The Global One Health initiative (GOHi) hosted an Ethiopian Higher Education Leaders delegation from November 13-19, 2022. The delegation comprised 25 leaders from 16 public universities in Ethiopia and two from the Ministry of Education. The experiential visit is part of the Leadership, Management, and Governance (LMG) project implemented in Ethiopia by three U.S. universities: Texas Tech University, Oklahoma State University and The Ohio State University, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, Addis Ababa and the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Education.

The LMG project aims to enhance the capacity of Ethiopian public higher education leaders to improve the overall quality of education, research, innovation and outreach. Funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of African Affairs, the project supports the Ministry of Education's strategy toward improving the overall governance of the higher education system in Ethiopia.

During their visit, the leaders met with several senior leaders at Ohio State, including a welcome and keynote from Melissa Gilliam, executive vice president and provost; Kristine Devine, vice president of operations and deputy chief financial officer office of business and finance; Don Pope-Davis, dean, College of Education and Human Ecology; Michael Bisesi, director, training and capacity building, GOHi, vice dean, College of Public Health; and Wondwossen Gebreyes, professor and executive director of GOHi.

The topics covered during the visit included the changing landscape of higher education, executive-level management of university finances, outreach and community engagement in higher education, inclusive excellence in higher education, culturally responsive leadership in higher education, strategic planning and implementation, university strategy for education technology and more.

The visit also included a panel entitled "Grand Challenges in Higher Education and How Leaders Respond," facilitated by Charlene Gilbert, senior vice provost for student academic excellence and a campus tour.

The leaders could also present what they learned from their visit to the three research-intensive universities. Fund-raising strategies and alumni engagement were also among the big takeaways, as reflected by the leaders.