IANR’s Josh Davis named interim senior international officer for UNL

December 20, 2018

Lincoln, Neb. — Josh Davis has been named Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for International Engagement and Global Strategies, effective January 2, 2019. In this role, Davis will serve as Senior International Officer and oversee Education Abroad, Global Strategies, the International Student and Scholar Office, and Programs in English as a Second Language. He will also continue to lead IANR’s Office of Global Engagement.

“Over the last several years, IANR has greatly expanded its international reach and impact. Josh’s strategic approach to building international partnerships and collaborative relationships within the state of Nebraska has helped us significantly advance our global agenda,” said IANR Vice Chancellor Mike Boehm.

During Davis’ tenure, IANR created a global engagement strategy that spans the Institute’s mission areas of education, research, and extension. Building out a high-capacity team with broad global experience and expertise, Davis and the IANR Office of Global Engagement have helped develop meaningful and long-term initiatives in several key world regions, in addition to supporting faculty across IANR working in over 120 countries. IANR has also established close collaborations with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, and several Nebraska companies under Davis’s leadership. 

Focusing IANR efforts on strategic partnerships in Brazil, Rwanda and China has been a distinctive part of Davis’ leadership in IANR. Engagement in Rwanda has grown at a rapid rate over the last few years, most visibly with the 155 undergraduate scholars from Rwanda studying in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR).  In addition, IANR is serving as an academic and technical partner for the development of the Rwandan Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), in concert with the Rwandan government and other local and international stakeholders. 

IANR’s engagement in Brazil and partnership with the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) continues to strengthen—with IANR faculty receiving joint collaborative research funding for the second consecutive year, UNL convening Brazilians and Nebraskans across research, extension and nonprofit realms with the FAPESP WEEK symposium in 2017, as well as robust exchange of students and faculty between the two countries.

The Institute’s multidimensional engagement in China spans teaching, research, extension and economic development.  While Nebraska students continue to gain global experience and acumen from educational opportunities at Northwest Ag and Forestry University, a dual degree program through the Department of Food Science and Technology, called the "3+1 Program," allows Chinese students to begin their degrees in China and finish them in Nebraska. The Nebraska-Yangling Demonstration Farm, a joint project with the State of Nebraska and Nebraska companies, aims to expand economic opportunity for Nebraska-based farm machinery manufacturers and related industry.

Prior to his current position in IANR, Davis served for three years at the University of Nebraska system level and provided strategic direction for global engagement efforts across all four campuses, including leading efforts to establish a partnership with the country of Oman, which has brought hundreds of talented Omani students to Nebraska. Davis’s international experience in global higher education, law, policy and foreign affairs spans every major world region. He worked for the federal government before coming to Nebraska and has served in multiple positions at the U.S. Department of State, both domestically and overseas; in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and in the U.S. Senate as a foreign policy advisor and Brookings Institution Legislative Fellow.  He is a graduate of the University of Akron School of Law and a member of the Ohio Bar.

For more about IANR’s global efforts, visit their website or join the conversation on social media.