Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, gave opening remarks at the launch event for the second cohort of the Embassy’s Leadership, Management, and Governance (LMG) Program. Through this program, twenty-five presidents and vice-presidents, representing 19 Ethiopian public universities from across the country, will have the opportunity to exchange views and learn from leaders of U.S. universities. 

The workshop, facilitated by Ohio State’s Global One Health Initiative, brought together this second cohort of participants for two days in Addis Ababa.  Ambassador Jacobson congratulated the participants, who were drawn from every corner of Ethiopia to take part in this program. She said their commitment to quality higher education at their respective institutions is the key to realizing Ethiopia’s full potential. The Ambassador encouraged participants to consider the U.S. Embassy’s many other higher education programs to foster continued partnership and collaboration between Ethiopian and U.S. scholars. 

Later this year, the group will travel to the United States for two weeks at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Ohio State universities. The Ethiopian university representatives will examine trends in U.S. educational leadership, management, and governance and share best practices with their colleagues and U.S. counterparts to continue to increase the capacity of higher education in Ethiopia.    

Through a competitive process, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE), the LMG program selected two cohorts. The first cohort of 25 presidents and vice-presidents from 19 public universities in Ethiopia and leaders from the Ministry of Education traveled to the United States in 2022.