Cahill to spend month in India, Ireland

While Cahill oversees the state's finances, retirement board, and school building program, he will focus on urbanization and economic development. Cabral will focus on public safety, security, and corrections issues.

Alison Mitchell, Cahill's spokeswoman, said he will spend two weeks each in Ireland and India, "with a good amount of time between the trips."

She said they would be completed by June.

In Cahill's absence, the Treasury will be run by First Deputy Treasurer Neil Morrison.

As to why Cahill is taking the trips, Mitchell said, "The Eisenhower Fellowship is a chance to learn and exchange ideas with great minds from other parts of the country and the world -- an opportunity that will make him a more valuable and effective treasurer here in Massachusetts."

Cahill, a Quincy Democrat, is the former Norfolk County treasurer. He completed his first four-year term as treasurer on Wednesday. He and his aides have been assessing a possible US Senate campaign, but his resume lacks any experience in international affairs, a credential often cited by Senate candidates.

Cahill and Cabral were nominated for the fellowships by Stephen Crosby, the founding dean of the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

"All too often, public officials barely even study issues in neighboring states, let alone other countries, to help develop policy options for Massachusetts," Crosby said in a statement. "I knew Tim Cahill and Andrea Cabral had the leadership skills and intellectual curiosity to both appreciate, and win, this prestigious opportunity."

Eisenhower Fellowships are provided by a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization aimed at fostering international understanding and leadership through the exchange of information, ideas, and perspectives.

They were established in 1953 as a birthday tribute to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The current chairman of the organization is former secretary of state Colin Powell.