Educational visionaries

8/5/2010 - After more than a quarter-century of civil war, the African country of Angola is in midst of a recovery — rebuilding homes, schools and infrastructure that were destroyed during the conflict.

Much progress has been made since the war ended in 2002, but one area is still lacking: access to higher education. Due to the absence of universities in the area, the overwhelming majority of high school graduates in Angola — 99 percent, in some parts — are unable to go to college.

That may soon change, thanks to a team of alumni and faculty from the Kellogg School and Northwestern University. Under the direction of SHAREcircle, a nonprofit group founded by Northwestern alumnus Guerra Freitas, the Kellogg/NU team is helping to develop plans for Angola University, a new school located in the central region of Bié Province. The goal, team members say, is to build a school that will deliver higher education to several thousand Angola residents each year.

When it is completed, Angola University will deliver higher education to several thousand Angola residents each year.

Photo submitted by Guerra Freitas

The new school will be located in the central region of Angola in Bié Province.

Map by Rebekah Raleigh

As a first step in establishing Angola University, a task force — which includes former Kellogg Student Association president Bryan Law ’10, Freitas and former Kellogg dean Dipak C. Jain — is developing a plan that outlines everything from the university’s faculty to architectural drawings to budget goals. Members of the task force also flew to Washington, D.C. in March to garner support for the project from several government officials, including Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congressman Danny Davis, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and Senator Richard Durbin.

Before graduating from Kellogg in June, Law, who serves as chair of the Auxiliary Board of SHAREcircle, reached out to key leaders in Kellogg’s African Business Club, Net Impact Club and Education Club to recruit students for fundraising and research projects to benefit Angola University.

Law says he feels a responsibility to use his Kellogg education to contribute to a greater social good.

“I think it’s really important for anyone who has had the opportunities that we’ve had [at Kellogg] to try to leverage them to benefit the broader society,” said Law, who was born in Johannesburg. “That’s something that we learn through the Social Enterprise at Kellogg (SEEK) program. Being able to give back in a meaningful way is really important.”

For more information about SHAREcircle and Angola University, visit www.sharecircle.org.