News Relating to: Africa > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

A rainstorm closed Mole National Park when the Ghana fellows visited to take a safari ride. Just as they were turning back to the lodge, a procession of elephants crossed their path. Photo by Elisabeth Wolfenden '13.

Not Following the Herd

November 7, 2011

A newborn goat, umbilical cord still attached, stumbled across the dusty road, bleating in wonder. From the airplane window a day earlier, eight USC Dornsife undergraduates had watched the Los Angeles sprawl and jammed I-405… more>

categories: undergraduate, undergraduate research

tags: africa, agriculture, alumni, blue kitabu, community, education, ghana, international relations, social sciences, travel

Women and children carry baskets in a village near Sikoro, Mali. This summer marked the second time that USC Dornsife members of the USC Africa Health Initiative (AHI) traveled to the West African village. Photo courtesy of AHI.

Bridging Two Worlds

June 16, 2011

In May, as USC Dornsife graduates boxed up their belongings and left campus for their new ventures, 13 boarded a plane for Africa to make good on a promise. Two years ago, the members of USC Africa Health Initiative (AHI)… more>

categories: undergraduate

tags: africa, agriculture, alumni, community, education, health, mali, travel

During a previous trip to Ghana, USC Dornsife alumna Elizabeth Barreras who founded Blue Kitabu mentors a student in Asebu. Photo by Alexander J. Rivest.

Sowing the Seeds for Sustainability

June 6, 2011

After earning her bachelor’s in international relations from USC Dornsife in 2007, Elizabeth Barreras kept in touch with her adviser and professor Steven Lamy. Barreras went on to earn her master’s at the School… more>

categories: undergraduate, research, undergraduate research

tags: africa, agriculture, alumni, community, education, ghana, international relations, social sciences, summer undergraduate research fund, surf, travel

Jennifer McCard (B.A., environmental studies, '06) is a deputy operating officer for Manna Energy Limited in Kigali, Rwanda. Alex Peterson (B.A., international relations, '05) is an information management specialist for the U.S. Foreign Service in Kigali, Rwanda. Photo by Jill Peterson.

In Love, Will Travel

April 24, 2011

Jennifer McCard and Alex Peterson’s white stucco house is built into a red-earthen hillside. In the front yard, a swimming pool filled in with soil functions as a garden where they grow carrots, peas and… more>

tags: africa, alumni, environmental studies, international relations, natural sciences, rwanda, social sciences, travel

Divinity Matovu '08 (middle) with young women from the Amagezi Gemaanyi Youth Association (AGYA) in Uganda, which she co-founded in 2008. <em>Glamour</em> magazine has named Matovu one of "20 Amazing Young Women Who Are Already Changing the World." Photo courtesy Divinity Matovu.

The Power of Change

January 27, 2011

When Divinity Matovu chose Kenya as her study abroad destination during her senior year in USC College, she had no idea that this one decision would dramatically alter countless lives in addition to her own. Just three years… more>

tags: africa, alumni, award, community, glamour magazine, kenya, nonprofit, political science, uganda

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement laureates Laurie Marker and Stuart Pimm give lectures and collect their awards during an April 22 ceremony at USC. Photo credit Pamela J. Johnson.

They're Both a Rare Breed

April 30, 2010

We know that the extinction of species is irreversible and geographically concentrated. We know that tropical deforestation is the main driver of terrestrial extinctions. So what will it take to slow the quickening pace of… more>

categories: research

tags: africa, award, conservation, earth, ecology, ecuador, environment, natural sciences

USC College students pose at the site of the bridge in the village of Sikoro, Mali. Top row, from left to right, Adriana Lovera, Monica Murillo, Kamau Butcher, Matt Seals, Greg Woodburn, Joshua Lang, Breanna Morrison. Bottom row, from left to right, Berit Elam, Lauren Nalepa, Adrian Au, Daniel McLaughlin, Myra Chai, Lauren Ciszak, Cathy Sherman, Shaimaa Abdelhamid. Photo courtesy Myra Chai.

In the Garden of Sikoro

March 16, 2010

To call it a life-changing experience isn't hyperbole. The three-week trip USC College students took in December 2009 to the West African country of Mali -- where they oversaw plans for the construction of a bridge and labored… more>

categories: undergraduate

tags: africa, mali, nonprofit, post-baccalaureate program, study abroad

Fight On for Darfur

May 1, 2008

During a recent Darfur awareness event, USC College student Kathy Schmidt turned the tables on speaker Mia Farrow, enlightening the actor-activist about an aspect of the atrocities in Africa. Taking the microphone at Bovard… more>

categories: undergraduate, graduate

tags: activism, africa, darfur