Erin Vogel, professor of Anthropology in the School of Arts and Sciences, was awarded a grant through United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Supporting Universities to Partner Across the Pacific initiative. The grant will foster academic exchange between Rutgers and Universitas Nasional (UNAS) in Jakarta. Through field projects in Borneo involving the study of orangutans, habitat protection, and forest conservation, the partnership will strengthen biological science education at UNAS. In addition, the partnership will enable underprivileged Indonesian students to conduct research in collaboration with Rutgers students, while providing study abroad and international service learning opportunities to Rutgers students.

“This grant will provide opportunities for both Rutgers and Indonesian students to explore questions related to habitat conservation, peat-swamp ecology, and orangutan behavioral ecology. Our goal is to establish sustainable research opportunities for Indonesian students, as well as provide then with the opportunity to work together with Rutgers students when conducting their undergraduate and graduate research,” Vogel said. “We are excited to host our Indonesian collaborators at Rutgers and hope to establish new partnerships for them with Rutgers faculty and staff.”