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About 40 University of Michigan students and community members gathered in the Ford School of Public Policy Monday afternoon to listen<\/a> to Public Policy lecturer Amy Harris and Bama Athreya, former deputy assistant administrator in the United States Agency for International Development\u2019s<\/a> Bureau for Inclusive Growth, Partnerships and Innovation<\/a>, discuss the implications of President Donald Trump\u2019s administration\u2019s recent dismantling<\/a> of foreign aid and the changing role<\/a> of the U.S. in foreign policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Athreya began the talk by discussing the history of U.S. foreign aid, which began during the Marshall Plan<\/a> under former president Harry Truman in 1948.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne big realignment happened as a result of World War 2,\u201d Athreya said. \u201cNot only were global economies and politics reshaped, new alliances were formed post World War 2. New national boundaries were drawn. \u201cAnd in the midst of all of this, President Harry S. Truman announced what would be the predecessor of what would become our International Development assistance program, and that was the Marshall Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Athreya then said the dismantling of USAID correlates to a change in American values regarding foreign assistance as the country shifts from a period of heavy foreign involvement<\/a> following the Cold War to the Trump administration\u2019s minimum foreign involvement plan<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n