Utah State to Extend Courses to Mariana Islands Through USDA-Funded Partnership

Utah State University is partnering with five other universities to bring expanded course offerings in food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences to the Mariana Islands. The project is funded through a $10 million program from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, entitled “From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program” (NextGen). USU is expected to receive $776,550.

The partnership pairs three institutions in the Mariana Islands — the University of Guam, Northern Marianas College, and Guam Community College — with the University of Hawaii, University of Florida, and Utah State. Students will be able to supplement their education with courses and other experiences from partner schools.

Representatives from the respective institutions recently met in the Marianas for a five-day workshop to build relationships. Associate Professor Rachel Jolly of the University of Guam believes the meeting was an important step in making the program work.

“We felt it was important for our partners to visit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and understand the capacity, potential and challenges in this part of the world,” Jolly said. “They were able to visit the three institutions in the Mariana Islands, meet the students, tour the facilities, and get a better understanding of the culture and challenges faced by our students. This led to very productive discussions on how to establish this program to best serve the needs of students and the islands.”

While Guam and the Northern Marianas — including Saipan and Rota — are a U.S. territory and commonwealth, respectively, providing the same level of educational support found in the continental United States can be difficult. The Marianas are closer to Japan than Hawaii, and that distance poses a serious obstacle to acquiring laboratory and classroom materials.

There’s also the matter of space: Guam, the largest island in the archipelago, is smaller than Cache Valley, and the presence of several military bases on the island further limits room for expansion. Additionally, typhoons in the region can have a devastating effect on educational infrastructure, with Super Typhoon Yutu alone taking out many buildings on the island of Saipan in 2018.

Despite those hurdles, educators on the islands carry on, even when that sometimes means, for instance, having one instructor teach all of an institution’s classes on natural resources. According to Professor Abby Benninghoff, who represented USU at the meeting along with Professor Rebecca Lawver, the instructors do so with dedication and skill.

“In terms of strength, I was very impressed with the faculty I met,” Benninghoff said. “They care about their students, community and culture, and they want these students to get a great education. And if that involves going to the continental United States or Hawaii for a while, they want those students to come back with their newfound expertise.”

Students who earn a college degree and remain in the Mariana Islands can find employment in science-based government jobs, especially with the federal offices tied to the military bases on Guam. Moreover, they’re also in a position to make the Marianas more self-sufficient. The islands currently have little crop agriculture or organized livestock production, but with their newly acquired skills, students can use farming and natural resource management to boost their local economies while making them more resistant to supply-chain shocks, such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are still challenges to solve before the course-sharing program begins in earnest. Guam is 17 hours ahead of Utah’s Mountain Time Zone, so the institutions will work together to plan classes, and that’s just one of many logistical questions that need to be answered. But Jolly was optimistic about what the program can do for students.

“Our students will get the courses they need to qualify for local employment, earn new associate and bachelor of science degrees, and lay the groundwork for advanced degrees,” Jolly said. “And students from all participating institutions will have the chance to do study abroad programs and research exchanges, leading to new connections and opportunities.”

Benninghoff explained that the newness of the program offers opportunities to incorporate student feedback into the design of the partnership. While Benninghoff and Lawver were the first to represent USU on the visit to the islands’ schools, most of the departments in USU’s College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences will participate in the project. Faculty at the partnering institutions who are involved in the planning process are actively soliciting student comments and plan to closely monitor the early years of the program to see what they can improve going forward.

“We very much want to engage with these students,” Benninghoff said. “If they feel like they've got buy-in, they’ll engage with the program, so we’re being very intentional about seeking out student feedback on everything, even the title of the program, as we go forward.”

She is also mindful of how the program can broaden USU students’ awareness of the Mariana Islands and the region’s ecology, economics, people, culture, and communities.

“I look forward to seeing the impact in both directions,” Benninghoff said. “Citizens of Guam and the Northern Marianas may not get to vote for president, but they are Americans. By all rights, they are our sisters and brothers, yet we don't always know them. Part of why I'm excited is this opportunity to increase that knowledge and appreciation.”