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South African Program Update

University of ´óÏóÊÓƵSystem and University of the Western Cape

January 2015

Shown above: Rector Brian O'Connell, UM Curator Donald Cupps, and UM President Timothy Wolfe

A report from the University of Missouri South African Education Program Committee:

• Dr. Joel Glassman, Chair, UMSL

• Dr. Niyi Coker, UMSL

• Dr. Greg Gelles, ´óÏóÊÓƵS&T

• Dr. Jeanie Hofer, ´óÏóÊÓƵS&T

• Dr. Judith McCormick, UMKC

• Mr. Michael Middleton, MU

• Dr. Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, Missouri S&T

• Dr. Richard Oliver, MU

• Dr. Nicholas Peroff, UMKC

• Dr. Lois Pierce, UMSL

• Dr. Linna Place, UMKC

• Dr. James K. Scott, MU

• Professor Rodney Uphoff, Director, UMSAEP

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Brian O'Connell Honored by the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵBoard of Curators

Unquestionably, 2014 will be remembered as the last year of Brian O'Connell's tenure as rector of the University of the Western Cape (UWC). When he became rector in 2001, UWC faced an incredible financial deficit. Indeed, it was unclear if UWC would survive as an institution when a government task force recommended it be merged with nearby Peninsula Technikon. Rector O'Connell advocated strongly on behalf ofUWC, arguing that its proud heritage as the intellectual leader of the anti-apartheid movement justified the institution being given a chance to dig itself out from its financial hole.

The government relented and under O'Connell's leadership the school prospered. Not only did UWC's financial situation stabilize, but O'Connell's fundraising skills brought in substantial gifts, notably from Atlantic Philanthropies, that enabled UWC to build a new public health building, a state-of-the-art chemistry building, and the finest life sciences building on the African continent.

Equally important, under O'Connell's leadership UWC's academic profile has risen dramatically. In the last five years in particular, aided by the tireless efforts of Deputy Vice Chancellor Ramesh Bharuthram, UWC has climbed in academic rankings to become the 7th ranked school in all of Africa. As the following chait and table illustrate, UWC's publication output has also risen dramatically since 2000.

 

	2000	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010	2012	2013
Publication units	103	114	152	222	242	267	365	406
Research Masters	68	89	134	137	116	221	254	267
Doctoral	20	15	23	28	42	60	75	111
Weighted total	231	248	355	443	484	667	844	1006

In 2012, UWC was awarded 7 SARCHI Chairs by the National Research Foundation (NRF), the highest number awarded to any South African university.

In April, O'Connell visited all four of the UM campuses, both to discuss the future and to say goodbye to ´óÏóÊÓƵcolleagues with whom he has worked with for the past 14 years. His final stop was in Rolla on April 10, 2014, where the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵBoard of Curators was meeting. O'Connell addressed the board and spoke passionately about the UM/UWC relationship. In his words, the relationship is a model for schools of higher education in both the developed and the developing world. In a moving tribute, O'Connell was hailed by UM President Tim Wolfe and honored by the board, who presented him with a plaque bearing the following resolution:

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Brian O'Connell has served with distinction since assuming his first position at the University of the Western Cape in 1985 through his current position as UWC's rector, which is UWC's chief executive; and

WHEREAS, he has provided the passionate leadership necessary to take UWC from near bankruptcy to its current status as one of the top ranked and most well respected research universities on the African continent; and

WHEREAS, since 1986, he has been a great friend to the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵSystem through his involvement in the outstanding partnership between UM System and UWC. His calm, intelligent leadership has been essential in promoting and sustaining this remarkably successful partnership; and

WHEREAS, he has promoted UWC's identity as that of an engaged university focused on teaching the next generation of leaders for the new South African democracy, and promoting a culture at UWC that fosters deep intellectual engagement through teaching, research and service with present day challenges; and

WHEREAS, he has been recognized worldwide for his exceptional leadership and remarkable accomplishments, while maintaining a friendly, humble and supportive demeanor that only enhances his ability to work with diverse groups to accomplish laudable goals in higher education and in the larger society; and

WHEREAS, because of his extraordinary accomplishments, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2011:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Curators, on behalf of the students, faculty, staff and alumni of the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵSystem, and on behalf of the citizens of the State of Missouri, does hereby adopt this resolution in appreciation of the dedicated and devoted service of Brian O'Connell;and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of the Board of Curators cause this resolution to be spread upon the minutes of this meeting and a duly inscribed copy thereof be furnished to Brian O'Connell.

