Geographers from the University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka) and the University of North Dakota (USA) achieved the first step of undergraduate study abroad, graduate student exchanges, and faculty research collaborations during recent visits to the Grand Forks campus by Prof. V. Nandakumar, Head of the Department of Geography at the Peridenya campus.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was brought by Prof. Nandakuma and signed by University of North Dakota President Robert Kelley on Thursday, November 5, 2009. The presentation of the signed document to the Grand Forks campus was made later that day by University of North Dakota Provost and Vice-president for Academic Affairs Paul LeBel

Prof. V. Nandakumar and Provost LeBel reviewing the MoU at the Twamley Hall Ceremony on November 5, 2009.

The official exchange of the MOU was witnessed by representatives of the University of North Dakota administration plus members of the faculty and graduate students of the University of North Dakota Department of Geography. Particularly significant was the presence of Dr. Joey Benoit, Dean of the University of North Dakota Graduate School who confirmed the request of the graduate director of the University of North Dakota Department of Geography, Dr. D. C. Munski, to set aside a full graduate tuition waiver for the first Sri Lankan undergraduate to pursue either a M.S. or M.A. degree in geography at the Grand Forks campus.

As noted by University of North Dakota Department of Geography Chairperson, Dr. B. Rundquist, such an individual would be eligible for additional funding, if qualified, as a graduate teaching assistant, graduate research assistant, or graduate service assistant. Mr. R. Lagasse, director of the University of North Dakota International Centre and International Program, pointed out how this particular MOU was one of the most quickly achieved actions of international cooperation that he had seen. The effort began at the end of the Spring 2009 academic term with the visit of Priyanthi Dissanayake, Guidance Counselor and Foreign University Placement Adviser, was nutured through the summer and brought to fruition by mid-semester Fall 2009. Symbolically, this is the period of the autumn harvest in the Red River Valley of the North, so the first "academic crop" has been gathered-in such that seeds for the new season are being prepared and planted.

Later that day, Prof. Nadakumar spoke to the University of North Dakota Senate and received an enthusiastic and warm round of applause for his efforts to promote this particular cultural exchange and to recognize his participation in the North Dakota Geographic Information Systems Users Conference held November 2-4, 2009 at the Alerus Convention Center and CanadInn Destination Hotel in Grand Forks. The University of North Dakota Senate includes representatives from the campus faculty, staff, students, and administration, so Prof. Nadakumar's brief but heartfelt delivery of greetings from the University of Peradeniya were heard by key stakeholders from across the University of North Dakota, including the institution's president, Dr. Robert Kelley who graciously acknowledged the presence of Prof. Nadakumar who has been nominated for adjunct faculty status in the Department of Geography at the Grand Forks campus.

The first part of Prof. Nadakumar's journey to the Red River Valley of the North ended on Saturday, November 7, 2009. Prior to his departure, however, Dr. D. C. Munski conducted an extensive afteroon tour of the East Grand Forks, Minnesota/Grand Forks, North Dakota community on Friday, November 6, 2009. Among the sites visited were the Greenway (a substantial local flood mitigation project), the Lincoln Drive Park (a residential neighborhood now converted to non-residential purposes as a consequence of the 500-year flood of 1997), Powell (a railway siding and agri-business location still emphasizing commercial bison raising but now is part of a growing non-farming residential subdivision), Ojata (an abandoned railway siding that is becoming the focus of commuter traffic), agricultural activities such as maize production near Arvilla and potato farmin/processing in the Larimore area, Turtle River State Park (a major local recreational area), the outdoor museum of Grand Forks Air Force Base, Kelley's Slough (a national wildlife preserve), and the older industrial park of Grand Forks. Such sites would be interesting focal points of research related to flooding, population redistribution, recreation, and economic development.

Following his departure to visit campuses in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metropolitan regions, Prof. Nandakumar returned to Grand Forks on Monday, November 16, 2009 as his in-transit starting point to return to Colombo. A special reception was held in his honor that afternoon in the B. L. Wills Room in the Department of Geography of the University of North Dakota as one of the kick-off activities of Geography Action Week 2009, a national celebration of geographic education and the profession of geography.
Dr. Victoria Beard, Associate Provost and the administrator most responsible for the international education portfolio on the Grand Forks campus, met with Prof. Nandakumar for an extended period of time after the special reception. Her enthusiasm for the University of Peradeniya-University of North Dakota exchange in geography is high, and she is recommending that timing of visits include the Winter Break people, although one might be teasingly humorous that the flow would be from Grand Forks to Peradeniya and not vice versa at that time of the year.

Yet, Sri Lankans will discover that while coming to the American institution in mid-December through mid-January may be a time of exceedingly cold temperatures and some major snowfalls, the scholars and citizens of this North Dakota community will embrace their visitors warmly and take excellent care of them.

That warmth was demonstrated on that Monday evening in the home of Dr. and Mrs. B. Rundquist at which Prof. Nandakumar was the special guest of honour at the first annual Geography Action Week Chili Cook-off in Grand Forks. This evening of fellowship included undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty members who had a relaxing time to visit one-on-one and in small groups with their colleague from Sri Lanka.

The meal included a wide range of different types of chili, including a special turkey-based recipe from Mr. M. Boucher, the M.A. graduate student who was the most helpful assistant to Dr. D. Munski in handling logistics for Prof. Nandakumar during this one-day stopover in Grand Forks.

Plans currently are underway to send representatives from the University of North Dakota Department of Geography to the Department of Geography at the University of Peradeniya as soon as possible. Efforts continue in recruiting for the first sponsored and funded Sri Lankan M.A. or M.S. graduate student in geography for the Grand Forks campus. Inquires regarding the latter in Sri Lanka should be directed to Priyanthi Dissanayake, Guidance Counselor and Foreign University Placement Adviser. Information about the former activity will be forthcoming from Dr. D. Munski.

Special recognition must be given to the various stakeholders who supported this visit by Prof. Nandakumar. Mr. J. Anderson of the American Embassy in Colombo arranged a measure of travel support as well as expedited visas.

The University of North Dakota Office of the Provost/Vice-president for Academic Affairs made a financial contribution at a crucial time. The Estate of Ms. Virginia George provided a monetary gift to encourage travel for professional purposes to North Dakota. Other contributions came from friends of the University of North Dakota Department of Geography under the aegis of the Association of North Dakota Geographers. All in all, the visit of Prof. Nandakumar is being heralded as the start of a new era of international exchanges between Sri Lankan and American geographers.