FALL 2008 / Volume 8 - Issue 1
Kent State-University of Ghana Agreement in the Works
By Anna Riggenbach, ’08
Kent State University is one step closer to a partnership with the University of Ghana in Africa that will benefit faculty and students at both institutions.
On Aug. 7 Kent State alumnus Marcus Butler, representing his company, Claiborne Consulting Co. Ltd., presented a Memorandum of Understanding to Vice Provost Steve O. Michael. Claiborne, an international consulting company that focuses on assisting businesses and organizations to gain access in new global markets, was instrumental in obtaining the memorandum.
Butler says meeting with Michael and presenting the memorandum was a long time coming.
“I’m glad a Kent State alum decided to take this on,” Michael says. “The memorandum of understanding will enable us to continue to open up opportunities for students.”
A memorandum of understanding is a legal document outlining terms and details of an agreement between parties.
Dr. Fran Dorsey, interim chairperson of the Department of Pan-African Studies, says the primary purpose of the agreement is to offer faculty and student exchange programs. Once finalized, the program may also feature an online course instruction option. “This is an opportunity for us to increase the enrollment of students coming to Kent State internationally,” Dorsey said. Butler, who received his MBA from Kent State in 2003, believes this will be a major breakthrough for his alma mater.
”The climate today is an international marketplace,” he says. “I feel good being a Kent State alumnus and being able to bring this through Kent State.”
Butler approached Kent State with the idea to work with the University of Ghana. He had previous connections to Ghana and thought the university would be interested in a sister partnership with his alma mater. He started making phone calls and eventually presented the idea to the Department of Pan-African Studies.
Establishing connections abroad is not new for Kent State. President Lester Lefton is currently working to offer more study abroad programs, recently launching a large initiative in China. Dorsey says this is an opportunity to establish a similar kind of program. “A number of people have talked about it, but I happen to be in the position to carry it through,” Dorsey says. “The University of Ghana is very responsive and looking forward to the program.”
The University of Ghana was chosen because Ghana allows dual citizenship, and English is the country’s primary language.
Butler says both Kent State and the University of Ghana have signed the agreement and his company is ready to proceed wholeheartedly. The next step is to work up a viable plan to implement the program.
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