Alabama State University News June 14, 2015 ASU Forges Educational Ties with Liberia By Kenneth Mullinax A new memorandum of understanding between ASU and the University of Liberia will offer students and faculty an opportunity to enhance the skills needed to live and work in a global society. *** Alabama State University continues to expand its global footprint by forging new academic ties with institutions around the world to provide students and faculty with enhanced educational, business, research and cultural opportunities. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the University of Liberia is the latest such agreement the University has signed, adding to a growing list of MOUs that includes higher education institutions in such countries as the People's Republic of China, India and South Korea. ASU President Gwendolyn E. Boyd and University of Liberia President Emmet Dennis signed the MOU on June 5 to encourage faculty and student exchanges, study abroad, service learning programs, as well as conducting joint research projects. The University Consortium of Liberia, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization, facilitated the MOU in an effort to strengthen the academic union between Liberian and American universities. The MOU was executed in the Atlanta office of Cynthia L. Blandford, the honorary consul general of the nation of Liberia. The University of Liberia was founded in 1863 and is located in the nation's capital city of Monrovia. The institution has an estimated enrollment of 18,000 students that study within its six colleges and three professional schools, including a law school and a medical school. During the MOU signing ceremony, Boyd stated that ASU's students and faculty will benefit from opportunities offered by the consortium to develop skills enabling them "to live and work in a global society with civility and respect." ASU is among more than 20 educational institutions that are members of the University Consortium of Liberia, including Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Tuskegee University and the University of Georgia. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.