Africa Consortium to broaden health, humanities projects

By Fariss Samarrai

Key members of the new education and research consortium between U.Va. and four universities in southern Africa met with faculty and administrators from across Grounds Sept. 20 to begin developing new multidisciplinary projects with consortium partners.

The consortium, called SAVANA — Southern Africa-Virginia Networks and Associations — was launched in late July in Mozambique as a culmination of more than 25 years of U.Va. environmental science research in that region. Members now want to extend the scope of their activities beyond environmental research to include health, the humanities and public policy research and education.

Representatives of several schools and administrative offices attended the meeting, including medicine, law, nursing, business, architecture, education and the Office of the Dean of Students.

“We are seeking cross-disciplinary partnerships here at the University and with our colleagues in southern Africa,” said Hank Shugart, a professor of environmental sciences at U.Va. and director of the Global Environmental Change Program.

Current consortium projects include studies of the regional effects of climate change in southern Africa, studies of nutrients and energy transfer, and using science to inform public policy.

Group members plan to form a center to bring together faculty and students from several areas for work in southern Africa, and they hope to organize three to five new projects to kick-start the center.

Workshop here Oct. 7-11s

U.Va. consortium members will host a science-to-policy workshop at U.Va. Oct. 7-11 at a location to be announced. More than 100 people are expected to attend, including about 40 faculty, students and deans from universities in southern Africa.

Researchers will present findings from SAFARI 2000, a huge international study, conducted two years ago, of the atmosphere over southern Africa. They plan to synthesize the findings and improve their understanding of the social implications of the science.