Volume 2, Number 1, Winter 2000 - Summer 2001

Overseas Security Advisory Council

Introduction

The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) was established in 1985 by the U.S. Department of State to foster the exchange of security related information between the U.S. Government and American private sector operating abroad. Administered by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, OSAC has developed into an enormously successful joint venture for effective security cooperation. Through OSAC, the American private sector, including colleges and universities, is provided timely information on which to make informed corporate decisions on how best to protect their investment, facilities, personnel and intellectual property abroad.

Over the last few years, OSAC has become more aware of the US college and university need for support in the same way that OSAC has served US businesses abroad. As a result, OSAC has established a working group composed of representatives from large, medium, and small universities and colleges, the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and two educational organizations (Gary Rhodes, Editor...is a participant of the working group). The working group has been created to address the special security needs of students and faculty who travel and live abroad. The working group will develop safety programs and establish best practice guidelines to increase security awareness for students and faculty. Existing OSAC resources, which includes detailed country information on the security situations and how it affects the safety of Americans overseas, is also available to colleges and universities. Due to resource limitations and the rapid growth of the OSAC mailing list, each organization is requested to designate one person who represents the institution in security matters.

The OSAC Website can be found at:http://www.ds-osac.org/ Additional background about OSAC can be found by going to the homepage and then linking to the "About Us" subsite.

To become the contact person at your institution and obtain a password for the OSAC Website, interested colleges and universities should send a letter of application to:

Executive Director
Overseas Security Advisory Council
U.S. Department of State, SA-3
Washington DC 20522-1003

If you have any questions, please phone OSAC at (202) 663-0533 or FAX (202) 663-0868.