Growing up in Montana

doesn’t easily lend itself to

an international perspec-

tive on life. Flights are

expensive, drives are

long, and there is so

much to experience in

the great 406 that it is

sometimes hard to see

beyond the borders to

the rest of the world.

That change in perspec-

tive started for me at the

University of Montana

where I had the oppor-

tunity to enroll in the

International Develop-

ment Studies minor.

Through the IDS course

load I was exposed to a

whole new world, literally,

and came to realize how

amazingly diverse hu-

man experience can

be. I was able to get a

first hand look at that

diversity on a trip to

Tanzania with my An-

thropology major; a

trip that I credit to

starting my passion for

a social justice and

human rights centered

approach to “business

as usual”. Backed up

with the academic

knowledge learned in

(Continued on page 2)

Orrin Tiberi and his coworker’s on the

Uganda Village Project

IDS ALUMNI ORRIN TIBERI ADVENTURES IN

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

UPCOMING IDS

EVENTS! IDS SALON:

Pizza and Conversation with

IDS Professionals

Wednesday February 28th

3:30 to 5:00pm

Location TBA

IDS ANNUAL RECEPTION:

Wednesday April 18th

3:30 to 5pm

President’s Room

Brantley Hall

For More information on

these events: visit the IDS tile

on the UM App, our Facebook

Page or our website

hs.umt.edu/IDS

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

STUDIES NEWSLETTER

UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA

IDS DIRECTOR’S GREETINGS

Issue #13

Fall 2017

First IDS Lecture Series 2

PC Prep Conference 3

New Faculty Study

Abroad Program

3

New Cross Cutting IDS

Course: CSBC

5

Dan Spencer Receives

Award

6

New IDS Courses and

Requirements

6

Emerging Livelihood

Strategies in Indian

7

What’s Up with IDS

Founder Peter Koehn

7

New IDS Tile-App on

UMontana App

8

Inside this issue: 2017 has been a great

year in IDS – we added

lots of new minors, many

of whom opted to include

the Peace Corps Prep Cer-

tificate in their qualifi-

cations, which I have

been delighted to see.

Please come visit me

any time – my office

hours are Wednes-

days 11-2 but I am

also happy to meet by

appointment! Alterna-

tively, you can always

reach out to our pro-

gram Coordinator and

generally awesome Delyla

Wilson, whose work and

help I value tremendously!

Shout out to Delyla!

Earlier this year I spent

time in Uganda and Nepal,

sites where I have conduct-

ed research and advised

various development ef-

forts over nearly twenty

years. In Uganda I was

following up on a men-

strual hygiene manage-

ment (MHM) program in

rural Nakaseke, and also

spent time with water,

sanitation, and hygiene

experts who work on

MHM programs at Unicef.

It was eye opening as al-

(Continued on page 4)

IDS Director Kimber McKay with

colleagues Prosy Namutebi and

the IDS classes and bor-

rowing heavily from that

experience I was able to

start the shift from a Mon-

tana-centric perspective to

a global one.

After graduation I applied

and was accepted to the

Peace Corps Master Inter-

national program, where I

completed my Masters in

Public Health in the US

and Peace Corps service in

Riobamba, Ecuador. My

Montana roots provided

me the grit and my experi-

(Continued from page 1)

ence at both University of

Montana and my master

level (continued on page 2)

public health classes

provided me the

knowledge to make my

Peace Corps experience

successful. Upon receiving

my diploma I was off again,

this time in Uganda

through a fellowship called

the Global Health Corps.

Over the next 12 months I

worked with a small public

health organization, the

Uganda Village Project, to

design and conduct

an impact evaluation

of their work for the

past five years.

Again, my academic

and hands-on experi-

ences from the IDS

coursework, my MPH,

and Peace Corps

played a critical role

in the successful im-

plementation of the

evaluation.

Fast-forward a few

years and I am still on the

journey inspired by the IDS

program, working with the

Centers for Disease Con-

trol on HIV and Tuberculo-

sis prevention, treatment,

and care in Mozambique.

Thinking back 10 years to

my time at University of

Montana I never would

have imagined this career

path, but feel incredibly

fortunate to be part of the

story of the awe-inspiring

and hectic humanity

around the globe.

USAID grantees, and other

development leaders. Top-

ics were wide-ranging,

In fall 2016, IDS was able

to offer its first ever course

using the new “IDS” rubric-

- “Lecture Series in Inter-

national Develop-

ment” (IDS 191). The

series attracted stu-

dents from several de-

partments as well as

town folk and profes-

sors. Featuring presen-

tations by international

development practition-

ers, including returned

Peace Corps volunteers,

from monitoring and evalu-

ation to international biodi-

versity conservation efforts

to the efforts of

grassroots NGOs to

sustainable health

development. All

lectures can be

viewed by visiting

the IDS web page!

