By Corey Arvin, Staff Writer
Emphasis on international research, education could help developing nations and provide domestic solutions
Developing nations and modern civilizations face age-old crises and dilemmas that researchers and experts from universities around the world have collaborated on to understand and potentially resolve. From finding answers to malnutrition in underdeveloped countries to uncovering solutions to the water shortages in California, university researchers have their hands in world affairs.
UCR is emphasizing the importance of building synergy and fostering collaboration with international research and studies. University officials are currently searching for the school’s first-ever Vice Provost for International Affairs, a coveted leadership position that is a staple of the most respected educational institutions. Faculty members are hoping the new position will bring together a host of international programs to strengthen its involvement in global research.
UCR realized for many years the school needed a Vice Provost, but UC budget cuts in the face of the recession five years ago put the position on the shelf. After Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox came to UCR last year, interest in creating a Vice Provost position was renewed, said Anil Leolalikar, a developmental economist and founding dean of the UCR School of Public Policy.
“You can’t be a major research institution without having a global footprint. The world is a more globalized place, so everything that we do has ramifications here and vice-versa,” said Leolalikar.
“The job of the Vice Provost is to find out what all is happening in terms of international work and make it more cohesive so the right hand knows that the left hand is doing,” he said.
International collaboration between UCR scholars and their colleagues abroad dates back decades. Some of their research includes improving crop yields in Africa and determining cost-effective ways of reducing child malnutrition in developing countries.
“The point of our new approach is with all of these activities, let’s put them all together and see what kind of impact we have. Let’s see if we can exploit some of the synergies from all of these projects with faculty and students. It’s not optics. It’s making things more efficient … a more holistic approach,” said Leolalikar.
While a lot of the university’s research could provide solutions for problems in emerging nations, solutions to domestic concerns in the U.S. and industrialized countries are also abound in other countries, including those that may not be as modernized as others.
“Water is a very important issue in Southern California and other parts of the world because a lot of the world is running short on water. Water is going to be the next oil in the coming century. A lot of the expediency of [foreign] governments have made good policy on appropriate pricing so water is not wasted by farmers or consumers. There are also expediencies with water desalination and recycling. It’s been very successful in places like Australia, Israel, and South Africa. We can learn from those experiences and make use of them in SoCal,” said Leolalikar.
The lessons can be applied in reverse, with countries such as China learning from advancements in environmental planning and pollution control in Southern California, for example, said Leolalikar. Having valuable information affects the quality of decision making, he said.
UCR partners with universities throughout the world to maintain its teaching and research standards, keep up with academic trends, and share innovations. The university currently has 170 agreements for collaboration with universities around the world.
UCR is hoping its growing emphasis on international studies will influence more students abroad to enroll. Every year, hundreds of UCR students study overseas every year.
Susan Ossman, Professor of Anthropology, has directed the university’s Global Studies program since she came to UCR seven years ago. Ossman studies serial migration patterns, working in Morocco, France, and the U.K. before joining UCR. She’s also done research in Tunisia, Egypt, Mali, and the Arab Gulf. Ossman works with graduates and undergraduate students and has noticed an increase in interest in global studies among students.
“I have seen the study has grown to be a popular major. Even those who don’t major, there is an interest to study abroad. [If possible] they’ll try to go during the summer,” she said.
Students who take part in international studies usually gain an appreciation for being a part of a new society and appreciating their own, said Leolalikar. However, currently, the university can’t send as many students abroad as it would like because of the costs.
Ossman believes having a Vice Provost could strengthen and elevate attention to UCR scholars’ research abroad.
“I hope (the Vice Provost) makes everyone more aware of the international work. Sometimes for those of us who work internationally, it’s not as visible as it could be. Having someone who is the point person makes it more visible.”
“My hope is that better coordination of all of our activities will lead to a greater societal impact,” said Leolalikar.
Notable International UCR Research
UCR is a founding member of an experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN lab in Geneva, Switzerland, as physicists hunt for Higgs boson, the world’s most sought-after particle.
• English professor Michelle H. Raheja received a Fulbright fellowship to study visual culture of one of the largest indigenous groups in Europe, the Sami people of northern Europe.
• Physics professor Gabriela Canalizo volunteers several weeks each summer in an orphanage in Malawi to raise awareness of science.
• Scientists are developing improved varieties of cowpea that will increase crop yield in several African countries. Cowpea is a protein-rich legume crop that plays a key role in sustaining food security for people and their livestock in Africa and Asia.
• UCR geologists were part of an international team that discovered the mineral qingsongite in Tibet. Nearly as hard as a diamond, it is an important technological material.
• Economist Steven Helfand is evaluating a United Nations agriculture sustainability project aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty in Brazil.
• Historian James Brennan is examining political violence and the “dirty war” in Argentina and, with scholars from Asia, Africa and Latin America, is studying the economic-social-environmental history of the global mining industry in the 20th century.