91´ó»ÆѼ

University of Missouri South Africa Program Update

A Report from the University of Missouri South African Education Program Committee 91´ó»ÆѼ-Columbia 91´ó»ÆѼ-Kansas City 91´ó»ÆѼ-Rolla 91´ó»ÆѼ-St. Louis

December 2006

91´ó»ÆѼ South African Education Program Committee: Dr. Joel Glassman, Chair, 91´ó»ÆѼSL; Dr. Robert Laudon, 91´ó»ÆѼR; Dr. James K. Scott, 91´ó»ÆѼC; Dr. Judith McCormick, 91´ó»ÆѼKC; Mr. Michael Middleton, 91´ó»ÆѼC; Dr. Minion KC Morrison, 91´ó»ÆѼC; Dr. Lois Pierce, 91´ó»ÆѼSL; Ms. Jeanie Hofer, 91´ó»ÆѼR; Dr. Nicholas Peroff, 91´ó»ÆѼKC; Dr. Daniel Stoll, 91´ó»ÆѼKC; Dr. Gwen Turner, 91´ó»ÆѼSL; Dr. Ralph Wilkerson, 91´ó»ÆѼR; Professor Rodney Uphoff, 91´ó»ÆѼ/91´ó»ÆѼC

20th Year Celebration

In August, University of Missouri President Elson S. Floyd led a 91´ó»ÆѼ delegation to the University of the Western Cape campus to commemorate the 20-year partnership between 91´ó»ÆѼ and UWC. Accompanied by his wife Carmento, Floyd became the fourth 91´ó»ÆѼ President to visit UWC. Floyd was joined by 91´ó»ÆѼ Board of Curators President Angela Bennett, 91´ó»ÆѼ South Africa Education Program Director Rodney Uphoff and by a number of current members of the 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP Committee: Joel Glassman, Lois Pierce, Robert Laudon, KC Morrison, Michael Middleton and Daniel Stoll. The official delegation

President Floyd and the 91´ó»ÆѼ delegation with Professor Jan Persens on the UWC campus before the Aug. 29 celebration.

also included two 91´ó»ÆѼ faculty members who have played important roles in promoting faculty exchanges between the two universities: Lora Lacey-Haun and Bart Wechsler.

The focal point of the trip was the August 29th celebration. The day started with welcoming remarks from President Floyd, Angela Bennett, UWC Council Chairperson Ms Beryl Kerr, and UWC Rector and Vice Chancellor Brian O’Connell. The morning session included presentations made by 91´ó»ÆѼ and UWC faculty and administrators who recounted many of the accomplishments achieved over the past 20 years. Professor Uphoff chaired the morning session. Among the speakers were Dr. Ron Turner (91´ó»ÆѼ), Professor Thembisile Khanyile (UWC), Professor Joel Glassman (91´ó»ÆѼ), Professor Kobus Visser (UWC), Dr. Daniel Stoll (91´ó»ÆѼ), Dean Richard Oliver (91´ó»ÆѼ), Professor Charlene Africa (UWC), Professor Lois Pierce (91´ó»ÆѼ), Dr. Anita Maurtin- Cairncross (UWC), Professor Jan van Bever Donker (UWC), Professor Robert Laudon (91´ó»ÆѼ) and Professor Harold Herman (UWC).

Professor Jan Persens greeting Professor Rodney Uphoff at the August 29 celebration.

After lunch, a series of speakers raised ideas and issues that present both opportunities and challenges for the partnership in the next 20 years. This session was chaired by UWC Professor Renfrew Christie. The afternoon speakers included Professor Jan Persens (UWC), Professor Rodney Uphoff (91´ó»ÆѼ), Professor Quinton Johnson (UWC), Professor Bart Wechsler (91´ó»ÆѼ), Professor Bill Folk (91´ó»ÆѼ), Professor John Bardill (UWC) and Ms. Bonnie Berkowitz (UWC). In addition to discussing plans for increasing faculty collaboration, President Floyd and Vice Rector O’Connell signed a Memorandum of Understanding renewing the prior agreement regarding student exchanges.

The highlight of the celebration was the dinner at UWC that evening. Unfortunately, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UWC’s Chancellor, was ill and unable to join in the festivities. Nonetheless, a video message from the archbishop was presented along with messages from others who couldn’t attend including former Rectors Jakes Gerwel and Richard van der Ross and former 91´ó»ÆѼ President C. Peter Magrath. The entertainment and remarks made by President Floyd, Rector and Vice Chancellor O’Connell, Ms. Beryl Kerr and Ms. Bennett, Drs. Ron Turner, Joel Glassman and Jan Persens capped off a wonderful event.

