Partners for Progress

A Canada-Africa Venture in University Building

Edited by Michael J. Larsen, James H. Morrison

Education is the only self-generating energy source ever discovered by human beings, and higher education has proven to be the most effective and efficient route to our social, cultural and economic growth and well-being. Tragically, the poorer nations of the developing world must send many of their most promising students abroad for higher education only to lose them to the brighter prospects of the developed world. This was a dilemma known all too well to the people of The Gambia, West Africa. Partners for Progress: A Canada-Africa Venture in University Building is the inspiring and instructive story of a partnership for progress between Saint Mary’s University in Canada and the government of The Gambia. This collaboration led to the foundation of The Gambia’s first university, enabling it to provide vastly enhanced opportunities for higher learning and research to its citizens.

Contents

• Preface (Griot, Mallam, Professor)
• West African Higher Education, Past and Present (James H. Morrison)
• Establishing an Internationally Recognized University Extension Program in The Gambia (Michael J. Larsen) 
• Development, Achievement, Conflict and Endurance: A Brief Critical History of the Saint Mary’s University Extension Program in The Gambia (Burris Devanney) 
• SMUEP: The Faculty Experience (James H. Morrison and Terry Whalen)
• SMUEP: The Student Experience (Momodou Sabally) 
• Managing smuep from Saint Mary’s University (Heidi Taylor) 
• Transitions to the University of The Gambia: Canadian International Development Agency Support (Heidi Taylor)
• SMUEP: Gambian Expectations and Outcomes (Muhammadou Kah and Jainaba Kah)
• Education and Development: The University of The Gambia in a Globalizing World (Jainaba M. L. Kah and Muhammadou Kah)
• Partnerships and Progress: A Canada-Africa Success Story (Kenneth L. Ozmon)
• Opportunities and Obligations: Universities and International Activities  (Denis Leclaire)
• Appendices 
• Index

About the Authors

 Michael J. Larsen, Ph.D., is a professor of English literature at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. From 1989 until 2001 he was also Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Saint Mary’s. Dr. Larsen has a B.A. from Saint Mary’s University, an M. A. from Dalhousie University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. He has published books and several articles in the areas of English, Canadian, and American literature and film.

 James H. Morrison, Ph.D. (University of Ibadan, Nigeria), is Professor of History and Chairperson of the Asian Studies program at Saint Mary’s University. Former Executive Director of the International Education Center and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Saint Mary’s, he has studied and taught in West Africa for a decade. He has published a dozen books and several articles on African history, oral history, adult education, and ethnic studies.

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