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Albie Sachs Visits the University of Missouri

Shown above: Steve Owens, Stacey Woelfe, Abby Ginzberg, Albie Sachs, Molly Wolfe, Tim Wolfe. Rod UpholT, Marsha Uphoff

In October 2014, Albie Sachs, a major figure in Missouri. On October 12, a private showing of a the African National Congress (ANC), which led new documentary Safi Vengeance: Albie Sachs the struggle against apartheid, visited Columbia, and the New South Africa was held at Ragtag

Theatre in Columbia. It is a powerful film that was screened this fall at selected schools around the country, including Harvard, Yale, Berkley and Columbia. The film recounts Sachs's life as a young political activist lawyer fighting against the apartheid regime, who the South African government tried to kill by setting off a bomb in his car. Sachs survived but lost an arm and sight in one eye. He went on to be appointed by President Nelson Mandela to the South Africa Constitutional Court, where he served with distinction. Perhaps even more significant was the major role Sachs played in drafting the South African Constitution. The author of numerous books, he has lectured and taught all over the world. In 2014, he was selected as the first recipient of the Tang Prize for his global contributions to human rights and justice. (http://www.tang-prize.org/ENG/Publish.aspx?CNID=302)

Sachs was accompanied by the filmmaker and American lawyer, Abby Ginzberg. Ginzberg spoke the next day at the MU School of Journalism and was hosted by Stacey Woelfel, director of the Jonathan Murray Center

for Documentary Journalism. The film was also shown at the MU School of Law. After the film, Sachs and Ginzberg answered questions about apartheid, Sachs's work on the Constitutional Court and his observations about justice in the

U.S. Later that evening, Sachs gave a lecture as part of the Chancellor's Distinguished Speaker's Series. His riveting presentation was entitled, "Confessions of an Activist Judge." Albie Sachs is not only a wonderful friend of the University of the Western Cape but also of the University of Missouri, and his visit was an inspiration to many.

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Cross-continent Collaboration

Originally published by ROAR Faculty & Staff Newsletter, Aug. 21, 2014

Two visitors from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa recently spent nine weeks learning from researchers in the MU School of Medicine. As part of the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵSouth African Education Program, Okobi Ekpo, PhD, a senior lecturer with the UWC Department of Medical BioScience, and Sashca Lasher, a second-year graduate student at UWC, under the sponsorship of the MU Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, made the 18-hour trip to study under the mentorship of Zezong Gu, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences at MU.

"Dr. Ekpo has a desire to establish a neuroscience program at his university," said Gu, who conducts research in the MU Center for Translational Neuroscience. "He observed the collaborative research activities in our laboratory and the infrastructure of the center, and he hopes to take that knowledge home with him to apply at UWC."

The two participated in research focused on the study of botanical remedies for the treatment of stroke and traumatic brain injury. Botanical remedies are commonly used folk remedies in Africa.

"It's clear there is a lot of cooperation and collaboration here," Ekpo said. "To me, that's very important because no one lab has all of the knowledge that would be required to solve these problems. If there's one thing I learned during my time here, it's the importance of collaboration and cooperation."

Like Ekpo, Lasher recognized and appreciated the collaborative research environment at MU.

Since the exchange program with UWC began in 1986, the program has made significant progress in spreading the expertise found at MU.

"This is my third year hosting visitors from UWC, and I think over the years, MU has made a very solid step forward," Gu said. "If Dr. Ekpo and Sashca can take home what they've observed and learned, they can have a very big impact internationally in the future."

"After coming here, I have a newfound interest in neuroscience," Lasher said. "The collaborative atmosphere is really nice, and I especially found value in the weekly lab meetings."

