The primary mission of an educational institution is education, the transfer of knowledge between generations.
The
relationship between SDSU and UAC-CP began in 1993 with then Plant
Science department head Dr. Fred Cholick. SDSU was the first
academic partner with the then brand new UAC-CP. Since then,
SDSU faculty and adminstrators have offered courses, workshops,
training sessions, advised student research projects, and delivered
much desired peanut butter and chocolate to volunteer workers.
The academic partnership between SDSU and the UAC provided
initiatives in various academic and civic programs, especially in
nutrition, agriculture, and biodiversity and environmental sciences.
These initiatives have lead to increased graduation rates of
students from UAC, with senior theses rivaling in quality Master of
Science studies at U.S. schools. Many of the graduates have
received national awards or valuable development grants for new
businesses based on thesis research, including organic pesticide
development, butterfly farms, ecotourism companies, farm product
improvement, and others.
The Severin-McDaniel Insect Research
Collection became involved with UAC-CP programs in 2003 and has since
helped develop an insect reference collection and focus biodiversity
studies, insect/plant interactions, crop pest detection and
identification, and coordination of projects with national biodiversity
programs in Bolivia. In 2009, the Entomology Club of UAC-CP was
founded.