Kenyan scholar athlete project eyes expansion to Texas Tech
Standing in front of a Texas Tech classroom, Michael Boit's status as a former Olympian medalist gives him a certain cachet as he outlines the Kenya Scholar Athlete Project (KenSAP), a charity that identifies and mentors gifted athletes from rural, disadvantaged tribes who've exhibited superior intellect and potential for academic study in the United States.
Boit, an exercise science professor from Kenya's Kenyatta University, visited Tech's sprawling Lubbock campus on April 21 to meet with school officials about possible expansion of KenSAP to include graduate programs at Texas Tech. He also led a graduate seminar in Tech's Department of Agricultural Education and Communications.
"Though it may take a while, we certainly hope to develop a number of collaborative opportunities in the future," said David Lawver, a department professor who's fresh off a semester teaching agricultural extension methods at Kenya's Egerton University under the auspices of a Fulbright Grant. "Michael has significant concern and passion for the rural and isolated tribes of Kenya, and he recognizes that food security and crop protection are of vital importance for the nation as a whole."
So far, Boit noted, the Kenya Scholar Athlete Project has placed more than 50 students at several of this nation's leading universities, including Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The majority of those students come from peasant farming families and are nearly all first-generation university students.
Indeed, the scholar athlete project has been so successful that officials are now looking to expand its focus to include graduate programs. In pursuit of that goal, while on campus Boit met with the university's Vice Provost for International Affairs, Tibor Nagy, and the Dean of the Graduate School, Fred Hartmeister, to address Tech's possible participation.
Boit, at one time the top-ranked 800-meter runner in the world, is a former world-record holder and bronze medalist at the 1972 Olympics at Munich. He's the recipient Kenya's 'Sports Man of the Year' and has been inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
After earning a degree in physical education from Kenyatta University, Boit received a bachelor's degree from Eastern New Mexico University and two master's degrees from Stanford University. His doctorate in curriculum instruction and physical education administration is from the University of Oregon.
Written by Sean Cleveland
CONTACT: David Lawver, Professor, Department of Agricultural Education and Communications, Texas Tech University at david.lawver@ttu.edu
0504NM10 / Photo: N Martin/CASNR
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