusivity, and innovation in all that they do
Educators & Mentors: Who are academic leaders that have guided students to see the world differently
Global Citizens & Impact Makers: Who turned their time abroad into lifelong purpose

A Message From Our President & CEO, Gregory D. Hess, Ph.D.

As we mark 75 years of IES Abroad, we pause to reflect on the extraordinary people and shared purpose that have shaped our history and continue to shape our future.

What began in 1950 as a bold effort to foster cross-cultural understanding in the wake of global conflict has grown into a thriving international community. Today, more than 180,000 alumni carry that mission forward, with influence that spans
continents and generations.

This milestone campaign, 75 Years of Our Mission in Motion, pays tribute to those who made this journey possible. We honor our Founders and Visionaries who imagined a more interconnected world. We celebrate the Trailblazers and Changemakers who opened doors and expanded access for students from all walks of life. We thank the Educators and Mentors who brought learning to life across cultures. And we recognize the Global Citizens and Impact Makers who took their study abroad experiences and turned them into meaningful change—locally and globally.

In my more than 30 years in academia, I’ve yet to meet someone who studied abroad and regretted it. But I’ve met many who wished they had—or who dream of going again.

That desire speaks to the profound, lasting impact of global education. As we look ahead, let’s recommit to our mission: to create life-changing study abroad opportunities for students. Because study abroad changes lives, and changed lives change the world. Here’s to the next 75 years—and to everyone who continues to move our mission forward.

-Gregory D. Hess, Ph.D. | President & CEO of IES Abroad

Meet Our President & CEO: Gregory D. Hess, Ph.D.

Gregory D. Hess joined IES Abroad as President & CEO in 2020, bringing decades of leadership experience in higher education, global economics, and business. Previously President of Wabash College and a senior leader at Claremont McKenna College, he has also taught at top institutions like Cambridge and Carnegie Mellon. A widely published economist and former consultant and advisor to major organizations, our President & CEO brings a strategic, globally informed perspective shaped in part by his own transformative study abroad experience at the London School of Economics, which fuels his belief in the power of global learning to change lives. And as he always says—changed lives change the world—and his leadership reflects that vision every day.

Read Greg's Full Bio

Honoring Our Founders & Visionaries

Paul Koutny, Founder

Paul Koutny, a visionary Austrian student and Fulbright Scholar, co-founded IES Abroad in 1950 at just 24 years old, inspired by his transformative experience studying in the U.S. A survivor of Nazi political imprisonment at 17, Paul was committed to rebuilding post-war Austria and bridging cultural divides through education. He launched IES Abroad in Vienna with Clarence and Alberta Giese, welcoming the first class of 23 American students. Paul remained active into the 1970s, helping expand IES through customized programs and musical tours. His legacy lives on in the thousands of students impacted by IES Abroad and in the Paul & Brita Koutny Founders Scholarship, which supports access to global education.

“I was lucky to get a scholarship to the States in 1949, and it was an incredible experience because everything was different from the tradition of our university system. It was completely different from what we had here. I had this wonderful year and I sort of got the idea, ‘Well, how about if I ask American students—would they like to come to Austria?’ Because it’s a different world. Immediately there was a very spontaneous response. I studied ’49–’50, and came back to Vienna in June ’50, immediately got started, set up the program, and in late September the first group arrived.”
—Paul Koutny

Read Paul's Full Bio

Alberta & Clarence Giese, Founders

Alberta and Clarence Giese were among the original 23 American students who sailed to Vienna in 1950, helping spark the founding of IES Abroad. Newlyweds from Chicago, they were deeply transformed by their year abroad and worked alongside Paul Koutny to bring future cohorts of students to Vienna. Alberta became a beloved figure at the IES Abroad Vienna Center, pioneering student affairs with her warmth, guidance, and legendary homemade brownies. She also led alumni engagement, staying closely connected with early program participants. In 2010, the Clarence & Alberta Giese Endowed Scholarship was created to support need-based access to IES Abroad Vienna. Their legacy continues to shape global education today.

“Mom and Dad returned from Vienna to Chicago in 1951 forever changed—buoyed, excited, inspired, and determined to create an opportunity for other American students to dare the eye-opening journey of a world outside their familiar and familial comfort zone. Today, IES Abroad and the legacy of our parents continue, on an even larger global scale, to challenge American students to embrace the life-changing riches of education, culture, and self-discovery that study abroad promises.”
—Sarah and Erika Giese, daughters of Clarence and Alberta Giese

Read Clarence & Alberta's Full Bio

Charles E. Merrill Jr., Industry Partner

Charles E. Merrill Jr. was a visionary philanthropist and longtime advocate for educational equity whose legacy with IES Abroad began in the late 1950s, when, as a board member at Morehouse College, he personally funded all-expenses-paid scholarships for academically exceptional students from Morehouse and Spelman Colleges to study abroad for a full academic year. These Merrill Scholars, many of whom went on to earn graduate and postgraduate degrees, have made profound contributions in fields ranging from education and medicine to law and public service.