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Centre for Green Nanotechnology Launched in South Africa

Source: University of the Western Cape

The establishment of University of the Western Cape (UWC)'s Centre for Green Nanotechnology was made a reality through a positive partnership between the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵ(UM) and UWC that has spanned approximately 30 years.

Speakers at the launch of the Centre included Prof Brian O'Connell, Rector ofUWC; Prof Richard Bowen Loftin, Chancellor of UM; Prof Ken Dean, Provost of UM; and Prof Ramesh Bharuthram, deputy Vice-Chancellor ofUWC.

Green nanotechnology is a relatively new science which aims to create environmentally friendly technologies in an effort to tackle real problems. Nanotechnology has improved the design and performance of products in various areas such as electronics, medicine and medical devices, food and agriculture, cosmetics, chemicals, materials, coatings, energy and so forth. According to Prof Bharuthram, "Green nanotechnology provides an opportunity to combine the strengths of nanobioscience, nanochemistry and nanophysics towards innovative solutions for societal benefit."

Another keynote speaker at the launch included Professor Kattesh Katti, who has been hailed as the "father of green nanotechnology" and cited as one of the 25 most influential scientists in molecular imaging in the world. Prof Katti will divide his time between the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵ(where he heads up their Green Nanotechnology Centre) and UWC, where he will spend approximately 3-6 months of the year.

Prof Katti noted that nanotechnology involves various role players - including scientists, biologists and chemists - working together. During his lecture, he focused on the use of green nanotechnologies to treat cancer. While the treatment of cancer utilising green nanotechnologies is still at experimental stages, he illustrated how the use of nanotechnologies could be the treatment of the future. He explained that current

drugs used to treat cancers don't always have the desired effect as the drugs don't always penetrate tumours effectively due to their large size and approximately 60% of drugs go away from the intended target (tumour). Nanotechnology particles, due to their small size and their functioning, have the ability to penetrate tumours much more effectively.

The establishment of the Centre for Green Nanotechnology stru1ed in 2008/09 when UWC embarked on developing a five-year institutional strategic plan for 2010-2014. The Institutional Operational Plan (IOP) identified eight institutional goals, which included: Goal 2 - Teaching & Learning; and Goal 3 - Research & Innovation. Prof Bharuthram explained, "The IOP articulated the need for UWC to identify emerging and established research niche areas that will not only contribute to high output in the form of research publications and graduating masters and doctoral students, but equally importantly give the University a set of distinctions that will set UWC apart from the other higher education institutions - a calculated move towards becoming a research intensive university. It is indeed fascinating that at the time UWC was engaged in this exercise, the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵwas undertaking a similar comprehensive initiative which resulted in the identification and development of the five MIZZOU Advantage thematic areas.

These two parallel undertakings helped to elevate the partnership between UWC and UM to hitherto unknown heights."

UWC's Centre for Green Nanotechnology aims to promote:

• The development of fundamental sciences as they relate to chemistry, physics and biomedical and alternative energy aspects of green nanotechnology.

• Research and application on indigenous phyto-chemicals and phyto-mediated technologies for the production of green nanotechnologies with applications in medicine, energy and allied disciplines.

• New green nanotechnological synthetic processes and their feasibilities at laboratory levels, pilot scale and industrial scale for mass manufacturing.

• Green nanoparticles and green nanotechnologies in the design and development of new medical diagnostic/therapeutic agents, biological sensors, chemical sensors, smart electronic materials, nanoscale robots, environmentally benign breathing devices.

Furthermore the Centre aims to provide formal training to students at the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral levels in all aspects of green nanotechnology from blue sky to applied, including impact on socioeconomic development, policy development and revision.

UWC is exceptionally excited about this new venture and is proud that it continues to show great developmental strides in all academic spheres. At the launch of the Centre, Prof O'Connell said, "When there is robust engagement there is change. Knowledge and change goes together. The more ways of knowing is a more efficient way to tackle problems."

There was a general consensus that education is the key factor in shaping our future. Prof Loftin, Chancellor of UM said, "We think ofresources in terms of tangible things, but the most precious resource is human capital."

