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GREETINGS FROM THE DIRECTOR
International Programs in Agriculture
pursues a vision of promoting and supporting innovative and
collaborative approaches to solving global grand challenges, maintaining a
healthy and sustainable planet, and building global awareness and
understanding. Our goal is to connect, collaborate and engage to make the world
a better place.
At a time when Purdue is celebrating its 150th
birthday, I thought it might be useful to take a look back into the
historical record of international activities in the College of Agriculture. What
I’ve discovered is that our vision has been global for a very long time — 110
years, at least. In the summer of 1910, Professor Alfred Wiancko, one of the
first Purdue faculty members in what would later become the College of
Agriculture, crossed the Atlantic to tour agricultural experiment stations in
Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Holland and England. As much as we might be amazed by
Professor’s Wiancko’s early efforts to internationalize our work, I think it's likely he
would be even more amazed by our international efforts today. These include a
new initiative led by Paul Ebner (Animal Sciences) to create a Center of
Excellence for Agriculture in Egypt, and a new fellowship program that will soon
begin bringing up to 10 students a year from Brazil to pursue PhDs in participating
departments in the college. This latter effort continues a legacy of collaboration
between the College of Agriculture and Brazilian institutions that stretches
back to the 1960s and ’70s.
Those collaborations began with the
work of D. Woods Thomas, IPIA’s first director. As IPIA’s fifth director, I am
especially eager to strengthen these existing partnerships and launch new ones.
Exciting things are happening everywhere. With the support of the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation we continue to improve market access and food security
among smallholder farmers via the PICS project. With the support of the African
Development Bank we’ve turned lessons from last fall’s Scale Up conference into
a Scale Up Sourcebook. With the help of USAID and our strategic NGO partner
Catholic Relief Services, we are helping to support the modernization of seed
systems and promote the uptake of improved seed varieties. And with the
dedicated efforts of numerous College of Agriculture faculty members and the
support of our many friends and alumni, we continue to create and lead
exciting, innovative and life-changing study abroad experiences for our
students. This summer, as part of faculty led courses, College of Agriculture students will stamp their
passports in seven countries, from Austria to Zambia.
For more than a century, our perspective
has been global. Today, our international work is as important and impactful as
it has ever been, and remains true to the college’s land-grant mission. This newsletter
highlights some of our many efforts. Please join me in celebrating our global achievements, and help me to spread the word about our international
impacts.
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Dr. Jerry Shively
Associate Dean and Director |
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CONNECTING |
STAY CONNECTED   |
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Colloquium brings together
different perspectives on ending hunger |
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At an Ending Global Hunger Colloquium April 10-11, individuals on the
front line of fighting hunger, advocates of the global hunger agenda, and
members of the Purdue community considered the state of the fight against
global hunger and discussed lasting solutions toward ending it. The meeting,
organized by the Purdue Center for Global Food Security in Discovery Park, was
a signature event of Purdue University’s Giant Leaps Ideas Festival. Gebisa Ejeta,
distinguished professor and director of the Purdue Center for Global Food
Security, and Otto Doering, professor of agricultural economics, served as
co-chairs. |
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Faculty represent Purdue
around the world
Thirteen College of Agriculture faculty members have received Purdue
Research Foundation (PRF) International Travel grants. The program covers part of
travel costs for Purdue faculty members to participate in international
research conferences. The recipients and the location of the conference they
plan to attend are:
Africa
- Jacob Ricker-Gilbert, agricultural economics – Abuja, Nigeria
Asia
- Jen-YI Huang, food science – Melbourne, Australia
- Meilin Ma, agricultural economics – Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Shweta Singh, agricultural & biological engineering – Beijing, China
- Kara, Stewart, animal science – Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia
- Cankui Zhang, agronomy – Nanjing, China
Europe
- Yuan (Brad) Kim, animal sciences – Berlin, Germany
- Ann Kirchmaier, biochemistry – Crete, Greece
- Bhagyashree Katare, agricultural economics – Basel, Switzerland
- Chunhua Zhang, botany and plant pathology – Cambridge, UK
North America
- Gordon McNickle, botany and plant pathology – Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
South America
- Songlin Fei, forestry and natural resources – Curitiba, Parana, Brazil
- Kwamena Quagrainie, agricultural economics – Palmas (TO) Jaboticabal, Brazil
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Faculty are key to study
abroad opportunities
Photo courtesy Elizabeth
Fields |
Boilermakers will study around the world this summer on short-term,
faculty-led programs and long-term research or internship or coursework-based
programs. About 140 College of Agriculture undergraduates have chosen programs in
Switzerland, Ecuador, China, Sweden, New Zealand, Italy, Zambia, Germany, Japan
and Jamaica, among others.
