College of Agriculture

Office of Global Programs (OGP) College of Agriculture – Spring Report 2019

News from OGP

Transition plan for the Office of Global Programs:

For questions related to instruction and undergraduate student related programs, (e.g., study abroad programs/scholarships, student exchange, 2+2/3+2 programs, and instruction-related agreements), please contact Amy Wright (Cc Kelly Pippin).

For questions related to research programs, (e.g., research partnerships and agreements, York ISP, funding opportunities, etc.), faculty engagement activities (e.g., international travel support, Global Programs Advisory Committee and Office of International Programs liaison), and new partnerships/initiatives please contact Henry Fadamiro (Cc Kelly Pippin).

For DS 2019 processing, York ISP seminars, international visitors/scholars events and related activities, please contact Kelly Pippin.
OGP recruited a student worker, Ms. Jasey Black, who is a sophomore in Agricultural Communications and works 8 – 10 hours per week for the Office of Global Programs.

International Enrollment in the College as of Spring 2019

Number of International Undergraduate Students – 13 (16 as of Fall 2018)
Number of International Graduate Students – 120 (128 as of Fall 2018)
Total Number of International Students – 133 (144 as of Fall 2018): 58 female; 75 male
Number of countries represented: 33
Breakdown of countries and departments/schools:

Top 5 countries Spring 2018		Top 5 countries Fall 2018		Top 5 countries Spring 2019
China	50	China	48	China	41
Turkey	7	India	10	India	15
Vietnam	5	Turkey	7	Nepal	9
India	4	Brazil	6	Brazil	7
Brazil	5	Nepal	5	Turkey	6

Programs/Department	Spring 2018	Fall 2018	Spring 2019
Ag Econ and Rural Sociology	19	22	18
Animal Sciences	4	4	4
Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences	22	24	21
Entomology and Plant Pathology	24	28	28
Horticulture	4	5	5
Poultry Science	7	10	11
SFAAS	31	31	25
Biosystems Engineering	20	20	21
Undeclared	1	0	0
Grand Total	132	144	133

Number of J-1Visiting Scholars/Interns:

2018-2019 academic year: 31(academic year ongoing)
2017-2018 academic year: 34(Kelly was on maternity leave from June to September; her substitute didn’t log in DS-2019 requests for this period)
2016-2017 academic year: 48

Study Abroad

Calculated by academic year: 31 College of Ag students enrolled in study abroad trips for the 2018 – 2019 academic year (academic year ongoing), 51 in the 2017 – 2018 academic year, 44 in the 2016 – 2017 academic year.Orr Study Abroad trip has not yet selected a destination. Two study abroad trips, the Agronomy Tour and Austria tour, are moved to 2020.
Calculated by calendar year: 16 College of Ag students enrolled in study abroad trips in the year of 2019 (calendar year is still ongoing), 40 students in 2018, 42 students in 2017.

Study Abroad programs offered for the 2018-2019 academic year include:

Vietnam (Aquaculture): Dr. Bill Daniels, Winter 2018 – 15 students completed

France (1:1 Exchange Program in Ag): Dr. Valentina Hartarska, Spring 2019 – one student traveled to France

Peru (Inca Heritage, Intl Research and Ag): Dr. Russell Muntifering, Spring 2019 – 11 students committed

China (general Ag tour): Dr. Xing Ping Hu, May 2019 – 6 students have applied

Faculty Abroad (OGP partially funded)

Dr. David Blersch (BSE) presented his research at the BioSC International Workshop on N/P/C Storage Pools in Algae and Cyanobacteria and Nutrient Uptake from Waste Streams which was held Sept 6‐7, 2018 at Bioeconomy Science Center in Forschungszentrum Julich, Germany. Amount supported: $1,000

Dr. Puneet Srivasatava (Water Recourses Center) was invited to visit Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland) from Sep 8-13, 2018 to discuss international framework for setting up ecological engineering curriculum. Amount supported: $1,000
Two SFAAS faculty, Drs. Ian Butts and Rex Dunham, traveled to China to share research and develop collaborations with Zhejiang Institute of Freshwater Fisheries (ZIFF) and Ocean University of China October 13-21, 2018. Amount supported: $1,000
Dr. Brenda Ortiz (CSES) traveled to Taipei, Taiwan as a keynote speaker at the meeting “APEC GIFTS A+: Promoting Gender Inclusion in Smart Agriculture Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future in Smart Agriculture” October 19-25, 2018. Amount supported: $500
Dr. Guillaume Salze (SFAAS) traveled to Vietnam to assist Dr. William Daniels in teaching Aquaculture Production at Can Tho University and to meet with their faculty and commercial farmers to explore research opportunities December 8-24, 2018. Amount supported: $1,000
Drs. Paul Patterson, Henry Fadamiro, Bill Batchelor (BSE), Steve Li (CSES), Charles Chen (CSES), Yucheng Feng (CSES), Joseph Tomasso (SFAAS) and George Flowers (Dean of Graduate School) will be traveling to China to explore and strengthen partnerships in the areas of student/faculty exchange, joint degree programs and research collaboration April 13-20, 2019. Chinese partners to be visited: China Agricultural University (CAU), Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU), Ocean University of China (OUC). – Any message that needs to be delivered?

