Distance Learning Veterinary Outreach

The measurable objectives are to: <OL> <LI> Increase formal exchanges to internationalize training with international partners from 5 to 15 in three years. All participating entities, both domestic and foreign, will be registered in a database. Online participation, phone and email contact, together with evaluations from participating institutions will be collected, recorded and analyzed; <LI> increase Tuskegee University's participation abroad from 10% to 30%. While Tuskegee currently exchanges activities with nearly two dozen partners abroad distance learning has not been adopted with those partners; <LI> increase food and animal safety training courses and workshops from 3 to 6 annually. Current events abroad such as the recent avian influenza scare, mad cow disease and others incidents have established that what happens abroad impacts the US quickly due to modern mass international travel ; <LI> Establish online reporting tools, including databases, to evaluate, expand, and divulge the success of the program. The proposed activities will serve as an efficient model for conveying the status of regulations and animal health in the international trade of livestock & poultry, and their products, between participating partners. The college of Veterinary Medicine Nursing and Allied Health (CVMNAH) at Tuskegee University utilizes a portable internet technology already in use in several ongoing national outreach community projects. This means personnel are already trained for immediate deployment and implementation upon funding. Courses targeted for modification are in place, electronic modules exist for modification, and conferences and symposia are offered minimally three times annually. </OL> The proposed program will impact: a) The internationalization of food and agricultural activities; b) add to US global success by increasing the capacity to train graduates who can operate competently in domestic and international settings; c) aid participating students, faculty, and staff to understand international factors that affect US food and agriculture; and d) allow Tuskegee University to provide cooperative extension education that promotes the application of new technology used in the program. <P>

This is a unique and innovative program with the potential to increase US influence abroad and forge new alliances while providing a means for Tuskegee University faculty, trainees and students to learn critical aspects of international trade in the food and animal sciences.