On April 26, Dr. Kipyego Cheluget, ambassador from Kenya and assistant secretary general for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), visited President Ajay Nair at Arcadia to explore a joint project between Arcadia, COMESA, and the American Graduate School (AGS) in Paris.

Ambassador Cheluget also met with Dr. Rebecca Kohn, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Warren Haffar, dean of International Affairs; and Jan Finn, associate dean of International Affairs, to brainstorm the potential program, which could include trade, negotiation, and natural resource management training tailored to students in COMESA states.

“Several of the countries of COMESA are Francophone, so Dr. Cheluget loved the idea of opening up AGS to students from COMESA states,” said Dr. Haffar, who began recruiting students for the fall 2018 semester in May. “The program will be aligned with COMESA’s goals of furthering peaceful unification and a common market for countries.”

Ambassador Cheluget previously worked with the University to help establish the Center for East African Studies in the Nyerere Centre for Peace Research, a training facility in Arusha, Tanzania supported by Arcadia and the East African Community.