These College of Agriculture faculty are leading the following
short-term courses this summer:
- Ecuador: Environment and Culture in the Galapagos – Elizabeth Flaherty, Barny Dunning, Brandon Quinby
- France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania: Economy, Agriculture and Environment Orient Express – Steven Hallett, David Umulis
- Italy: An Italian Food Experience: Production, Preparation, Marketing – Michael Gunderson
- Italy: Produzioni Animali: Exploring Animal Production in Italy – Elizabeth Karcher, Ashley York
- Sweden: International Natural Resources – Tomas Hook, Douglass Jacobs, Patrick Zollner
- United Kingdom: Forensic Science International: Comparing UK and US Forensic Practitioners – Trevor Stamper, Krystal Hans
- Zambia: An International Service Learning Program – Kolapo Ajuwon
Faculty led five successful courses during spring break.
- Costa Rica: Natural History in Costa Rica – Reuben Goforth, Barny Dunning, Julie Pluimer
- Costa Rica: Agricultural, Environmental & Community Sustainability – Marcos Fernandez, Lori Hoagland, Amy Jones, Sean Dufault
- Ireland: Agriculture in Ireland – Colleen Brady, Kara Hartman, Chloe Wires
- Italy: Agriculture in Italy – Andrea Liceaga, Lisa Mauer
- Vietnam: Food Security and Environmental Challenges in Vietnam – Elizabeth Karcher, Jacie Grant
Thanks to these faculty and staff members for their time and
efforts — often behind the scenes — and for personally knowing, believing and
passionately leading the transformational impact of study abroad.
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“Many people told me to take advantage
of the opportunities to travel while in college, as it becomes much harder once
you have a job. I took that advice to heart and took full advantage of the
study abroad opportunities.”
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Jacquelyn
Brown ’17, who spent three of her four spring breaks abroad, in Ireland,
Colombia and Cuba; one Maymester in Italy and Switzerland; and her senior fall
semester in Hong Kong. She currently is living in Lilongwe, Malawi, for six
months working with the International Development Division of Land O’Lakes.
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“This
trip was an incredible opportunity. I experienced a new culture, ate some
delicious new food, and I crossed hiking through a rainforest off my bucket
list.”
- Savanna Harrison, junior in animal sciences, who studied in Costa Rica over
spring break 2019
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Thompson Scholarship part
of broader legacy
Photo courtesy Tony Hoch |
Former
Dean of Agriculture Bob Thompson calls expanding the opportunities and building enthusiasm
among faculty and students for meaningful international experiences “his
proudest contribution as dean at Purdue.” Read how his legacy lives on not only
through the hundreds of study abroad opportunities offered through IPIA, but
also through the Robert L. and Karen H. Thompson Scholarship to support
students who participate in international study programs in agriculture. Meet two students who benefited from their generosity.
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COLLABORATING
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Brazil and Purdue launch new graduate
fellowship program in agriculture
A new partnership
between the College of Agriculture and the Brazilian Ministry of Education
through CAPES, a public foundation for the development of graduate education in
Brazil, will establish a new CAPES-Purdue Agriculture PhD Fellows
program. The Brazilian government will finance up to 10 doctoral students in
Purdue’s College of Agriculture each year, with the first cohort beginning in
fall 2020.
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Purdue joins UN collaboration
Purdue is sharing its expertise in
sustainable development as part of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a United Nations initiative to
bring together international scientific and technological expertise to address
global challenges. The network supports implementation of Sustainable
Development Goals to fight poverty with economic, environmental and governance
tools. IPIA Director Jerry Shively serves as Purdue’s SDSN liaison.