The strides that UM and UWC have made in staying current with regard to offering course studies that are new illustrates that these institutions are investing heavily in human capital and are committed to providing solutions for future challenges.

As Prof O'Connell noted, "UWC is a metaphor for Africa. Despite being excluded and coming from a disadvantaged past, we are here to show that we can use our brain to push the boundaries."

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UM Study Abroad: A Banner Year

2014 saw more UM students participating in a study abroad experience at UWC than ever before. The MU Law Progran1, directed by Professor Rodney Uphoff, had 17 American students taking courses along with UWC law students. 2014 marked the 11th year of this program, making it UM's longest continuous study abroad program at UWC. MU School of Social Work Dean Margie Sable and UMSL School of Social Work Academic Director and Professor Lois Pierce took 12 social work students to UWC. This was the fourth study abroad group that Sable and Pierce have taken to UWC. UMKC Adjunct Professor Mike Wood and UMKC Assistant Professor Sarah Martin-Anderson brought public health students. This is the fourth time that Wood has taken a group of UMKC public health students to work with UWC Professor Firdouza Waggie and Gerard Filies.

Four new programs were launched in 2014. Professors Scott Helm and Dave Renz of UMKC's Henry W. Bloch School of Management worked with Prof Uphoff to bring ten UMKC students enrolled in their Executive Masters in Public Administration program to UWC. Working with UWC colleagues, Renz and Helm provided their students a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Assistant Professor Jenny Bossaller of the MU School of Information Science & Learning Technologies in the College of Education brought four graduate students to UWC. Her course was entitled, "Cultural Preservation and Human Rights." Her students work in libraries and archives, so the opportunity to work with the Mayibuye Archives collection was extraordinary.

Assistant Professor Lenny Sanchez and Professor Steve Whitney of MU's College of Education teamed up with colleagues at UWC's Faculty of Education to offer a program that saw seven pre-service teachers and one education graduate student practice teach in several Cape Town schools along with their UWC counterparts. As with the law program, the students found the opportunity to interact in the classroom and to socialize outside the classroom contributed significantly to the value of their study abroad experience. Indeed, for most students on a travel abroad program, they learn as much outside the classroom as they do inside the classroom walls.

Finally, Professor Randy Smith of the MU School of Journalism led a group of 12 students from the J- School and the College of Business to UWC. The trip was supported in part by a generous gift from the U.S. Consulate in South Africa with the assistance of John Vance, public affairs officer in Cape Town. Interestingly enough, Vance is a graduate of the MU School of Journalism. The students engaged in some remarkably creative projects based on interviews with South Africans active in the anti-apartheid movement and materials gleaned from the Mayibuye Archives, a rich collection of historical papers, posters, videos and other materials housed in a wing of UWC's main library. Prof Smith was aided greatly by former UWC Dean of the Faculty of Education, Harold Herman. Prof Herman guided the group arow1d UWC and Cape Town, providing them insight into the role of UWC faculty members in the struggle, and mesmerizing them with wonderful stories of people involved in the struggle.

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Profile of Professor Tyrone Brian Pretorius

Press Release provided by University of the Western Cape:

Professor Tyrone Brian Pretorius was appointed the 7th Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in March 2014. His official term of office began in January 2015. Prior to this appointment Prof Pretorius served as the Vice-Principal (Academic) responsible for Teaching and Learning as well as planning and resource allocation at the University of Pretoria, where he was responsible for the optimal functioning of nine faculties in addition to GIBS.

Before joining the University of Pretoria, Prof Pretorius served as the President and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Monash South Africa (a campus of Monash University, Australia) from 2005 until 2013.

He also worked at UWC for many years, rising through the ranks as an Academic Assistant, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor, Head of Department, Dean and Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

Prof Pretorius has gathered a wealth of experience and an impressive resume over a successful career in academia spanning over 33 years - almost 26 of those years in higher education leadership positions, including four years as Chair of the Cape Higher Education Consortium.

