International Programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (IP-CALS) will receive the first-ever Program Improvement through Global Engagement partnership award from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Oct. 11. The award recognizes Cornell's commitment to global engagement with students, farmers, professionals and governments to strengthen agriculture in the U.S. and abroad.

"All of the faculty and staff in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences who contribute to our international programs are truly honored by this award," said Ronnie Coffman, director of IP-CALS. "It's a tribute to the culture of our institution and to the people of New York state who have always encouraged us to reach out. We are proud to be a land-grant university of the world, preparing our students for global engagement."

Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director, said Cornell's application demonstrated outcomes, critical and unique impacts, and programs that have long-term, sustained benefits.

IP-CALS is almost 50 years old. It was founded shortly after World War II, when the federal government matched U.S. universities with countries in need of development and re-building. Cornell was paired with the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, and more than 100 professors from Cornell and Los Baños participated in the international exchange.

Today, CALS' international ties span the globe. They include partnerships to help Indian universities revise agriculture curricula, to develop genetically modified eggplants with better insect resistance, and collaborative efforts to create rust-resistant wheat.

IP-CALS also oversees the Cornell Transnational Learning program, which aims to improve global food security by providing institutions in developing countries with current agriculture information. Study abroad programs through IP-CALS also stand out, Ramaswamy said. Each year, roughly 200 CALS undergraduates spend at least one semester studying abroad.

Several Cornell majors require international internships as part of the curriculum, including CALS' undergraduate international agriculture and rural development program and the Global Health program in nutritional sciences. IP-CALS also hosts the Humphrey Fellows program for international mid-career professionals. Begun in 1979, the program has trained 325 professionals from 104 countries.

For more than 20 years, NIFA's Center for International Programs has engaged universities in agricultural development projects around the world and through the International Science and Education competitive grants program, emphasizing the mutual benefits of global collaboration.

"It's projected there will be over 9 billion people in the world by 2050, and NIFA is committed to developing solutions to address problems resulting from that significant increase in global population," Ramaswamy said. "We want to recognize the outstanding work being done by our land-grant universities and other partners to help support USDA's global objectives in such areas as food security, trade and natural resource management."

Said Max Pfeffer, CALS senior associate dean: "The college leadership put forward this nomination to NIFA because we are proud of IP-CALS and proud of the efforts of the college as a whole to respond to the needs and demands of our students for experiential learning that better prepares them to participate in the global economy."

Krisy Gashler is a freelance writer for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.