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Corporation News
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Carnegie Corporation of New York
Public Affairs 212-207-6273
U. S. Foundations Affirm
Commitment To African Higher Education Beyond 10-Year Mark Of Current
Partnership
$350 Million for Strengthening
Universities by 2010
New
York, New York, October 6, 2008—Presidents of the seven
U.S. foundations comprising the Partnership for Higher Education
in Africa today announced their unanimous decision to continue both
their collaborative and individual grantmaking aimed at strengthening
higher education in Africa beyond their original ten-year commitment.
Their agreement follows the annual meeting held in June at which
they reviewed the foundations’ individual and collective accomplishments
since 2000 and assessed the challenges ahead.
Today’s announcement coincides with the start of a new academic
year in many countries on the African continent.
The
Partnership was created to strengthen Africa’s institutions
of higher education so that they can better contribute to poverty
reduction, economic growth and social development in their respective
countries. Outcomes from partners’ investments range from
more and cheaper Internet bandwidth for universities and the establishment
of research and training networks in the sciences and social sciences
to the launch of a new Internet gateway for the collection and dissemination
of research.
In re-affirming their commitment to fund African higher education,
the presidents expressed their gratitude for the excellent progress
achieved by their program staff members as well as the members of
the Partnership’s coordinating office, the latter of which
began operations in 2002 and will continue, as planned, to operate
until January 31, 2010. During the next phase of individual and
collective foundation support for African higher education, which
will begin in 2010, collaborative funding will be coordinated by
the executive committee of participating foundations’ program
staff that currently supervises the coordinating office.
The
presidents noted with great pride that by 2010, $350 million in
Partnership grants will have assisted universities and other African
institutions and programs dedicated to improving higher education
access, excellence, research and diversity for men and women at
select universities in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique,
Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The foundation presidents—Paul Brest, Hewlett Foundation;
Jonathan Fanton, MacArthur Foundation; Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie
Corporation; Don Randel, Mellon Foundation; Rip Rapson, Kresge Foundation;
Judith Rodin, Rockefeller Foundation and Luis Ubiñas, Ford
Foundation —also announced their decision that the next phase
of their cooperative activities will consist of bilateral and multilateral
funding, in tandem with other alliances, while individual grantmaking
will continue at each of their respective foundations. The presidents
stated that their foundations will continue to work in partnership
with African universities to enrich their ability to provide high-quality
educational opportunities to the men and women who are integral
to the progress and development of sub-Saharan African countries.
Speaking on behalf of the seven foundation partners, Vartan Gregorian,
the current rotating chair of the Partnership said, “By strengthening
a core group of universities through collective and individual investments,
the foundation partners have helped to nurture a rising generation
of women and men who will contribute to the further development
of democracy and civil society on the African continent. To enable
universities to continue to address Africa’s many complex
challenges, however, demands that we affirm our long-term commitment
to build upon this progress.”
Individually
and collectively, the seven foundations have advanced the Partnership’s
core goal of strengthening universities by providing direct support
to individual universities, and by funding activities on a national,
regional, and continental level.
To
date, joint investments by partner foundations have included the
creation of a consortium of sub-Saharan universities to purchase
a significant increase in satellite bandwidth and share Internet
capacity at lower rates. The purchasing consortium not only provided
the universities with more bandwidth at cheaper prices, but it also
influenced broader market pricing, encouraged increased hardware
acquisitions by universities, and contributed to an increase in
the use of ICT in teaching, learning and research.
During
the past eight-and-a-half years, independent foundation awards made
under the auspices of the Partnership have included grants supporting
institution building of individual universities, specific departmental
activities, and strengthening national and regional higher education
institutions and networks. In addition, foundation support has enabled
university leaders to modernize their organizational structures
in cooperation with academic institutions not only in the United
States and the United Kingdom, but also in other African countries.
These resources and networks have allowed participating African
universities to bolster their operational processes and infrastructure
in areas ranging from admissions and registration to fundraising,
communications and governmental relations.
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