 

Prof Pretorius is a Counselling Psychologist by training who earned his BA, BA (Honours) and Master of Arts (Psychology) degrees from UWC. In addition, he holds two Psychology doctorates, namely a DPhil from UWC and a PhD from the

University of the Free State. He also participated in the Yale Southern Africa Fellowship programme (Yale University) and completed a Strategic Leadership Programme at Oxford University.

He has published extensively in respected national and international journals in the fields of career psychology, coping, stress, statistics and research methodology. In addition he has served as a journal editor, and authored/co-authored a number of books, monographs and chapters in books. He has been honoured by the Psychology Society of South Africa for his contribution to the discipline, and is the current President of University Sport South Africa and Chairman of the Board of University Sports Company.

Prof Pretorius was born in Sterkspruit in the former Transkei. He currently is an Emeritus Professor at Monash University in Australia.

´óÏóÊÓƵ the Vice-Chancellor

The Vice-Chancellor is accountable to Council for the leadership of UWC as a whole, and for determining the University's strategic goals, and ensuring their implementation and monitoring. This includes accountability for the University's overall financial stability, academic standing, transformation and social justice interventions.

He has executive oversight for Institutional Planning, International Relations, HIV and AIDS Programme, Institutional Advancement, the Gender Equity Unit, the Centre for Performing Arts, the Registrar's Office, the DVC's office, Human Resources and Finance.

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Centre of Excellence in Food Security

Science and Technology Minister launches Centre of Excellence at UWC

Provided by the University of the Western Cape

The National Minister of Science and Technology, the Honorable Derek Hanekom, launched the Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on Tuesday 15 April as a means to create a competitive and food-secure state.

ln South Africa, food security has been defined as the access by all people to enough food for an active and healthy life.

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, said: "The launch of the Department of Science and Technology

- National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, will enable South Africa to tackle the challenge of food security and nutrition faced by a significant number of its inhabitants.

According to a study released in 2013 by the Human Sciences Research Council, more than half of South Africa's population does not have regular access to enough food. National food security is estimated at 45.6%.

It is initiatives such as this centre that will build more skills and resources and result in more research to help confront the issues of poverty, hunger and malnutrition in our country."

Studies show that in South Africa, where over 60% of the population is urbanised and food insecurity is widespread, approximately 45% of people live below the poverty line.

The joint partnership between the University of the Western Cape and the University of Pretoria is the first CoE to be hosted by a historically black university since the Centres of Excellence programme began 10 years ago. "I would like to thank the two universities for agreeing to this marriage, and well done to UWC for playing amongst the best universities in the world," said Hanekom.

UWC's Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Brian O'Connell, said that UWC has been blessed with success, especially in being entrusted with the responsibility of hosting the Centre of Excellence.

"UWC is a metaphor for Africa, and we have accomplished great things at this institution and on this continent. I look forward to the coming engagement with the University of Pretoria, and I believe that we will see the two institutions come together and create magic," he said.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Pretoria (UP), Stephanie Bwton, said that reducing hunger requires a lot of work, and not just in specific areas, because while just over half of the population falls into the food-secure category, the rest do not.

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2014 Faculty Exchanges

In 2014, as in prior years, UM and UWC faculty members participated in a number of productive exchanges. The following example highlights the kind of collaborations that have been the hallmark of this partnership:

Report on the Research Visit of Prof Ludidi to the University of Missouri

By: Ndomelele Ndiko Ludidi

I would first like to take this opportunity to thank the University of Missouri Student and Academic Exchange Program (UMSAEP) for granting me the opportunity and funding to visit the laboratories of Prof Robert Sharp, Dr Melvin Oliver and Prof Zhanyuan Zhang at the University of ´óÏóÊÓƵ(MU) in Columba.

The visit was targeted at establishing collaborative research between the laboratories of these three researchers and my laboratory and also to provide an oppo1tunity for me to receive training in the genetic transformation of maize and soybean (which are important crop species in both South Africa and the United States of America. I was in Columbia from 31 March 2014 to 01 June 2014.

