INVESTING IN HUMAN AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPITAL THROUGH BUILDING HIGHER EDUCATION: AN ANALYSIS OF UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FROM 2013-2015 AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH U.S. UNIVERSITIES A Dissertation by SAMANTHA LEE ALVIS Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Theresa Pesl Murphrey Co-Chair of Committee, John F. Elliot Committee Members, Tracy A. Rutherford William Brown Head of Department, John F. Elliot August 2016 Major Subject: Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications Copyright 2016 Samantha Lee Alvis ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore United States (U.S) government investments through its foreign assistance to higher education in order to inform policy and identify the relationship between these investments and the U.S. higher education community. This study utilized a mixed-methods approach to address the objectives: (1) to compile data from existing data sources in order to categorize and describe selected characteristics of U.S. foreign assistance to higher education, and (2) to document the role that U.S. universities play in the delivery of U.S. higher education development assistance. It was concluded that less than one percent of the foreign assistance budget is spent on higher education development assistance. Three agencies, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and Inter-American Foundation (IAF) have assistance tagged as higher education. Of the 400 unique awards in the Foreign Assistance Dashboard tagged as higher education from 2013-2015, only 277 were determined to fit the higher education definition. More awards (89) were implemented by NGOs than any other implementer type; however, U.S. universities received a higher dollar total than any other implementer type. Study participants identified many benefits and challenges to higher education development assistance. Benefits included diplomacy and a greater understanding of the United States, higher education as a driver of economic growth and workforce development, and development of both human and institutional capacity. Challenges to ii higher education included the difficulty of quantifying results, lack of reliable measurements of higher education impacts, and higher education being perceived as an investment for the elite. A number of benefits and challenges in terms of working directly with U.S. universities as implementers of higher education development assistance were also identified. Benefits included universities’ inherent knowledge of higher education systems, similarities of challenges shared by host-country and U.S. universities, and a history of continued relationships beyond the life of the award. Challenges identified included high overhead costs of working with U.S. universities, a lack of understanding of how the agency (USAID) operates, and dealing with multiple bureaucracies. Investments in higher education, as well as in primary and secondary education, are investments in human capital. A well-functioning higher education system needs primary and secondary systems that prepare students to be successful in a global, knowledge-driven economy. More balanced investments are needed across all levels of education to derive economic and social benefits for all. iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my mom. No matter what crazy thing I say I’m going to do next, I know you’ll never tell me it’s crazy. I love you. I love you too, Dad, although you’ll definitely tell me I’m crazy. For Anna and Zane, for making me realize I never want to be boring Aunt Sam. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It’s been a long and winding road to get to this point and I have many people to thank for their support along the road. Jack Elliot, this is a road I never would have gone down without your support. From Arizona to Texas, and everywhere I’ve been in between and since, I’m lucky to have you as my mentor. Thank you for your support, encouragement and advice over the years. I’m lucky to have you and Maureen in my life. And let’s face it, if you haven’t gotten rid of me by now, it’s never going to happen. I’d also like thank the chair of my committee, Dr. Theresa Murphrey. Thank you for your support and patience as the road to this dissertation took many twists and turns, from Texas, then Kenya and Tanzania and now Washington, DC. To my committee members, Dr. Tracy Rutherford and Dr. Will Brown, thank you for your guidance and support through this ever-evolving process. To Erin, Christy, Katri, Adrian, and Tonya, I have no idea how I would have survived without all of you. Who knew that my time at Texas A&M would not only bring me a Ph.D., but also friends who are now like family? We ’ve traveled many miles between us, from Texas to Finland, Qatar, Tanzania, and Cambodia, and a few places in between. I can’t wait for more adventures with you ladies. To my Tanzania colleagues at the Innovative Agriculture Research Initiative (iAGRI) at Sokoine University of Agriculture. My year spent with you made me realize the role that higher education development assistance can play in building food security and economic growth. I cherish the time spent with you in Morogoro and hope that this v research will help to justify investments in more iAGRI-like projects. In particular, thank you to Laura Alexander for your support during all the starts and stops on this road. I’m very appreciative to the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, in particular the leadership of the International Programs Office, Tag Demment and Anne-Claire Hervy, for their support, not only of my research, but of my professional development in the field of international higher education. To Mark Varner, thank you for your professorial advance and good wishes during this process. To Karly Kiefer and Liz Shchepetylnykova, hang in there, ladies—we’re in this together, and I know you’ll both go on to great things. I would have never had the experiences with iAGRI and APLU if I had not been selected as a member of the seventh class of Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellows. Thank you to Grace Jones and Emily Byers of the Congressional Hunger Center for seeing the importance of including higher education in the fight to eliminate hunger. To my sisters, Beth and Michelle, thank you for all your support while I’ve taken the road less traveled for our family. I couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks also for giving me the best niece and nephew, who motivate me to have great adventures … and I can’t wait to take them on their own great adventures someday soon. To Clarice Fulton, I don’t know how anyone in the ALEC department would survive without you, myself included. Thank you so much for your help on this journey! To my officemates at Texas A&M, Kevin Fath and M’randa Sandlin, I’m thankful for the time spent with both of you in the clo-ffice and hall-fice, I couldn’t imagine what I vi would have done without you. I’d also like to thank many other individuals from the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications who have been supportive along my journey: Dr. Tobin Redwine, Tom Nelson, Dr. Shinn, Dr. Christensen, Dr. Briers, Dr. Strong, Dr. Deb, Dr. Pina, and many, many others, thank you! Teresa Noon and Heather Jepsen, what would I do without the two of you? You too, Kyle Sharp. And to all my friends who have offered their support and encouragement along the way, thank you. vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ADB African Development Bank APLU Association of Public and Land-grant Universities BIFAD Board for International Food and Agriculture Development BFS USAID Bureau for Food Security CBJ Congressional Budget Justification CRSP Collaborative Research Support Program E3 USAID Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment KCADHE Knowledge Center for Advancing Development through Higher Education DAC Development Co-Operation Directorate (of the OECD) DOD Department of Defense DOS Department of State GER Gross Enrollment Ratios HCA Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Program HESN Higher Education Solutions Network HHS Health and Human Services IAF Inter-American Foundation IDB International Development Bank INTI International Trade Transparency Initiative LAC Latin America and Caribbean MCC Millennium Challenge Corporation viii MFAN Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network NGO Non-Governmental Organization ODA Official Development Assistance OECD Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development OGP Open Government Partnership OHDACA Overseas Humanitarian Disaster and Civic Aid Program OIG Office of Inspector General SSA Sub-Saharan Africa UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization USADF United States African Development Foundation USAID United State Agency for International Development USDA United States Department of Agriculture ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS