Universities as Partners in Development: Learning from the Resilient Africa Network
How can universities advance development, particularly Locally Led Development (LLD)? Can they leverage their wide range of expertise and community connections to facilitate positive social and economic change? Dr. Janet Ellzey, a Jefferson Science Fellow in USAID's Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnership Hub, believes universities can be, and in some cases already are, key partners in development. In this seminar, she will present a brief introduction to LLD, and discuss one example, the Resilient Africa Network (RAN) led by Makerere University in Uganda; a long-running partner of USAID and member of the Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN) as a model for university participation in development. She concludes with a broader discussion of opportunities and challenges for universities, both in the US and in partner countries, wanting to participate in this field.
Speaker
Janet Ellzey
University of Texas at Austin
Janet Ellzey is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Foundation Centennial Teaching Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research has spanned a broad range of topics in the field of combustion, and she currently studies low emissions burners and additive manufacturing of novel combustors. She is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and a Fellow of the Combustion Institute. In 2019, she was awarded the Russell Springer Professorship at the University of California at Berkeley. She has extensive academic administrative experience and served as Vice Provost for International Programs at UT-Austin from 2009-2017. In this capacity, she developed initiatives to advance the university's global presence and expanded opportunities for faculty and students to conduct research and study internationally. She is the first Director for Humanitarian Engineering at UT-Austin and has developed and led academic programs in which students use their engineering skills to address the needs of marginalized or low-income communities. As the 13th woman to receive a Mechanical Engineering degree from UT Austin, Dr. Ellzey is an advocate for the advancement of women in STEM. She founded Women in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Women in Combustion as part of the Combustion Institute, the primary professional organization for researchers in her field.
USAID Profile
Bureau of Development, Democracy, and Innovation
Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships Hub
Janet Ellzey serves as a Senior Science Advisor in the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships (LFT) Hub in the Bureau of Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI). The mission of LFT/DDI is to strengthen, expand, and diversify the organization’s partner base with nontraditional and diverse actors, including local, faith-based, and community organizations; schools and hospitals; minority-serving institutions; foundations; diaspora communities; cooperatives; and volunteer organizations. Janet is supporting the Hub’s efforts to advance locally led development in the agency. She is also examining ways that institutions of higher education can participate actively in solving development challenges.