Extension Communications
Extension 4-H Youth Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3630
(515) 294-9915
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Extension Communications |
4/7/04
Contacts:
Stanley R. Johnson, Vice Provost for ISU Extension, (515) 294-6192, srjohnso@iastate.edu
David E. Hansen, Director of Mexico Programs Outreach Academy for Veterinary
Medicine and Rural Community Development, (515) 294-5871, dehansen@iastate.edu
Laura Sternweis, Continuing Education and Communication Services, (515) 294-0775,
lsternwe@iastate.edu
Extension Is Awarded TIES Grant for Project with Mexico
AMES, Iowa - Iowa State University Extension will help develop a university-based extension service in Mexico, thanks to a grant from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Mexico for its Training, Internships, Exchanges and Scholarships (TIES) program.
According to Vice Provost Stanley R. Johnson, ISU Extension has received a $300,000 grant from the TIES program and will partner with the University of Colima, in Colima, Mexico. The goal of the three-year project is to promote economic growth and improve quality of life for rural people of Colima through a broad-based university outreach program.
"This project represents a great opportunity for building university cooperation with Mexico and for contributing to diversity in our own university programs," Johnson said.
Wolfgang Kliemann, associate vice provost for research administration, said the TIES project with Mexico is in the best tradition of Iowa State's land-grant mission: it will boost economic growth and improve the quality of life for rural populations in Colima.
"It is the start of an extension collaboration between ISU and Mexico that will improve our connections with Central America, and enhance our cultural sensitivity to reach out effectively to the growing Latino population in Iowa and the United States," Kliemann said.
TIES higher education partnerships focus on common development goals of the United States and Mexico, including rural and small business development, environment, trade capacity building and public policy.
"These are highly competitive awards and we're in very good company," Johnson said.
ISU Extension's grant was one of 13 TIES partnership grants that were announced in March. Other universities and colleges that received TIES grants are Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Cornell University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame, University of Georgia, Southern Methodist University and Alamo Community College District.
University partnerships, such as that of ISU and the University of Colima, are one of the best ways to build much needed understanding between the United States and Mexico, said project leader David E. Hansen, director of ISU's Mexico Programs Outreach Academy for Veterinary Medicine and Rural Community Development.
"The University of Colima (UC) has been recognized by UNESCO as a premier university in terms of its distance and outreach facilities. That fits perfectly with the ISU Extension outreach mission and the special opportunity to reach out to Mexico," Hansen said.
"UC is enthusiastic with the chance to help ISU develop materials and approaches to more effectively reach our rapidly increasing Latino population. Especially critical is encouraging youth to pursue education and eventually become ISU students," Hansen said.
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