Officials tour Cape Town

By Jedd Rosche

Published Aug. 25, 2006

The UM system president will visit South Africa this Saturday to celebrate the 20-year relationship between MU and the University of the Western Cape in greater Cape Town.

President Elson Floyd will visit the region and campus, alongside a delegation of professors and UM system curators, for the next week.

In a news release, Floyd said the relationship between MU and University of the Western Cape was based on a strong foundation and referred to it as "the envy of the higher education world." At the time of publication, Floyd was unavailable for further comment.

Floyd's trip includes a delegation of university officials, including Angela Bennett, the president of the UM system Board of Curators, which is the governing body for the four-campus UM system.

According to the release, Floyd will tour Cape Town, along with Robin Island, where President Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 20 years.

The relationship between the UM system and Cape Town started in 1986, during the time period of apartheid, according to the news release.

MU law professor Rod Uphoff, who is also going on the trip, pilots the UM South Africa Educational program and has been taking MU law students to Cape Town for the past several summers.

"What's particularly great about this partnership is that it's not only sponsored faculty exchanges but student exchanges as well," Uphoff said. "This program represents what most other universities would love to have - a dynamic partnership with one of the top universities in Africa."

Uphoff said the focus of this trip is the Tuesday daylong conference between UM system officials and Western Cape faculty.

"In those sessions, we will be talking about past successes, ongoing projects and future projects," Uphoff said. "We will be planning for the next 20 years."

That same day, University of the Western Cape will host a dinner where Archbishop Desmond Tutu is "expected to thank UM for all of our contributions," Uphoff said, adding that meeting the archbishop was the most important aspect of the trip for him.

"He is an incredible person who has been a force for peace," Uphoff said.

He said the largest contribution the UM system project is giving to the University of the Western Cape relationship is a center for researching medicinal plants and phytobiology.

"About 80 percent of the people in South Africa receive health care from traditional healers more so than Western doctors," Uphoff said. "These medicinal plants are treating or used to treat anything from headaches to AIDS."

The team from the UM system is expected to return to Columbia on Labor Day.

Director of MU Study Abroad Barbara Lindeman said the relationship between the two universities is "viewed by international educators as an exemplary model of international cooperation."

Lindeman said the celebration event in Africa offers the opportunity to increase study abroad programs in the region, but no new programs are in the works.