The activities on August 29th were not the only memorable events for the Missouri delegation. President Floyd, Carmento Floyd and Ms. Bennett were given a tour of the UWC campus. There was a joint meeting of the 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP Committee and its UWC counterpart, the Senate International Relations Committee. President Floyd and Ms. Bennett, along with a small group of the 91´ó»ÆѼ and UWC representatives, were invited to

dinner at the residence of Western Cape Premier Mr. Ebrahim Rasool. This same group was also hosted by the new U.S. Consul-General Ms. Helen La Lime at the new consulate building in Cape Town.

Finally, most of the Missouri delegation spoke at the 10th Annual International Education Association of South Africa Conference. Joel Glassman, Ron Turner and Rodney Uphoff delivered a joint keynote speech at the conference on September 1. Additionally, Lora Lacey-Haun, Rich Oliver, KC Morrison, Vicki Curby, Lois Pierce and Uphoff all gave presentations at the conference. Indeed, the IEASA Conference really showcased the 91´ó»ÆѼ/UWC partnership for participants from all over Africa, Europe and the United States. 

President Elson S. Floyd and Rector Brian O’Connell sign the new Memorandum of Understanding with Angela Bennett and Beryl Kerr.

Curators Presentation

On October 6, 2006, Rodney Uphoff appeared before the 91´ó»ÆѼ Board of Curators and provided a report on the celebration held at UWC to commemorate the 20th year of the partnership between 91´ó»ÆѼ and UWC. In addition, Uphoff gave the Curators a brief history of the partnership and then highlighted some of the partnership’s past successes and ongoing projects.

2007 91´ó»ÆѼ/UWC Linkage Awards

The 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP Committee met with Professor Jan Persens, UWC Director of International Programs, on October 10, 2006, in Columbia to select faculty exchange participants for 2007. The Committee authorized awards to five UWC faculty members and five 91´ó»ÆѼ faculty members.

UWC faculty receiving 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP awards (91´ó»ÆѼ hosts in parentheses): Helen Duh – Management (Jana Hawley,91´ó»ÆѼC)

Diana Gibson/Kathy Nadasen - Anthropology & Sociology (George McCall, 91´ó»ÆѼSL, will also travel to UWC as part of this grant)

Cheryl Nikodem – Nursing (Jane Armer, 91´ó»ÆѼC, will also travel to UWC as part of this project) Rubin Pillay – Management (Gordon D. Brown, 91´ó»ÆѼC)

Julia Sloth-Nielsen/Lovell Fernandez – Law (Frank Bowman, 91´ó»ÆѼC, will also travel to UWC as part of this project)

91´ó»ÆѼ faculty receiving 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP awards (UWC hosts in parentheses): Bernard Feldman, 91´ó»ÆѼSL – Physics (Delia Marshall)

Adrienne Hoard, 91´ó»ÆѼC – Art (Tammy Shefer)

Leonie Marks, 91´ó»ÆѼC – Life Sciences & Society Program (Tania Vergnani/James Lees, UWC will travel to 91´ó»ÆѼC on this grant)

Karen Piper, 91´ó»ÆѼC – English/Arts & Sciences (Ronnie Donaldson)

Thad Wilson, 91´ó»ÆѼKC – Nursing (Elma Kortenbout, UWC, will also travel to 91´ó»ÆѼKC as part of this project)

2007 South African Partnerships Program

The 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP Committee also approved awards in November for the following South African Partnerships projects:

Manjula Nathan – Plant Sciences (91´ó»ÆѼC) to collaborate with colleagues at the University of Pretoria and the University of KwaZulu-Natal to study soil characteristics with the goal of improving fertilizer efficiency.

Enid Schatz – Occupational Therapy (91´ó»ÆѼC) to go to the University of the Western Cape and University of Witwatersrand to conduct a pilot project exploring older persons’ perceptions of their health and their constructions of the meaning of health.

Antoine Stam/Glen Cameron – Management/Journalism (91´ó»ÆѼC) to the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape and the University of KwaZulu-Natal to explore technological and cultural challenges to the creation of a wireless telehealth system.

Ganesh Venayagamoorthy – Electrical & Computer Engineering (91´ó»ÆѼR) to work with colleagues at the University of Cape Town to develop bio-inspired techniques for the design of power system controllers.

