By Adrianne Lorenzo Corpuz

Officials of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) solidified their partnership through a meeting on June 3, at the National Bioenergy Research and Innovation Center.

The USAID delegates comprise Assistant Administrator Michael Schiffer, Acting Mission Director Rebekah Eubanks, Environment Office Director Ryder Rogers, Project Management Specialist Randy Vinluan, and US Embassy Political Officer Michael Kelleher.

MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis, Mr. Randy Vinluan, Project Management Specialist of USAID Philippines, and Dr. Mee Jay Domingo, MMSU director for internationalization, linkages, and partnerships, warmly welcomed the guests.

During the meeting, Dr. Agrupis highlighted the strong partnership between MMSU and the United States over the years. She also focused on various projects with USAID, including implementing STRIDE (Science Technology, Research and Innovation for Development), INSPIRE (Investing in Sustainability and Partnerships for Inclusive Growth and Regenerative Ecosystem), and UPSKILL initiatives. These projects focus on bioethanol production and the usage of natural resources, with the involvement of media, academe, grassroots communities, and civil society organizations. She also underscored that the university will continue to cooperate with the US government in creating community development initiatives.

Meanwhile, Mr. Julius Suarez, Executive Director for Impl. Project Philippines, shared the numerous impacts of the INSPIRE grant on community livelihoods.

Also present in the meeting were Prof. Ryan Roi Domingo, MMSU chief of the language center; Prof. Ernesto Del Rosario, dean of the college of aquatic sciences and applied technology, and other university staff members.

Throughout the years, MMSU and USAID implemented various training and projects, such as the nipahol training in 2021, the nipa-tech village-scale training and citation of American Corner in 2022, and the establishment of sustainable fisheries in 2023.