Higher Education in Africa Initiative: Southern Sudan
Virginia Tech project to develop a long-term strategic plan that will build capacity at the Catholic University of Sudan and the University of Juba.
Year: 2009
Granting Agency: USAID Higher Education in Africa Initiative
Grant #: AEG-A-00-05-00007-00
Grant Amount: $50,000
Location: Southern Sudan
After almost 50 years of civil war, the higher education system in Southern Sudan collapsed, leaving few well-trained people to deal with the immense challenges of reconstruction. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in 2005 between the Government of Sudan in Khartoum and the Government of Southern Sudan in Juba, offers an opportunity to begin the long process of rebuilding the human capacity necessary to promote economic growth, increase food security, and maintain the peace. Higher education in agriculture, the source of livelihood for the vast majority of the population, together with sustainable management of the rich natural resource base of the region, offer the best opportunities for short- and intermediate-term impacts.
OIRED recently won a highly competitive, USAID-sponsored Higher Education in Africa Initiative planning grant to develop a long-term strategic plan for building institutional capacity in agriculture and natural resource management at two universities in Southern Sudan—the Catholic University of Sudan and the University of Juba. The strategic plan will respond to the severe food security and human capacity development needs of the region by outlining a higher education plan to build Southern Sudanese university faculty capacity using both short-term training and degree training. The planners hope to assist key universities as well as the Government of Southern Sudan Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in developing effective teaching, research, and extension programs. This grant also means that OIRED is well-placed to potentially receive a long-term (10-15 years), multi-million dollar per year grant to implement the strategic plan, which will begin in 2010.
Prior to receiving the grant, the Virginia Tech-managed Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program (SANREM CRSP) received an Associate Award to perform a needs assessment in Southern Sudan. The project, funded through the USAID/Sudan Mission, was completed in the summer of 2009.
Virginia Tech faculty involved:
- Mike Bertelsen - Associate Director of OIRED; Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Theo Dillaha - Program Director, SANREM CRSP
- Steve Hodges - Professor, Crop Soil and Environmental Science
- Tom Broyles – Assistant Professor/Undergraduate Coordinator, Agricultural Extension and Education
- Rachel Hensley – Instructor, Agriculture Technology
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A market in Southern Sudan clamors with people looking to buy and sell produce. Sudan is one of the most food insecure countries in the world. |
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Mike Bertelsen, Associate Director of OIRED and Associate Dean in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, tours the facilities at the University of Juba. |
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A group of Sudanese children pose for a photo. Almost 50 years of civil war has virtually destroyed the higher education system in Southern Sudan. |
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Theo Dillaha, Program Director for the SANREM CRSP, delivers a presentation at the Catholic University of Sudan. Dr. Dillaha spoke about environmental issues facing Southern Sudan. |
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Theo Dillaha chats about higher education with James Odra, Dean of Academic Affairs at the University of Juba. |