ALO Project

In May 2004, the 91´ó»ÆѼ/UWC partnership received a $100,000 grant from the Association Liaison Office (ALO), Washington D.C. to assist UWC on developing an academic leadership program and to aid UWC’s nursing school in curriculum and faculty development. Under the leadership of project directors Jan Persens and Rodney Uphoff, the project was brought to a successful close in the spring of 2006. With the able assistance of the project evaluator Dr. Tanya Whitehead, Uphoff submitted a comprehensive report to ALO on May 2, 2006. As the Executive Summary of the Final Report explains, this USAID funded project was built upon the proven effectiveness of a twenty-year collaboration between the University of the Western Cape and the University of Missouri. The impetus for this project was the decision of the South African Ministry of Higher Education to assign the University of the Western Cape total responsibility for baccalaureate nursing education in the Western Cape Province beginning in January 2004. Given that mandate, UWC and 91´ó»ÆѼ applied for and received ALO funding in order to: 1) develop leadership among UWC faculty, and 2) prepare the UWC school of nursing to assume the responsibility for educating an enrollment of an anticipated 1,000 students.

The major focus of the leadership development program was to promote the development of a core set of knowledge, skills, and qualities that all UWC academic leaders should possess in the areas of university organization, operations and environment; departmental leadership and management; and personal effectiveness.

The UWC Leadership Development Program established through this project has increased the capacity and capability of UWC faculty and administrators to address the issues raised in their initial needs assessment.

Further, the program has been so well received by UWC faculty that it has spun off two leadership initiatives: 1) a Women’s Academic Writing Group through which faculty at the UWC meet regularly for peer critique and encouragement, and 2) a Train the Trainer program by which UWC is preparing to provide regional leadership development consultation for other institutions. These programs will be continued as an ongoing institutional effort to improve operating processes and systems that support academic leadership development.

In addition to the need to develop more faculty leaders, the UWC nursing school faced a dire situation created by an impending large increase in student enrollment. The ALO grant supported the evaluation of the UWC nursing school which in turn led to positive curricular revisions. The revamped nursing curriculum, including UWC’s new Masters programs, will enable UWC’s nursing faculty to better prepare an increased number of nursing students for the challenges they will face in practice.

This mutually beneficial partnership also positively affected the University of Missouri faculty, staff and students by increasing their understanding of international issues in nursing and by offering 91´ó»ÆѼ faculty the opportunity to share with their UWC counterparts in developing a leadership program.

TICIPS

The International Center for Indigenous Phytotherapy Studies (TICIPS) was launched in 2005 with a $4.4 million dollar grant from the National Institute of Health. The Center is a research consortium led by Dr. Quinton Johnson of the Medical Institute at UWC and Dr. William Folk of the MU School of Medicine. The primary mission of TICIPS is to partner with traditional healers and key South African stakeholders to conduct scientifically rigorous research on indigenous phythotherapies. Ultimately, it is hoped that these therapies can be integrated into conventional health care systems.

TICIPS played a supporting role at the 20th anniversary celebration at UWC. Prior to the celebration, TICIPS held its annual review. The Center is making progress in its funded research projects and soon hopes to initiate the clinical trial of a traditional phytotherapy used widely for the care of AIDS and related infections. The Center has also begun to implement plans to strengthen research and training in public health and social sciences with a focus upon traditional healers and their medicines.

Several 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP awards were made in November that may make the Center more competitive in securing external funding. Specifically, Professors Antoine Stam and Glen Cameron will be conducting research in South Africa that is designed to identify the challenges to the creation of a wireless telehealth system in South Africa. They hope to be able to secure additional funding that would enable them to work with TICIPS to ultimately implement such a system. A group of 91´ó»ÆѼ faculty led by Dr. Leonie Marks received a grant to bring several UWC faculty to Missouri. The goal of this group is to identify social scientists at Missouri who are interested in working with their UWC colleagues to secure external funding that will allow them to conduct collaborative research projects addressing various aspects of the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa.

In addition, an AIDS International Training and Research Program proposal is being submitted to NIH/Fogarty Center that includes MU faculty in School of Medicine; Health Professions; Human Environmental Sciences; Arts and Sciences; College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources and Nursing, as well as, UWC faculty in Public Health; Natural Sciences; Nursing and Dental School. TICIPS is also working with the MU Journalism and the Law School on a NSF proposal and with the MU Center for Religion in the Professions on a proposal to the Samueli Foundation to support international dialogue on conduct of clinical trials of traditional medicines.