"From my early childhood I [traveled throughout] Europe... London, Paris,Florence, Rome, Switzerland. Then in my teens, this widened to include Germanyand Austria, and even Czechoslovakia and a couple of places in Yugoslavia. [Ibegan thinking that] if a trip to Prague, a city no Merrill had ever visited, couldhelp build my independence, it could do the same for Black students and theirschools. I developed a strong commitment to Spelman and Morehouse Colleges,[among other] colleges and secondary schools."

Read Charles' Full Bio

Richard Landers, Donor

Richard Landers is an IES Abroad Vienna alumnus (1968–69) whose year abroad profoundly shaped his worldview and lifelong commitment to global citizenship. His time in Vienna ignited a deeper understanding of humanity’s shared identity and collective destiny, challenging him to look beyond cultural or geographic differences to recognize the fundamental truths that unite us. Motivated by this perspective, Richard has devoted his philanthropy to fostering awareness, especially among young people, of our shared human DNA and our fragile dependence on the planet’s environmental balance. He has been a champion of IES Abroad’s Global Pillars program, which equips students to confront global environmental challenges and empowers them to create innovative, sustainability-driven solutions for a better future.

“IES Abroad Vienna marked the beginning of my journey toward understanding that all humans are fundamentally one people, living on one planet, and ultimately sharing one destiny. While evolution may lead us to focus on superficial differences—like tribal identities or weather differences between two nearby cities—my experience, which was really jump-started by my year in Vienna, has shown me that we are far more alike than different, sharing 99.9%of our DNA, and that collectively we depend on a narrow range of environmental conditions to survive. My philanthropy has aimed to raise awareness of these two existential truths, especially among young people. IES Abroad’s Global Pillars program stands out as a model—engaging students in the global environmental challenge and inspiring them to use their creativity and entrepreneurial drive to develop sustainability solutions.”

Read Richard's Full Bio

Michael Steinberg, Ph.D., Former Employee

Dr. Michael Steinberg’s 40+ year career at IES Abroad helped define the field of study abroad. Joining in 1976, he rose to Executive Vice President for Academic Programs, launching academic centers in over 35 cities and co-authoring the IES Abroad MAP and MAP for Language & Intercultural Communication. He chaired the Forum on Education Abroad’s Standards Committee, co-developed national health and safety guidelines, and contributed to key ethical and professional publications. A recipient of NAFSA’s Education Abroad Leadership Award, Dr. Steinberg is recognized as a mentor, thought leader, and champion of academic excellence and cross-cultural understanding.

“I believe it is essential that young Americans understand that we are part of a larger world. I also know from my own experience that study abroad is an opportunity for students to experiment, to grow, to become more independent, and to develop the ability to meet new challenges. I studied abroad twice myself. I spent a summer in Paris studying French, and a year in Germany working on my doctoral dissertation. I look back on those stays abroad as two of the most meaningful times of my life.”

Read Michael's Full Bio

Jacqueline (Jackie) Levine, Industry Partner

Jackie Levine is a trailblazer in the field of international education and a lifelong advocate for expanding access to study abroad. As Director of the University of Rochester’s study abroad programs from 1991 to 2016, she was among the earliest champions of sending students from underrepresented backgrounds abroad—laying the groundwork for the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts that define the field today. Her pioneering collaboration with IES Abroad helped make the University of Rochester the organization’s current School of Record. In recognition of her profound impact, Jackie was honored with IES Abroad’s Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating her decades of service, innovation, and dedication to global education. She also served as Assistant Dean and Director of Special Projects in the Dean’s Office at the University of Rochester, where she continued her legacy of meaningful change in higher education.

Read Jackie's Full Bio

Our Trailblazers & Changemakers at a Glance

Our Educators & Mentors at a Glance

Our Global Citizens & Impact Makers at a Glance

These individuals represent the heart of IES Abroad's mission to expand study abroad, and we cannot imagine telling our 75th Anniversary story without these visionaries, educators, trailblazers, and changemakers. Here's to 75 more years of driving our mission forward. Learn more about our history and who we are.

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