The International Agriculture Section (IAS) of the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly consists of the lead individual from each institution’s international agriculture program. The vision of the International Agriculture Section (IAS) is to promote, facilitate, and support the international agricultural, food, and environmental programs and activities of members of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).
IAS represents APLU members to accomplish tasks that are best approached as collaborative efforts among North American institutions. These include: (1) exchange of faculty, students, staff and information to facilitate the internationalization of research, education and engagement within our member universities, and (2) federal relations activities with the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government to advocate for university engagement in international agricultural, food, energy and environmental programs.
The members come from the colleges and faculties of agricultural, food, environmental and life sciences with an office coordinating international collaborative efforts. Collegiate IAS offices provide capacity to:
- Manage the capacity for international cooperation
- Maintain international partnerships
- Identify opportunities for international collaborations
- Facilitate faculty and student exchanges
- Implement best practices in international programs
- Provide guidance on cross-cultural initiatives
- Integrate internationalization into programs to train the next generation of globally competent scientists, educators and private sector leaders
- Develop multidisciplinary approaches to address global food systems issues
IAS members advocate for opportunities to fulfill the public and land-grant goal of international collaboration in research, education and extension programming through the partnership with the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the U. S. Agency for International Development. The IAS will target new opportunities that support the North American Knowledge Zone for cross-border common research and educational programs.
The IAS is governed by the IAS Rules of Operation, and led by International Agriculture Section Executive Leadership Committee (ICOP). According to the IAS by-laws, there are, at a minimum, 10 members of the IAS Executive Leadership Committee. The BAA Policy Board of Directors also requires an Alternative Representative, should the elected Representative to the PBD not be able to fulfill their representative duties during their term.
Voting Members
Chair of the Executive Committee: Thomas L. (Tom) Thompson, Associate Dean and Director of Global Programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech
Chair-Elect of the Executive Committee: Jennifer Kushner, Assistant Director of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences – Global, University of Madison – Wisconsin
Secretary of the Executive Committee: David Stone, Associate Dean of International Programs, College of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University
Past Chair of the Executive Committee: John Vreyens, Director of Global Initiatives for Extension, University of Minnesota Extension
Committee Representatives
Budget and Advocacy Committee (BAC) Representative: Kevin Fitzsimmons, University of Arizona
Committee on Legislation and Policy (CLP) Representative: Thomas (Tom) Gill, University of Tennessee–Knoxville
International Programs Director, BAA Policy Board (PBD): Jennifer Kushner, University of Madison – Wisconsin
International Programs Director, BAA Policy Board (PBD) Alternate: Jose Cisneros, North Carolina State University
IAS Member-At-Large (Liaison) to the CII Executive Committee: Rickey Yada, University of British Columbia
IAS Program Planning Chair: Lamin Drammeh, South Carolina State University
CARET Representative to IAS: H.C. Russel, University of Missouri
Our Global Food Future: Capitalizing on Collaborative Investment and Innovations
December 2nd, 2020
The APLU International Agriculture Section invited the North American agricultural research, extension, and development community to participate in an online dialogue to set the stage for the next generation of global agriculture innovation and collaboration. The following speakers shared their vision for the future of global connectivity, technology, science and institutional partnerships.
- Scott Hutchins, Deputy Under Secretary Research, Education and Economics, United States Department of Agriculture
- Robert Bertram, USAID Chief Scientist
- Livia Bizikova, Lead, Monitoring and Governance, Tracking Progress, IISD, Canada
- Erick Fernandez, Lead Agricultural Specialist, World Bank Group
- Guillermo Hernandez, Rector de la Universidad Tecnológica de Aguascalientes
Today’s innovation occurs, not only in-person, but also over the phone, computer, and other connected devices. Research collaboration requires monitoring and evaluation technologies that are advanced and connected to keep pace with international research competition. Funders at the private, foundation, and multi-national level seek modern approaches to innovation, institutional models, and work that is grounded in cultural and knowledge exchange. After hearing from our speakers, participants were invited to participate in an online dialogue around what North American Institutions can do to effectively plan to adapt to new methods of undertaking collaborations and engage in research, teaching, and extension.
View the recording here.
Access Passcode: IP?W74WW
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