MU/UWC Comparative Law Program at UWC

The University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law joined with the law faculty at UWC to once again offer a comparative law program at UWC from June 8–July 15, 2006. Directed by UWC Professor Pierre de Vos and MU Professor Rodney Uphoff, this program provided 27 American law students and 20 UWC students the opportunity to learn about each other’s legal system, as well as, deepen their understanding of aspects of their own system. The students took classes in comparative constitutional law, criminal justice administration, and alternative dispute resolution. MU Professor Jim Levin and UWC Professors Lovell Fernandez and Craig Bosch also taught in the program. Given the program’s continued success, it will be offered again in June of 2007.

UWC Law Fellowship

Lisa Draga, an outstanding UWC law graduate, was the first recipient of a new fellowship established at the 91´ó»ÆѼ-Columbia School of Law. The fellowship, supported by funding provided by Geoffrey Oelsner and Robert Lande, was awarded to Ms. Draga following her selection by a committee of the UWC law faculty. She began her studies in the MU School of Law’s LLM program in August 2006, and should complete her degree in May 2007.

91´ó»ÆѼ AND UWC Visitors in 2006

2006 91´ó»ÆѼ visitors to South Africa included: Kristi Cammack, Animal Sciences (91´ó»ÆѼC); Nancy Shields, Sociology (91´ó»ÆѼSL); Richard Madsen, Statistical Consulting (91´ó»ÆѼC); Jim Scott/Charles Sampson, Public Affairs (91´ó»ÆѼC); Neil Anderson, Geological Engineering (91´ó»ÆѼR); Vicki Curby (91´ó»ÆѼC); Elson S. Floyd (91´ó»ÆѼ); Rodney Uphoff (91´ó»ÆѼ/91´ó»ÆѼC); Curator Angela Bennett (91´ó»ÆѼ); Joel Glassman (91´ó»ÆѼSL); Lora Lacey-Haun, Nursing (91´ó»ÆѼKC); Robert Laudon, Petroleum Geology (91´ó»ÆѼR); Michael Middleton (91´ó»ÆѼC); KC Morrison (91´ó»ÆѼC); Richard Oliver (91´ó»ÆѼC); Lois Pierce (91´ó»ÆѼSL); Daniel Stoll (91´ó»ÆѼKC); Ron Turner (91´ó»ÆѼC); Bart Wechsler (91´ó»ÆѼC); Leszek Vincent, Plant Sciences Research (91´ó»ÆѼC); Marjorie Fonza, Nursing (91´ó»ÆѼKC); Thad Wilson, Nursing (91´ó»ÆѼKC); Jim Levin, Law (91´ó»ÆѼC); Bill Folk(91´ó»ÆѼC); Daopu Numbere, Petroleum Engineering (91´ó»ÆѼR); Shari Dunn-Norman, Petroleum Engineering (91´ó»ÆѼR); Glen Cameron (91´ó»ÆѼC); Antoine Stam (91´ó»ÆѼC); Kevin Rudeen (91´ó»ÆѼC); Kathy Goggin, (91´ó»ÆѼKC); Karen Williams (91´ó»ÆѼKC) and Mary Gerkovich (91´ó»ÆѼKC)

2006 UWC visitors to Missouri included: Cheryl Nikodem, Nursing; Jan Persens, International Relations; Nomafrench Mbombo, Nursing; Elma Kortenbout, Nursing; Quinton Johnson; Nkosazana Tengimfene; Raymond Schuller; James Syce; Wilfred Mabsuela; Alison Borchjes; Jan van Bever Donker; John Bredekamp and Robert Quinn

91´ó»ÆѼ/UWC Faculty Exchange Summary Update

91´ó»ÆѼ South African Partnership Participants 1997-2006

91´ó»ÆѼ Faculty Proposals for 2008 Projects

In February 2007, the 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP Committee and the UWC Senate International Relations Committee will release the request for proposals for faculty exchange for calendar 2008. At the same time, the 91´ó»ÆѼSAEP Committee will release the request for proposals for the 2008 South African Partnerships Program.

Henry Mitchell Scholars

UWC student Ms. Mary Moilwa was selected as a 2006-2007 Henry Mitchell scholar. She spent the fall 2006 semester at 91´ó»ÆѼ-Columbia studying psychology. She is UWC’s 10th Mitchell Scholar.

Two 91´ó»ÆѼ students were selected as Mitchell Scholars for 2006-2007. Both Ms. Sharese Yount (91´ó»ÆѼKC – Sociology) and Ms. Rebekah Talbert (91´ó»ÆѼSL – Anthropology) attended UWC in the fall of 2006.