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New resource from
Scale Up Conference |
The Scale Up Sourcebook
— a resource that began with a conference Purdue hosted in collaboration with
the African Development Bank in September 2018 — was launched at a program in
Washington, D.C. April 10. Suzanne Nielsen, professor of food
science and Faculty Fellow for Global Affairs, and Jerry Shively, associate
dean and director of IPIA, welcomed people to the launch event.
The Purdue conference focused on the scale up of agricultural
technologies from research institutions into developing countries. As a follow-up,
the Sourcebook launch included a
panel discussion focused on what stakeholders have learned and what they must
do differently to facilitate technology adoption,
agricultural investment and inclusive impact at scale.
The Scale Up Sourcebook, co-written by Larry Cooley and Julie Howard, provides guidance, examples, and
links to additional resources for stakeholders associated with scaling
agricultural technologies and innovations to meet the needs of the world’s
poor.
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USAID and Cairo University establish
Center of Excellence for Agriculture with Purdue, UC Davis, Cornell and
Michigan State
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Purdue
is one of four U.S. land-grant institutions participating in a new cooperative
partnership between USAID and Cairo University to create a Center of Excellence
for Agriculture in the Faculty of Agriculture at Cairo University. The center’s
purpose will be to strengthen
agriculture in the country by helping its universities equip Egyptian
agriculture faculty and students as research scientists, employees,
policymakers or innovators.
Paul Ebner, professor of animal sciences, leads Purdue’s involvement,
which will focus on programs in instructional innovation and curriculum
development. Kashchandra Raghothama, associate director of IPIA, is
co-PI for the project and is providing programmatic and curricular support, and
IPIA program assistant Trish Sipes is lending administrative support.
Members of the Purdue team include Haley Oliver, associate professor of
food science; John Lumkes, professor of agricultural and biological engineering
and assistant dean, Office of Academic Programs; Mohamed Seleem, professor of
microbiology College of Veterinary Medicine; Krishna Nemali, assistant professor of controlled
environment agriculture; Liz Karcher,
assistant professor of animal sciences; and Ariana Torres, assistant
professor of horticulture and landscape architecture.
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PICS3 expanding, incorporating information and
communication technology
Photo courtesy https://picsnetwork.org |
The Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation is currently funding a third, five-year phase of the Purdue Improved
Crop Storage (PICS3) project. Building
on previous successes, PICS3 seeks to increase the use of the hermetic storage
technologies by 20 percent of grain stored on-farm in in Burkina Faso,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. From its initial use
with cowpea, use of the PICS technology has expanded to include other crops such
as maize, sorghum, wheat, rice, peanut and common bean. PICS3 is also testing
different communication technologies, including mobile applications, to
increase awareness and improve availability of PICS bags.
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Orinoquía
region a living laboratory
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The Purdue Orinoquía Initiative in Colombia, a science-driven approach to sustainable development of that region,
offers exceptional opportunities to Purdue researchers, students and
entrepreneurs. The initiative is one of several that have resulted from the Colombia Purdue Partnership, which also encompasses the Farmer to Farmer program and Cacao for Peace. In part as a result of the broader
collaboration between Purdue and Colombia, Colombian students comprised the largest
Latin American population at Purdue in 2018.
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USWDP has
impact in Afghanistan
The University Support and Workforce Development Project (USWDP), will wrap up in June having made significant progress in developing new, economy-relevant bachelor degree programs in food technology and agribusiness in Afghanistan. The project has included long- and short-term education for Afghan university faculty members, industry engagement, demand-driven curriculum development, online education and creation of public-private partnerships.
Purdue partnered with FHI360 on the project, which began in June 2014 with a five-year, $5 million award from USAID. IPIA has led the project with the oversight from PI Kevin McNamara, professor of agricultural economics, as well as provided logistical and administrative support.
Purdue
provided technical support for policy, curriculum and syllabuses development,
which included an industry assessment to inform 17 specialized courses that make
up the curriculum. As a result of the project, the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education
inaugurated a food technology department that in its first two years enrolled
16 male and 11 female bachelor’s degree students. Purdue also has facilitated
internships for the food technology students.
A
laboratory for food microbiology, food analysis and food processing is
operational, and an optional online lecture series focuses on food safety, good
agricultural practices, and good manufacturing practices for the food technology
students and faculty.
