SUNY Schenectady Signs Agreements with African Education Program and University of Zambia

Officials from SUNY Schenectady traveled to Zambia this summer to sign new agreements with the African Education Program and the University of Zambia.

Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the African Education Program, Hon. Douglas Syakalima, Zambian Minister of Education, and Dr. Steady Moono, President of SUNY Schenectady.

The SUNY Schenectady team (Stacy McIlduff, Vice President of Development and External Affairs; Dr. Steady Moono, College President; Chef Joan Dembinski ’10; and Jay Larkin, Associate Professor in the School of Hotel, Culinary Arts and Tourism) with scholarship recipients Maureen Mbanga and Ngambela Zulu, and Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the African Education Program.

The College signed an agreement with the African Education Program (AEP) that will establish a collaboration to develop academic and educational cooperation between the two institutions. Through the new agreement, SUNY Schenectady and AEP will collaborate on plans for the College to provide educational offerings to vulnerable students including SUNY Schenectady courses/College in the High School courses, pathways for students to enroll at SUNY Schenectady, and scholarships.

Maureen Mbanga and Ngambela Zulu, recipients of the Joan R. Dembinski ’10 Study Abroad Scholarship through the SUNY Schenectady Foundation, are students through the African Education Program in Zambia. They plan to attend SUNY Schenectady this fall. Ngamabela is going to study Culinary Arts to fulfill his dream of becoming a chef and Maureen is going to study Math and Science toward her dream of becoming an Electrical Engineer.

Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza, Founder and Executive Director of AEP, explained that the agreement with SUNY Schenectady marks a new chapter for the organization and its implementing partner the Amos Youth Centre (AYC).

“Collaborating with SUNY Schenectady is an incredibly exciting opportunity for AEP and AYC,” she said. “The agreement could not be more timely. As we prepare to build a custom-designed, one-of-a-kind Learning & Leadership Centre in Kafue, we are able to incorporate components crucial to this partnership like a computer lab for remote learning and a culinary space for in-person learning.”

Dr. Charles Banda, Chief Librarian, and Professor Anne L. Sikwibele, Vice Chancellor of the University of Zambia (UNZA), with Dr. Steady Moono, President of SUNY Schenectady, and Stacy McIlduff, Vice President of Development and External Affairs, SUNY Schenectady.

The College also signed an agreement with the University of Zambia (UNZA) that includes a faculty teaching exchange between SUNY Schenectady and UNZA; collaborating to advance shared scholarship, capacity building, and the development of educational research; and organizing symposia, conferences, short courses, and meetings on research in fields of shared interest/instruction.

Professor Anne L. Sikwibele, Vice Chancellor of UNZA, presenting Dr. Moono with a gift of the UNZA chitenge, a traditional African material or garment.

Dr. Steady Moono, President of SUNY Schenectady, who was born in Zambia, described the impact of the new agreements, reflecting on his own educational journey that began in Zambia.

“Our collaborations with the African Education Program and the University of Zambia are dear to my heart as I was born in Zambia and return to visit my father, siblings, and extended family,” Dr. Steady Moono said. “We grew up very poor, but one of the things our parents emphasized to all of us was the value of education. When I was 18, I left my home village, Livingston, to attend college in the United States and it opened up a whole new world of opportunity for me. It is humbling to now be a part of these agreements between SUNY Schenectady and AEP, and SUNY Schenectady and UNZA, to offer the same access to youth in Zambia.”