3+2/3+1 Programs; College-level General MOU(s)

A general MOU between Auburn University College of Agriculture and Management Center Innsbruck has been established and became effective as of October 25, 2018.
A 3+2 Joint Degree Program Agreement has been developed between College of Agriculture Department of Animal Sciences and Qingdao Agricultural University (QAU) College of Veterinary Medicine. The content of the agreement is awaiting for approval from QAU.
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology initiated a 1:1 exchange agreement with Ecole Superieure d’ Agriculture d’ Angers (Groupe ESA, France – FESIA consortium) in 2014, valid for five years. As this agreement is approaching its end, our French partner would like to renew on a college level. Since 2014, we’ve had a total of 5 students who participated in the exchange. Please let Dr. Amy Wright and Kelly know if you are interested in this opportunity.
A general MOU between Auburn University College of Agriculture and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has been established and became effective as of November 13, 2018. AU point of contact is Dr. Joe Tomasso from School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences.
A general MOU between Auburn University College of Agriculture and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) College of Hydrosphere Science has been established and became effective as of October 31, 2018. AU point of contact is Dr. Tung-Shi Huang from Department of Poultry Science. A signing ceremony was held in the College of Agriculture.
A general MOU between Auburn University College of Agriculture and Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) College of Fisheries has been established and became effective as of December 8, 2018. AU point of contact is Dr. Joe Tomasso from School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences.
Total number of 3+2 recruits since 2014: 16 (no admission in Fall 2018 & Spring 2019)
Total number of 3+1 recruits since 2014: 9 (no admission in Fall 2018 & Spring 2019)

International Visitors

Delegation from Nanjing Research Institute for Agricultural Mechanization (NRIAM), China (September 21, 2018) – a four person delegation visited Dr. Charles Chen and OGP to discuss the work plan of Sino-US Laboratory of Peanut Production Engineering Technology and collaboration between the Chinese peanut industry and Auburn University.
Delegation from National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST), Taiwan (Oct 9-10, Oct 30-31, 2018) – OGP and Department of Poultry Science hosted three delegates from NKUST October 9-10, 2018 to explore research collaboration potentials in food science, food safety and biotechnology areas. Later NKUST sent another four person delegation back to AU Oct 30-31 to sign a MOU with the college. They also toured Poultry Science facilities and AU campus.
Delegation from US Nigeria Trade Council, Atlanta, GA (November 9, 2018) – a 25 person delegation consisting of Ag exporters, professors, legal representatives, researchers, international activity officers, etc. visited the college to explore and expand the international presence for agribusiness products and services in Nigeria. The group was exposed to poultry (egg production) and aquaculture & aquaponics in Auburn University College of Agriculture.
Zamorano University will be visiting the college from February 14-15, 2019 to enhance current relations with Poultry Sciences, particularly internships, and expand to other departments within the college. The delegation will include:

Dr. Luis Osorio, Academic Dean (former Head of Food Science & Technology)

Dr. Laura Suazo, Head, Dept. of Environmental Science and Rural Development

Dr. John Jairo Hincapie, Head, Dept. Agricultural Sciences and Production

Dr. Rommel Reconco, Head, Dept. Agribusiness Management

Dr. Mayra Marquez, Head, Dept. Food Science and Technology

Dr. Adela Acosta Marchetti, Director, General Studies Curriculum

AAES-Cuba Programs

Six Cuba-AAES grants were awarded for a total of $36,500 in 2017. US policies make these grants challenging to implement. The policies affect AU faculty’s ability to get academic visas as well as Cuban collaborator’s ability to get visas. Dr. Fadamiro and OGP will be meeting with the Cuba Working Group to discuss future directions.

Project Name	Auburn PI	PIs Department/ College	Amount Funded
Identification and Quantification of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes with Potential for Limiting Quality Turf in Cuban Golf and Tourist Facilities	Kathy Lawrence	ENTPP / CoAg	$3,750
Vegetable Production and IPM Short Course for Sustainable Small-farm, Organic-based Systems	Edward Sikora	ENTPP / CoAg	$3,750
Developing and Validating Functional Ice (FICE) to Reduce Food Waste due to Spoilage of Seafood and Poultry in the US and Cuba	Amit Morey	PS / CoAg	$3,750
Evaluation of Agronomic Management on Soil and Environmental quality of Red Ferralitic Landscapes in Mayabeque Province, Cuba	Brenda Ortiz	CSES / CoAg	$9,000
Developing Sustainable Organic Mulch Sources for Ornamental Gardens and Food Crops in Cuba	Adam Newby	HORT / CoAg	$3,750
Discovery and Development of Innovative Botanical Pesticides for Insect Pest Management	Arthur G. Appel	ENTPP / CoAg	$15,625 (revised)

York ISP Proposals

For the Feb 5 deadline oneproposal, (Ag Study Tour to Beijing, China, led by Dr. Xing Ping Hu), was submitted and approved for funding. The next deadline is September 5, 2018.

International Grant Awards (FY 2018)

PI: Karen L. Veverica

Dept.:Fisheries & Allied Aquaculture

Project Title:Training for tilapia and catfish farmers from Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria

Amount:Two awards for $12,689 and $2,706

Funder:American Soybean Association

PI: Abhimanyu Gopaul

Dept.:Ag Econ & Rural Sociology

Project Title: Technical assistance from Auburn University – Supply and deliver technical assistance needed to build institutional capacity in North Haiti, specifically in the areas of agribusiness, skills, and extension services for plantain soil testing

Amount:$14,904