Dean's Letter - December 2016
Dear Friends of the College,
We are explorers by nature and the prospect of studying abroad is enticing for the anticipated adventure and curiosity of the unknown. Yet the benefits of immersing in another culture are not what you see but how you are impacted by what you experience. Engagement with a different culture and environment stimulates character building including growth in perspective, self-reflection, empathy, interdependence, and adaptability. It is for these benefits that our college has embraced the goal that all of our students will have the opportunity to engage in an international experience.
I have had the privilege to lead one of these experiences in an intensive, three-week course in Tanzania each year. The Biology of EcoHealth (BIOL498) focuses on the interactions and interdependence of humans, wildlife, and livestock in Tanzania as impacted by culture, history, and ecology. The origins of this course arose from my interests to promote education and research in Africa. Peter Hudson, a fellow Eberly College of Science faculty member and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and I volunteered to assist a fledgling university in Arusha, Tanzania—the Nelson Mandela African Institute for Science and Technology. During our first trip to Tanzania in 2011, we had the opportunity to experience its extraordinary culture and ecology. In particular I saw how people, wildlife, and livestock live together, sharing and competing for water and other resources. I immediately decided that our students should have the opportunity to experience this as well. I recruited two other Penn Staters, Paul Shaffner and Anna Estes, both with Tanzanian experience and command of the Swahili language, to help me organize and teach the course.
Our itinerary includes visiting remote Masai pastoralists who coexist with lions, hyenas, elephants, wildebeest, giraffe and a host of other animals. We learn about Masai culture and healthcare in the context of the complete absence of utilities and other modern conveniences. And we delve into the rich ecology and complex biological interactions that make Tanzania one of the most fascinating countries in the world. More important than what we teach are the unexpected experiences, the camaraderie that develops amongst the students and faculty, and the deep sense of connectedness to life that spills over in abundance across the Serengeti plains. Judging from the response of the students such as “it changed my life,” and “a truly transformative experience,” the course has been a remarkable success.
The college also offers a few other similar courses around the world, but the cost and logistics of studies abroad has impeded our goal that all students will have an opportunity for an international experience. Please consider making a gift to the college to support our studies abroad programs.
Sincerely,
Douglas R. Cavener
Verne M. Willaman Dean