The College of Agriculture partnered with the Agrarian University of Havana and the Cuban National Center for Animal and Plant Health Thursday, June 4, allowing faculty and student exchange programs to collaborate on research efforts, according to a press release.
This partnership came six months after the U.S. announced they would restore ties with Cuba.
Henry Fadamiro, assistant dean of the College of Agriculture and Office of Global Programs director, along with administrators from the other two institutions signed the five-year international academic interchange agreement May 21 in Varadero, Cuba.
This partnership started five years ago when faculty and administrators in the College of Agriculture started to establish academic relationships with Cuba.
This treaty is one of the first such agreements between Cuba and an American university since the U.S. imposed the Cuban trade embargo in 1962. It is the first in agriculture.
“With this treaty and the recent removal of Cuba from the U.S. terror list, we can take our students there, we can work with their faculty in research, and, for the first time, we can bring their students and faculty here,” Fadamiro said. “They have much to learn from us, and we have much we can learn from them.”
Fadamiro also said the legal framework of the agreement gives other colleges and programs at Auburn an opportunity to collaborate with Cuba.
Brenda Ortiz, associate professor in the department of crop, soil and environmental sciences, and Cuba native Rodriguez-Kabana, distinguished university professor emeritus of plant pathology, also attended the signing ceremony with Fadamiro.
Rodriguez-Kabana was the invited speaker in the scientific meeting’s closing session, and following his remarks, the Cuban Nematological Society presented the 75-year-old Auburn nematologist a special award for his ongoing efforts over the past 30 years to foster relations between the U.S. and Cuba.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