The UMSAEP office at MU arranged logistical issues pertaining to my travel and accommodation, which was done efficiently and flawlessly. The allocated award of USO 10 0000 was used to pay for my accommodation at Extended Stay America (70 W Business Loop, Columbia), my airline ticket, car rental and part of my subsistence costs. These costs completely exhausted the award. The rest of the costs (research and training costs for transformation of soybean and maize together with the further subsistence costs dw-ing my time in MU) were covered by my grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa.

Prof Sharp, Dr Oliver and I had several discussions on the various aspects of the proposed collaborative research. After agreeing on the best approach to investigate the role of phytosterols (with focus on squalene, lanosterol and cycloartenol) and hydroxycinnan1ic acids of the phenylpropanoid pathway (with focus on caffeate and ferulate), I did experiments to determine the most suitable approach to impose the ideal level of water deficit stress that limits maize growth without causing extensive cell death. This was established from my experiments using deep Perspex tubes and is now being implemented in my laboratory at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). This interaction has resulted in the establishment of collaborative agreement between these three laboratories (Sharp, Oliver and Ludidi) on the transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomics investigation of the role of phytosterols biosynthesis pathways and hydroxycinnamic acid biosynthesis pathways in maize water deficit stress, with a view of using the outcomes of the investigation towards enhancing maize tolerance to drought. As part of the collaboration, Prof Sharp will identify MU researchers who will visit UWC in February/March 2015 for further interaction to initiate active research collaboration between MU plant scientists and UWC, selected University of Cape Town (UCT) and selected Stellenbosch University (SU) plant scientists, with MU and UWC spearheading and leading the collaboration. This visit will ce11ainly include Dr Oliver and Dr Priya Voothuluru (postdoctoral fellow in Prof Sharp's laboratory, who was instrumental in the discussions on the aspects of hydroxycinnamic acids in maize drought responses).

Prof Sharp also arranged for me to meet Prof William Flak (Department of Biochemistry, MU). Prof Flak was very much interested in the phytosterol component of the project and we discussed avenues of collaboration on the Southern African leguminous medicinal plant Sutherlandia frutescens (cancer bush/balloon pea). My discussions with Prof Folk have resulted in an initiative to formalize collaboration between his laboratory and mine on the transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomics analysis of Sutherlandia that is focused on understanding how and why this plant accumulates sutherlandiosides (glycoside derivatives of the phytosterols cycloartenol/lanosterol) n quantities much larger than other plants accumulate these cycloartane glycosides. This is important because there is evidence of interference of sutherlandiosides with therapeutic drugs against tuberculosis and HIV. Another important aspect of the work on the cycloartane glycosides is that the relatively drought tolerant nature of Sutherlandia compared to crop legumes and we thus will investigate if the high level accumulation of cycloartane glycosides in Sutherlandia plays a role in conferring drought tolerance in Sutherlandia, which would provide clues for improvement of drought tolerance in crop legumes such as soybean. Because of an established body of research on Sutherlandia in Dr Nokwanda Makumga's laboratory at Stellenbosch University (SU), Prof Folk and I decided to seek involvement of Dr Makunga in the Sutherlandia cycloartane glycoside project. Prof Folk will be travelling to Cape Town in the last two weeks of July and we (Prof Folk, Dr Makunga and I) will meet to discuss the way forward in implementing the research project collaboration.

I received training in the transformation of maize and soybean through UM's Plant Transformation Core Facility under the auspices of Prof Zhanyuan Zhang, who is the Director of the Core Facility. I am now competent in the technology used in Prof Zhang's laboratory for the transformation of both soybean and maize. A 'Materials Transfer Agreement' (MTA) has been signed between MU and UWC for the transfer of biological materials required for the soybean and maize transformation and experiments will be underway at UWC to perform the plant transformations in as soon as the outstanding plasmid DNA required for the transformation reaches UWC in the next few weeks.

Furthermore, Prof Zhang's laboratory will be in constant communication on progress in plant transformation technologies at UWC and engage each other's laboratories in widely accessing the transformation services offered by MU and explore possible avenues for further improvement of the efficiency of the transformation and for expanding the work into transformation of other crop species of interest to UWC, such as sorghum that Prof Bongani Ndimba in my department at UWC has interest in, given that Prof Zhang's laboratory already has an established service in the transformation of sorghum.

