Williams College Welcomes Visiting Ugandan Lecturer
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Bringing real-world voices and experiences to Williams College is an important part of providing a balanced education, say school officials."We want to break down the barrier between learning and doing by learning from those who have been doing in the areas of international relations and economic development," said Williams professor William Darrow of the International Studies Program.
To further that goal, the first appointment to the Class of 1955 Visiting Professor in International Studies is Wilberforce Kisamba Mugerwa of Uganda.
"Dr. Mugerwa exemplifies the kind of person I am thrilled can be available to Williams students and faculty," Darrow said, "and to have the opportunity to share real-world experience of the global challenges we face."
Mugerwa divides his life between his three major interests as an academic, a civil servant and as a farmer.
As a high-level government official in a sub-Saharan nation, he has hands-on experience with development issues. As a smallholder farmer, he has turned his farm into an experimental laboratory for new techniques and methods. As a politician, he knows how governments get things done (and don't get things done), and as a scholar, he has stepped back to study how all these threads are interwoven.
He studied agriculture and planning at Makerere University in Kampala and went on to serve as a member of parliament for 23 years. As a member of the opposition and later a minister of state, he has held various portfolios including that of finance and planning and minister of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries.
Later, he worked for an international development agency. He is currently the chairman of the National Planning Authority, but has taken a leave of absence for his time at Williams College.
Throughout his career, Mugerwa has focused on the role of agriculture in Ugandan life. About 80 percent of the population still lives in rural areas, and 78 percent are involved in agriculture, with most working on sustenance level.
At first, as a sort of retirement plan, Mugerwa purchased a small plot of land about 60 kilometers from the capital and grew food he would bring to his home in the city. He eventually expanded to include cash crops like coffee, cocoa, and vanilla.
It was an educational experience for him, and for his neighbors. When he arrived, they were having trouble growing "matooke," a variety of banana similar to a plantain, the staple dish in Uganda. The farmers blamed it on land that "had grown old." Using modern techniques of fertilization and management, Mugerwa was able to show his neighbors how to do it.
He is very interested in finding ways to help. In Uganda, transactional costs are very high because of poor rural transportation infrastructure. He believes that teaching farmers about sustainable agriculture, giving them access to markets, and helping with equipment and seed stock are among the challenges that policy makers must address.
Professor of economics Douglas Gollin and Mugerwa are co-teaching a 200-level course at Williams this spring, which is cross-listed in environmental studies, economics, and international relations. The course's 25 students come from a variety of disciplines, including those interested in development and social justice, economics, globalization, and sustainability.
