Award for Global Engagement

Dr. Harouna Maiga is a respected member of the agriculture faculty at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. He is an enthusiastic and encouraging supporter of internationalization efforts in Crookston and has opened the door to study abroad opportunities for students and encouraged his fellow faculty members to engage in international research, outreach, and education.

Originally from Mali, Dr. Maiga came to the University in 2001. He has retained relationships and remained active in his home country through training, education, teaching, and research. He returns to Mali almost yearly to make presentations at conferences in his field of animal science. Dr. Maiga spends his summers in Mali teaching and providing assistance to the local schools. He serves on the board for the Mali Symposium on Applied Science and has served as moderator, presenter, and plenary speaker. He has consulted for the Malian government to assist in developing solid educational programs in Mali. Dr. Maiga is the president of Maliwatch, an organization founded by Malians living in the U.S. and Europe to provide vision for issues in their home country. In August 2010, Dr. Maiga and other Crookston faculty presented a workshop at the Malian Symposium of Applied Science in Bamako, Mali. The workshop was designed to develop an agricultural education program for Malian high schools and, later, farm business management for Malian farmers. His work has had an incredible impact on his home country and an impact on the faculty at Crookston who gain from his international experience. Before Dr. Maiga’s work, there was little international interaction in agriculture and animal science on the Crookston campus.

Dr. Maiga has also cultivated and fostered relationships with agriculture colleagues in France. Through these relationships, he developed a course for students to study international agriculture production, processing, and marketing systems in France. In March 2010, Dr. Maiga co-led a study abroad group to France that included colleagues and students who had never traveled abroad. Students had the unique opportunity to interact with instructors, students, farmers, processors, and retailers and learn about the agricultural differences between France and the U.S. first hand. During their stay students visited one of the largest fresh food markets near Paris and the National Agronomic Institute of Research and its research stations. Dr. Maiga is investigating additional opportunities for students to study abroad or intern in France through his academic connections.

Dr. Maiga is recognized for his dedication to his home country and for his energetic support of internationalizing the Crookston campus. His efforts have helped to improve the standard of living for Mali families and expanded the international dimension of the University of Minnesota, Crookston.