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DSU forges partnership with USAID

Sen. Chris Coons (center) with USAID Administrator Samantha Power and DSU President Tony Allen at signing of Memorandum of Understanding agreement.
Joe Irizarry
/
Delaware Public Media
Sen. Chris Coons (center) with USAID Administrator Samantha Power and DSU President Tony Allen at signing of Memorandum of Understanding agreement.

Delaware State University signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Memorandum of Understanding is the first ever between USAID and a Historically Black College and University.

The collaboration is broad in scope- seeking to enable disadvantaged communities and individuals to share in future economic prosperity based on sustainable practices and the benefits of environmental and natural resource security.

The MOU calls for USAID to facilitate new curricular and learning opportunities for DSU students as well as student and faculty participation in leading research fellowships.

Delaware State University President Tony Allen says it’s a great opportunity to build on work being done by DSU and its students

"[It can] uplift the scholarship and research we're already doing in lots of different areas particularly as it relates to food insecurity, water insecurity, you've heard talk about climate as well,” said Allen. “And also create more opportunities for our students to see themselves at a place like USAID which I think is critically important to recognize that it's such a big and important organization that wants to diversify itself is going to be critical in how we move forward here."

USAID Administrator Samantha Power calls this a problem solving partnership.

"A partnership that will allow us to tap into research that has been happening here and that can make a major contribution globally to dealing with issues of food and water insecurity and scarcity, climate change solutions, cutting edge drought resistance, heat resistance, COVID-19," said Powers.

The expectation is DSU will facilitate additional USAID collaborations with the other eighteen 1890 Land Grant universities and HBCUs by collaborating on special projects.

Sen. Chris Coons was at Monday's Memorandum of Understanding signing, and hopes this partnership will help USAID diversify its talent pool and recruitment pipeline.

Joe brings over 20 years of experience in news and radio to Delaware Public Media and the All Things Considered host position. He joined DPM in November 2019 as a reporter and fill-in ATC host after six years as a reporter and anchor at commercial radio stations in New Castle and Sussex Counties.