Professor Martin Dwomoh-Tweneboah is helping to bring technology to Africa University, the first private institution of higher education in Zimbabwe

Davis, Laura

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Professor Martin Dwomoh-Tweneboah is helping to bring technology to Africa University, the first private institution of higher education in Zimbabwe

DigitalCommons@Linfield

Linfield Magazine Volume 4 Number 2 Fall 2007 Article 10 Fall 2007 Sharing His Knowledge with Africa's Students Laura Davis Linfield College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine Recommended Citation Davis, Laura (2007) "Sharing His Knowledge with Africa's Students," Linfield Magazine: Vol. 4 : No. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine/vol4/iss2/10 This article is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. Her friends call her a tree hugger, and that’s finewith Nancy Broshot, associate professor of biology atLinfield College.“You have to hug them in order to measure them,”she said with a laugh.Broshot, chair of Linfield’s health sciences programand this year’s Edith Green Distinguished Professor, hasbeen measuring trees in Portland’s Forest Park since 1993,when she began a comprehensive research project to studythe effects of urbanization upon a naturally forested area. Established in 1948, Forest Park covers 5,090 acresand is the largest wooded park within city limits in theUnited States. Broshot found it to be the perfect settingfor her research.“It allows me to look at one contiguous forest areaand there are parts of it right next to downtown Portlandand other parts that are still pretty remote,” she said.In 1993, Broshot chose 25 sites, scattered throughoutthe park, to measure the plant and bird communities. Onesite lies adjacent to the Pittock Mansion parking lot, whileother sites are farther from the urban area. She returnedto re-measure the 25 sites in 2003.“The research I did in 1993 showed there were dif-ferences between the city and the far end,” said Broshot, aFriends of Forest Park board member for 12 years. “Oneof the things I found most alarming is I didn’t see manyyoung trees coming up in the forest. That has been mag-nified with the second set of data in 2003. Seedlings andsaplings present in 1993 are gone, and many of the largertrees are dying.”To find out why, Broshot, in conjunction withPortland Parks and Recreation, planted several hundredwestern red cedar saplings in the park in 2004. Last sum-mer, Tanya Helm ’08, Katelyn Selzer ’08 and RobinWalker ’08 worked with Broshot to monitor growth.They took soil measurements and samples, measuredsaplings and collected seeds. Back in the lab, they analyzedthe seeds and soil to gain clues about the saplings’ decline.So far, they have learned that deer and elk are grazingsome branches, but they do not appear to be responsiblefor tree death. They are trying to find out whether lack ofmoisture, pollution or soil changes are to blame.At the heart of Broshot’s work is her passion forworking with students. “I like connecting with the students and I love turn-ing students on to the research process,” she said.Students call Broshot knowledgeable, patient andaccessible. “She’s engaging and she knows her stuff,” said Helm,a health sciences major who hopes to pursue medicalschool. “She’s not one to just hand you an answer. Shemakes you go through the possibilities, find the answersfor yourself and become more reliant on your own criti-cal thinking skills.”“Microbiology is not my strong point, but she madeit very easy to understand,” added Walker, a nursing major.At Linfield since 1984, Broshot maintains a passion-ate environmentalist ethic as a scholar and educator,according to Barbara Seidman, dean of faculty.“Her ongoing research in urban natural environ-ments like Portland’s Forest Park is a model of the reachof academic inquiry beyond the campus itself and into thelife of the community encompassing it,” Seidman said.Looking ahead, Broshot already knows where she’llbe during the summer of 2013.“I’ll be in the woods measuring all my trees andcounting birds again,” she said.– Laura DavisNancy Broshot, left, measures a sapling in Portland’s ForestPark with help from Tanya Helm ‘08, right. Broshot’s ongoingcommitment to students and research has earned her the EdithGreen Distinguished Professorship. The award is made annuallyto a Linfield faculty member who has demonstrated outstandingperformance in teaching and related faculty roles.Nancy Broshot1 8   -   L I N F I E L D  M A G A Z I N E F A L L  2 0 0 7 -   1 9As a young boy growing up in Ghana, MartinDwomoh-Tweneboah always knew he’d go to college,thanks to the encouragement of his father. Now he’shelping other Africans achieve a quality education as well.Dwomoh-Tweneboah, chair of the LinfieldCollege Computing Science Department, has spent thepast three summers bringing technology to AfricaUniversity, the first private institution of higher educa-tion in Zimbabwe. First, he helped the institution establish a comput-er science department and develop a curriculum. Then,he designed and implemented a campus-wide comput-er network, installing state-of-the-art fiber optic cablesand “smart” classrooms, saving the university hundredsof thousands of dollars. “As an African, I feel that sense of responsibility tohelp improve the educational system on the continent,”Dwomoh-Tweneboah said. “That will be my contri-bution to help improve the lives of the youngergeneration to bring about peace and prosperity.”Thanks to his efforts, 30 students are now in theirsecond year of computer science study at AfricaUniversity, according to Rukudzo Joseph Murapa, vicechancellor of Africa University.“Africa University has one of the best campus net-works in Southern Africa,” Murapa said. “Students andstaff will now be able to collaborate with colleaguesaround the world.”Dwomoh-Tweneboah has brought extraordinaryassets to the African continent, said Vivian Bull, Linfieldpresident emerita. Bull, a former trustee of AfricaUniversity, is associated with the General Board ofHigher Education of the United Methodist Church,which is supporting the work.“He’s African, and the African people respond tohim,” she said. “He’s a hands-on person and he hasbrought a wonderful work ethic to the people. There’snothing he won’t do.”Dwomoh-Tweneboah works side by side with staffand students, teaching them about the equipment. He saidhis work in Africa is a way to put into action Linfield’smission, Connecting Learning, Life, and Community,while modeling service to Linfield students. “I talk with my students about the project,” he said,“and they learn how technology is important in thelives of others outside the U.S.”Now, as part of the assessment team for theMethodist Global Educational Foundation Initiative,Dwomoh-Tweneboah is helping to expand AfricaUniversity through distance learning at satellite cam-puses. He and Bull have conducted feasibility studies forfuture sites in Congo, Angola, Nigeria, Ivory Coast,Liberia and Sierra Leone. In July he hooked up a center in Mozambique,which will transmit courses in Portuguese from aMethodist university in Brazil via Africa University. Intypical fashion, Dwomoh-Tweneboah rolled up hissleeves to knock down walls, build new partitions, runwiring, install a satellite dish, lay carpet, put togetherdesks, paint and more.“I do the work with them to show them that theycan do it themselves,” Dwomoh-Tweneboah said. “Thatsense of ownership, participation and control is what Iwant to impart to them.”– Laura DavisMartin Dwomoh-Tweneboah, associate professor of computerscience, helps to install a satellite dish on the roof of a learningcenter in Mozambique. Due to lack of infrastructure, Africanuniversities can accommodate only 5 percent of eligible students.Sharing his knowledgewith Africa’s students Committed to the environment

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Sharing His Knowledge with Africa\u27s Students

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