Government leaders from around the world recently joined Florida International University as fellows at the school’s conservative think tank.
The Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom welcomed five fellows for the fall semester. They include former U.K Prime Minister Liz Truss and Dominik Tarczyński, a right-wing Polish politician and member of the European Parliament.
Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago is also in the cohort.
"Each cohort brings a frontline perspective to our classrooms: lessons from a career of leading nations, case studies from decades shaping public policy, and firsthand knowledge of how governments truly work," said the center's founding director Carlos Díaz-Rosillo in a statement announcing the fellows.
"The Senior Leadership Fellows program is unlike anything else at the university. I know our students will embrace these study group sessions with curiosity, enthusiasm, and a genuine desire to grow as future leaders," Díaz-Rosillo said.
Fellows will guide students in study groups throughout the semester. The sessions, which are free and don't include credits towards their degrees, will focus on "leadership, economic development, global affairs, and the hard realities of decision-making under pressure," according to FIU officials.
The announcement did not include how much funding is going towards the cohort and an FIU spokesperson didn't respond to questions from WLRN.
In a Facebook post, Tarczyński wrote, "During my lectures, students from around the world will learn what 'BE LIKE POLAND' means, why it matters, and how important the alliance between Poland and the United States is!"
The center has received generous funding from the state, but it has only spent a fraction of the money and appeared to hold a $25 million surplus, documents reviewed by WLRN showed.
Earlier this year, an investigation by WLRN laid out how the center has positioned itself in Latin American politics. The hub describes itself as "independent" and "non-partisan."
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