The visit to MU has thus been highly beneficial to my research group at UWC and will continue to bring benefit to both MU and UWC.

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Linkage Awards

News in Brief

The UMSAEP Committee convened in Columbia on August 27, 2014, and met via video conference with UWC Deputy Vice-Chancellor Ramesh Bharuthram to select particpants for the 2015 faculty exchange. The committee authorized UMSAEP awards to three UWC faculty members and six UM faculty members.

UWC faculty receiving UMSAEP awards (UM hosts in parentheses)

• Pradeep Brijlal (Michael McCunniff and Arif Ahmed, UMKC)

• Sonja Walker (Jane Armer, MU)

• Leslie Petrik (Joel Burken and Michael Moats, ´óÏóÊÓƵS&T)

  UM faculty receiving UMSAEP awards (UWC hosts in parentheses):

• Jane Armer, MU (Sahar Abdul-Rasool)

• Chris Fulcher, MU (Professor Julian May)

• Wilson Majee, MU (Karien Jooste)

• Rachel Pinnow, MU (Sivakumar Sivasuramaniam, Vuyokazi Sylvia Nomlomo)

• Patricia Kelly, UMKC (Seyi Aboyade, Gail Hughes)

  In addition, the committee also awarded three 2014 South African Partnership grants:

• Peter Motavalli, MU -Joseph Asiwe with University of Limpopo, Mankwent, South Africa; Xuemin Wang, UMLS and Kelly Nelson, MU

• Sandy Rikoon, MU - Professor PJ duToit and others at the University of Pretoria; Professor Rina Swart, UWC; colleagues at MU

• Kateryna (Goychuk) Schroeder, MU - Ferdinand Meyer, University of Pretoria; Bureau for Food and Agriculture Policy (BFAP) and Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institute (ReNAPRl).

UM and UWC Visitors

2014 UM visitors to South Africa include the following: Rodney Uphoff, Vicki Carstens, Wilma King, Kwame Awuah-Offei, Scott Brooks, Sandy Rikoon, Jane Anner, Willi Meyers, Chris Fulcher, Margie Sable, Lois Pierce, Lenny Sanchez, Steve Whitney, Randy Smith, Jim Levin, Josh Boucher, Jenny Bossaler, Peter Motavalli, Bill Folk, Rachel Pinnow, Scott Helm, Sarah Martin Anderson, David Renz, Paul Miceli, Heather Brown, Tom Kochtanek, Ken Dean, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, Kattesh Katti, Jerry Parker, Cathy Cutler, Mike Wood, Jere Gilles, Ken Schneeberger, Mark Hendrickson, Marty Walker.

2014 UWC visitors include the following: Ndiko Ludidi, Sahar Abdul-Rasool, Subelia Botha, Okobi Ekpo, Vuyokazi Nomlomo, Salam Titinchi, Gail Hughes, Chris Arendse, Franscious Cummings, Henriette Weber, Priscilla Daniels, Damaris Fritz, Tracy Ann-Adonis, Brian O'Connell.

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UM/UWC Faculty Visit Summary:

	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
UM Faculty	4	6	7	14	11	12	10	11	11	7	9
UWC Faculty	4	10	11	18	17	25	10	13	13	7	8
Total	8	16	18	32	28	37	20	24	24	14	17

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
UM Faculty	13	14	9	7	4	7	7	7	9	22	7
UWC Faculty	2	7	3	5	6	6	4	4	10	1	9
Total	15	21	12	12	10	13	11	11	19	23	16

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	TOTAL
UM Faculty	7	15	20	39	11	18	35	353
UWC Faculty	7	7	14	6	16	5	12	260
Total	14	22	34	45	27	23	47	613

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Mitchell Scholarship Application Deadlines Announced

Mia Boessen, Amanda Cofield, Kelly Davies, Jayme Gardner, and Ralehoko Rockman were recipients of Henry Mitchell Scholarships the past year. Selected for the upcoming year are Rebecca Miller (MU) and Sean Patrick Farnham (UWC).