Engaged Curriculum Grants
Fostering Engaged Learning, Research and Experience in Rural Ecuador
The expansion of long-term international opportunities for two undergraduate majors — international agriculture and rural development, and environmental and
sustainability sciences.
A proposed open-pit copper mine has threatened biodiversity and rural lifestyle in the Intag region of Ecuador since the 1990s — leading to conflicts, environmental advocacy and community organizing to design sustainable economic alternatives to mining. Through research projects and internships with new and existing community partners in the region — as well as engagement projects not requiring travel to Ecuador — students learn to apply academic knowledge to complex place-based problems, better preparing them for careers in agriculture, conservation and rural development. At the same time, community partners benefit from iterative multi-year projects that further their capacity for sustainable development and self-determination.
Grant type: Planning
Topics: Economic Vitality and Entrepreneurship; Energy, Environment and Sustainability; Food and Agriculture
The Team
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Jim Lassoie, Department of Natural Resources
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Angela Fuller, Department of Natural Resources
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Carla Gomes, Department of Computer Science; Department of Information Science; Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; SC Johnson College of Business
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Stephen Morreale, Department of Natural Resources
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Amanda Rodewald, Department of Natural Resources; Lab of Ornithology
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Terry Tucker, Department of Global Developmental
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Community partner: Asociación Agroartesanal de Caficultores Río
- Community partner: Defensa y Conservacion Ecologica de Intag
- Community partner: Mujer y Medio Ambiente
- Community partner: Red Ecoturistica de Intag
Engaged Curriculum Grants
Funding teams that are integrating community-engaged learning into new and existing curricula.