U.S. Education Department Funds 13 Grants to Promote Student Exchanges and Partnerships Between U.S. and Brazilian Universities

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the award of 13 new grants totaling $364,904 to promote partnerships between universities and to increase education and training opportunities in a wide range of academic and professional disciplines for students and faculty in both countries.

“Education is not something that can be done in isolation, especially in this rapidly-changing, global marketplace,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. “U.S.-Brazil student partnerships are a great opportunity to help students in both our countries gain the skills they need to succeed.”

The U.S.-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program (the U.S.-Brazil Program) fosters partnerships through the exchange of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff as part of a joint curriculum development. The U.S.-Brazil Program provides grants for up to four years to consortia of at least two academic institutions each from Brazil and the U.S. Funds cover stipends for student and faculty travel abroad as well as for curriculum development in areas such as watershed management, and weather and climate impact on agricultural and water resources.

The program is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) and the Brazilian Ministry of Education.

In August 2007, Secretary Spellings led a delegation of U.S. university presidents to Brazil and Chile to promote programs such as the U.S.-Brazil Program that foster higher education partnerships and exchanges between the U.S. and other nations. The delegation trip followed President Bush’s first-ever White House Conference on the Americas last summer to emphasize education as a key to continued success in the Western Hemisphere.

Following is a list of FY 2008 grant awards under the U.S.-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program.

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Project in Ruminant Production in the 21st Century
US Lead:Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
US Partner: University of California, Davis, CA
US Partner: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA

Brazil Lead: Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco
Brazil Partner: Universidade de San Paulo

Total FIPSE Funding: $219,959
Contact Person: Dr. Luis Orlindo Tedeschi, (979) 845-5065, luis.tedeschi@tamu.edu
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Program in Global Talent Development for Sustainable Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Fields
US Lead: University of Illinois, Champaign, IL
US Partner: University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN

Brazil Lead: University of Sao Paulo
Brazil Partner: Universidade de Brasilia

Total FIPSE Funding: $219,966
Contact Person: Dr. Peter Kuchinke, (217) 333-0807, kuchine@uiuc.edu
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Program for Fostering Socially, Environmentally, and Economically Sustainable
US Lead: Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI
US Partner: Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL

Brazil Lead: Universidade Federal Rural de Amazonia
Brazil Partner: Universidade Federal Rural de Lavras

Total FIPSE Funding: $220,000
Contact Person: Ray Amtmann, (906) 227-2547, ramtmann@nmu.edu
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Program in Urban Sustainability and the Built Environment
US Lead: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
US Partner: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Brazil Lead: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Brazil Partner: Universidade de do Paren

Total FIPSE Funding: $219,988
Contact Person: Johanna Looye, (513) 556-0216, Johanna.looye@uc.edu
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Multidisciplinary Specialists Designing Learning Objects with Cultural Affordances
US Lead: Utah State University, Logan, UT
US Partner: University of Georgia, Athens, GA

Brazil Lead: Universidade Federal de Ceara
Brazil Partner: Estadual de Campinas

Total FIPSE Funding: $220,000
Contact Person: Dr. Richard West, (435) 797-1994, rich.west@usu.edu
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Program in Water Resources and Watershed Management in the U.S. and Brazil
US Lead: Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA
US Partner: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Brazil Lead: Federal Universidade of Espirito Santo
Brazil Partner: Universidade Federal Santa Maria

Total FIPSE Funding: $220,000
Contact Person: Dr. Conrad Heatwole, (540) 231-4858, heatwole@vt.edu
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Engineering Global Leaders
US Lead: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
US Partner: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL

Brazil Lead: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Brazil Partner: Pontificia Universidad Catholica do Rion Grande do Sul

Total FIPSE Funding: $219,862
Contact Person: Dr. Consuelo Stebbins (407) 882-0277, stebbins@mail.ucf.edu
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Project in Sustainable Crop Protection in Agriculture
US Lead: Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
US Partner: University of California-Davis, Davis, CA

Brazil Lead: University of Sao Paulo
Brazil Partner: Feceral University of Parana

Total FIPSE Funding: $220,000
Contact Person: Deanna Behring, (814) 863-0249, dmb37@psu.edu
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Program in Weather and Climate Impacts on Agricultural and Water Resources
US Lead: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
US Partner: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Brazil Lead: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Brazil Partner: Universidade Federal do Para

Total FIPSE Funding: $220,000
Contact Person: Dr. Christine Namsen, (806) 746-6101, cnansen@ag.tamu.edu
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Project in the US-Brazil Universities of the Future Consortium
US Lead: Ball State University, Muncie, IN
US Partner: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Brazil Lead: Universidade de Brasilia, Pontificia
Brazil Partner: Universidad Catholica do Rion Grande do Sul

Total FIPSE Funding: $220,000
Contact Person: Dr. John Motloch, (765) 285-7561, jmotloch@bsu.edu
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Program for Internationalizing the Coastal Ecosystems Curriculum
US Lead: Universidade Metropolitana, San Juan, PR
US Partner: Universidad del Este, Carolina, PR

Brazil Lead: Universidade Federal do Caer
Brazil Partner: Universidade de Estadual do Norte Fluminense

Total FIPSE Funding: $219,723
Contact Person: Dr. Carlos Padin, (787) 766-1717, cpadin@suagm.edu
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Program in Biomedical Informatics
US Lead: University of Texas Health Center, Houston, TX
US Partner: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Brazil Lead: Universidade de Sau Paulo
Brazil Partner: Federal University of Pernambuco

Total FIPSE Funding: $199,504
Contact Person: M.Sriram Lyenger, (713) 500-3976, m.sriram.lyengar@uth.tmc.edu
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Mobility Program in Race, Development and Social Inequality: Access and Equity in Higher Education in Brazil and the US
US Lead: Howard University, Washington, DC
US Partner: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Brazil Lead: Universidade de Sao Paolo
Brazil partner: Universidade Federal da Bahia

Total FIPSE Funding: $220,000
Contact Person: Dr. Orlando Taylor, (202) 806-6800, otaylor@howard.edu