Penn State Intercom......May 24, 2001

$460,000 grant links state
with South African university

The University Office of International Programs (UOIP) has received a $460,000 grant from the Tertiary Education Linkage Program (TELP) on behalf of the Pennsylvania Academic Consortium, which is composed of the University, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University.

The grant is to form and enhance a partnership with South Africa's University of Durban-Westville. The main goals of the consortium are to design participatory professional development, research, faculty exchange and capacity-building initiatives to enhance Durban-Westville's institutional management and academic leadership, and to extend Pennsylvania's engagement in the international arena.

The grant is part of the second cycle of linkages under the TELP umbrella. Khalipha Bility, head of UOIP's International Partnerships and Academic Linkages, coordinated the consortium's application for the award, which is part of a series of grants designed to form partnerships between American universities and historically disadvantaged universities and technical colleges in South Africa.

The grant is underwritten by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The partner institutions plan to develop a three-year program to enable Durban-Westville to implement its strategic plan. The project will focus on the management of institutional change; faculty, staff and student development; fiscal and enrollment management; and research and evaluation.

The consortium envisages that the program will take place over three years in four phases. Phase one will zero in on the university's management, administrative and strategic-planning needs; phase two will include an administrative fellowship program at PAC institutions; phase three will consist of in-service professional development and training at UDW; and phase four will cover research, evaluation and collaborative initiatives to continue after the grant.

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