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Thanks
and farewell, Kevin McNamara
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Kevin
McNamara, professor of agricultural economics and IPIA assistant director, is
retiring June 30. He has been engaged in Afghanistan since 2002 as the PI for
12 projects totaling more than $35 million in value related to Afghanistan
development. Under McNamara’s supervision, 22 Afghan university junior faculty have
come to Purdue for graduate study in agricultural economics, agronomy, English,
entomology, forestry, food science and horticulture. IPIA adds its thanks for
his dedication and leadership.
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Nexus alliance offers SWAT information
The Arequipa Nexus Institute for Food,
Water, Energy and the Environment (Nexus Institute), a technical alliance of
Purdue and the Universida
Nacional de San Agustin in Arequipa, Peru, organized a March 21 workshop as
part of its Sustainable Watershed Management project. “SWAT Application in the Arequipa Region” helped participants
better understand the use and potential of soil and water assessment tools. Instructors
included Jane
Frankenberger, professor of agricultural and biological engineering; Laura
Bowling, professor of agronomy; and Fariborz Daneshvar, ABE postdoc research
associate.
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ENGAGING |
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Multidisciplinary
approach to improved water systems
Since 2012, College of Agriculture faculty and students have participated in the interdisciplinary, international, service-learning course Water
Supply In Developing Countries. Their goal has been to develop
water treatment systems for the Dominican Republic that are simple, affordable, sustainable, and
accessible. Students have worked with Ken Foster, professor of agricultural economics, to design and implement
business strategies for water commercialization. Revenues from these efforts
ensure the financial sustainability of the water system and support other
community/school needs.
Since 2012, 68 students have
participated in the course. This includes College of Agriculture students from ABE, agricultural
economics, food science, forestry and natural resources, as well as students from other colleges across campus.
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IPIA
staff member on trade mission to Mexico
Amanda Dickson, international extension
specialist in IPIA, will join Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch on a trade
mission to Mexico July 7-11. The trip focuses on agriculture and tourism, and
involves officials from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana
Office of Tourism Development and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Dickson, who speaks Spanish, is interested in forming international connections
both within the delegation and with prospective partners in international
extension in Mexico.
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Dean’s
Advisory Council chooses international focus
The College of Agriculture Deans Advisory
Council often selects an area of focus for its semiannual meeting. For first
time on April 12, council members chose to explore international activities in
the College of Agriculture. After an overview by IPIA Director Jerry Shively, presentations
focused on international research, international extension and international
education, including brief remarks by study abroad students. |
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Karcher
wins teaching awards
Elizabeth (Liz)
Karcher, assistant professor of animal sciences, was recognized during the
2018-2019 academic year with the Purdue Exceptional Early Career Teaching award, College of
Agriculture Richard L. Kohls Outstanding Early Career Teaching award and as a College
of Agriculture PK-12 Emerging Leader. A strong advocate of international
experiences for Purdue students, Karcher has developed two courses that offer
these opportunities: Produzioni Animali: Exploring Animal Production in Italy; and Food Security and Environmental Challenges
in Vietnam. |
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D.
Woods Thomas’s daughter encourages award recipients
In the photo – Award recipients (from left) Jacie Grant, Kirsten Roe
and Meagan Rathjen with Leslie and Clark Dale
At
an awards ceremony March 25, Leslie Dale — the daughter of IPIA’s first
director D. Woods Thomas — told the three graduate students who are receiving
2019 awards named in his memory that her father would be pleased to know his
legacy continues to encourage students to solve issues in developing countries.
Jacie Grant, an MS student in animal
science, will travel to Vietnam to assess and enhance the impact of a study
abroad course on undergraduate participants. Meagan Rathjen, a PhD student in
forestry and natural resources, will study stakeholder knowledge and perception
of restoration work for improving water security in Bolivia. And Kirsten Roe,
who is working on a PhD in forestry and natural resources and an MS in
agricultural economics, will introduce aquaculture to rural/remote areas as
sustainable food source in Guatemala.
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IPIA’s mission is to leverage knowledge, resources and people to achieve
positive global impacts. Learn more about IPIA and the services we offer to faculty and
staff, international visitors, and graduate students.
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An Equal Access/Equal Opportunity University
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