Tuskegee University receives $5 million to establish partnership with Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the $5 million USAID Agriculture Higher Education activity in Nepal, implemented by Tuskegee University (TU) and in collaboration with Sathguru Inc. and Nepal’s Agriculture and Forestry University. As the lead implementer of USAID Agriculture Higher Education, Tuskegee University will apply its considerable innovation in agricultural research, education, and extension services to the rural communities of Nepal through Agriculture and Forestry University.
The TU-Sathguru team will offer its capabilities and experience to:
Develop innovative, transformative, and student-centered curricula using Universal Design for Learning;
Increase the number of workforce-ready students using the positive youth development framework;
Accelerate university engagement in sponsored research with technology transfer and create a vibrant engagement of AFU in extension services, driven by contemporary digital innovation; and
Include greater youth development, gender equality, women’s empowerment, and private sector engagement.
Dr. Olga Bolden-Tiller, Dean and Research Director of the Tuskegee University College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences (CAENS), will lead the project as a Principal Investigator (PI) and facilitate administrative and policy-related matters. Dr. Channa S. Prakash, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at TU and Co-PI of the activity, along with Dr. Nar K. Gurung, Professor of Animal Sciences in CAENS and the chief of party, will provide leadership support from Tuskegee University to ensure that the highest quality services are delivered.
Dr. Charlotte Morris, welcoming the award, said, “Tuskegee University has a long historical legacy of international development, since George Washington Carver, when he was sent to assist Togo, in Africa, with their agricultural development. The current USAID award to work in Nepal exemplifies and affirms our strength in international agricultural development.”
Dr. Bolden-Tiller, the first female dean of CAENS, added, “We are thrilled at this new opportunity to assist Nepal. While TU is known for its international development in the field of agriculture, the current project will also demonstrate Tuskegee’s proven innovation in recruiting and training individuals to successfully impact youth development, gender equality, and women’s empowerment as well as private sector engagement, which are the strategic cross-cutting elements.”