The Auburn University Board of Trustees decided Feb. 3 to establish the International Hunger Institute following a proposal from the College of Human Sciences.
"It represents Auburn's commitment to hunger," said Courtni Ward, senior in international business and president of the Committee of 19, who said she could not articulate her excitement regarding the institute.
"The Board of Trustees is completely backing Auburn and backing our commitment not to just help here and there or throw money at the problem, but to really get at the root causes," Ward said.
Kate Thornton, director of hunger and sustainability initiatives in the College of Human Sciences, said seed money from the agriculture extension office has helped to solidify the institute, but her team is currently seeking further grants.
Until then, the institute will rely on College of Human Sciences Dean June Henton to serve as executive director and Harriet Giles, director of external relations, to serve as director of programming.
Auburn's fight against domestic and global hunger dates back to 2004, when Henton and Giles initiated Auburn's role in the global war on hunger through their partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme.
"Every year, the College of Human Sciences gives the International Quality of Life Award," Thornton said. "In 1994, they gave that award to Catherine Bertini, who at the time was the executive director of the WFP."
By meeting Bertini and her team, Henton and Giles were invited to launch a student movement to end world hunger, which transformed into the global movement Universities Fighting World Hunger. Now, more than 200 colleges and universities worldwide have partnered with Auburn.
In 2006, WFP senior adviser Doug Coutts came to Auburn on a four-year assignment, which Thornton said helped to further everything Henton and Giles had started.
"The really neat thing about that happening is that the WFP funded him," Thornton said. "They were really showing a strong invested interest in this partnership, and they were really giving of their resources and time by giving Doug Coutts to us."
Auburn has continued to play a major role in the war on hunger through various marches, student organizations, campaigns and even a hunger studies minor.
"Auburn has certainly stepped up as a leader and the fact we were able to get an institute here solidifies that, but the goal of our whole team is not to draw attention to what's been done here," Thornton said. "The goal is to provide collaboration so more people get on board because one institution addressing this issue isn't going to solve hunger.
"The goal of the institute and the goal of all the things we're doing is to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty. We're not naive to think we can do this alone. The goal is to get more people and universities involved."
Ward said she believes a university is just the place to spread activism and passion for global hunger.
"Our whole lives we have had these great ideas, but before college we didn't know how to see them through," she said. "After college we will start our careers and might not have as much time, but in college we have all the resources in the world. It's the best time to get involved.
"We are all called to make a difference and we all have a different gift to be able to do that. As students, we have one of the greatest gifts of education, so if we can educate each other and find out the causes of hunger, we can really make a difference."
Cary Bayless, junior in English and member of the Committee of 19, said he could not agree more.
"One of the wonderful things about Auburn and many other schools across the nation is the ability to make a tangible difference in the war on hunger during our time as students by plugging in and helping through organizations," he said. "Hunger is something that can be defeated, and it begins with you."
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