FRANKLIN, WV — The newest institute of higher education in West Virginia enrolls students from across the world. The Future Generations Graduate School in Applied Community Change, authorized by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, offers a two-year Master’s Degree that is designed for community leaders worldwide. On June 2, 2008, at 7pm, students from nine countries will be sharing their community-based experience with Pendleton County residents at the library in Franklin. All are welcome to join these students as they share lessons from their own local experience and their reflections on Pendleton County.
The visiting students represent organizations and communities from nine countries that are working to promote local planning and action for sustainable improvements in health, the status of women, conservation, and agriculture. Through this program, students have an opportunity to pursue relevant and rigorous graduate-level education without being removed from their communities.
For example, one Future Generations student is from Uganda. Ms. Joy Bongyereire works with the Africa 2000 Network, an organization that helps poor landowners transform their marginal land into sustainable farms. For 20 months of this 24-month Master’s Degree program, Joy works alongside her community while completing online coursework and conducting an applied research project. She also has the opportunity to join the students in her class for four one-month study abroad residentials in India, Peru, the United States, and Nepal/Bhutan.
From May 24 to June 3, the students will be visiting Pendleton County as part of their U.S. residential. They will be based at the Circleville High School. Instruction will cover a wide range of topics, but one will be learning about the history of this area, the interactions between communities and the surrounding national forest, and the role of community groups and local government in the county.
From Pendleton County, students will travel to the Adirondack State Park in New York to learn about the largest protected area in the country, which seeks to integrate conservation with community economic development. Prior to their visit to the county, students studied in Harrisonburg at Eastern Mennonite University.
The Future Generations Graduate School is a parallel organization of Future Generations, a international non-profit organization founded by long-time West Virginia resident, Daniel Taylor, in 1992. In addition to the graduate school, Future Generations works for community improvement and land conservation in Afghanistan, China, India, and Peru. More details are available on the website, www.future.org.