IDS hopes to be

able to offer the

course again in fu-

ture years.

IDS ALUMNI ADVENTURES Cont.

FIRST IDS LECTURE SERIES

A site visit of a health facility in Mozam-

bique to assess the damages from a cy-

clone that hit in March 2017

Page 2

Between 1901 and 1910

there were 82 recorded

disasters, but between 2003

and 2012 there were more

than 4,000.

—UNDP

Hunger is the number one

cause of death in the world,

killing more than HIV/AIDS,

malaria, and tuberculosis

combined.

—World Food Programme.

Almost three-fifths of the

world’s extreme poor are

concentrated in just five

countries: Bangladesh, China,

the Democratic Republic of

Congo, India, and Nigeria.

—World Bank Group

By 2025, half of the world’s

population will be living in

water-stressed areas.

—World Health Organization

By 2030, the world is

projected to have 41 mega-

cities with more than 10

million inhabitants.

—UNDP

Between 2030 and 2050,

climate change is expected to

cause approximately 250,000

additional deaths per year,

from malnutrition, malaria,

diarrhoea and heat stress.

—World health Organization

More than 21.3 million

people—roughly the

population of Australia—are

refugees.

—UNDP

A survey enumerator conducting

the impact evaluation in rural

Uganda

DID YOU KNOW?

INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT FACTS

Page 3

course work as found in

UM’s PC Prep program.

While Education and Public

Health have the most

available positions a great

need for French speakers

in the Agricultural sector.

As part of recruitment the

PC is focusing on increas-

ing the diversity of PC ap-

plicants to be more reflec-

tive of the diversity of the

United States including

recruiting more people of

color, people with diverse

sexual orientation and gen-

der identity, first genera-

tion students, economical-

ly disadvantaged students,

and older students. To this

end the PC highlighted the

benefits of service includ-

ing health insurance, a

monthly stipend, all travel,

training, passport and visa

costs, student loan defer-

ral, an $8000 transition

fund at completion of ser-

vice, and non-competitive

eligibility for qualifying gov-

ernment positions .

If you would like to learn

more about UM’s PC Prep

program or this conference

contact UM’s PC Prep Pro-

gram Coordinator Delyla

Wilson !

NEW FACULTY-DIRECTED STUDY ABROAD COURSE

W/ IDS PROFESSOR PHYLLIS NGAI

PEACE CORPS PREP CONFERENCE

In September 2017 IDS

Program Coordinator De-

lyla Wilson attended the

first PC Prep Conference in

Washington, DC gathering

important information

about the PC and related

PC Prep program.

As the PC maintains bipar-

tisan support new federal

budgets will bring no re-

duction in the number field

positions so recruiting re-

mains as critical as ever.

In particular, the PC is

looking for career-oriented

students with relevant

hands-on experience sup-

ported by sector specific

that spring from the inter-

face of diverse values, cul-

tures, ideologies, and prac-

tices. The topics examined

on site included multina-

tional organization commu-

nication, press freedom,

internet censorship, social

media for social change,

cultural convergence and

divergence, and discours-

es of develop-

ment. While im-

mersed in the sights,

sounds, and smells

of the place, stu-

dents had the oppor-

tunity to connect with

local young people to

exchange views on

transnational phe-

nomena and to expe-

rience in person in-

tercultural communi-

cation at the conflu-

ence of the East and

the West. The UM

course offered during the

trip was COMX 491 (UG)

Hong Kong, Macau, and

China: International Com-

munication, Culture, and

Society which is an IDS

content course. If you are

interested in participating

in a future trip contact Pro-

fessor Phyllis Ngai at Phyl-

lis.ngai@mso.umt.edu !

Professor Phyllis Ngai of

Communication Studies

offered a two-week study-

abroad in Hong Kong and

China in summer

2017. The international

course provided an oppor-

tunity for students to de-

velop a first-hand under-

standing of the socio-

cultural changes that are

happening under the “one

country, two systems” poli-

cy. Through site visits and

dialogue with local schol-

ars, activists, journalists,

legislators, and business

professionals, students

learned about internation-

al communication issues

Students enrolled in the class were rid-

ing the longest outdoor covered escala-

tor in the world amidst the forest of sky-

scrapers on Hong Kong Island.

ways to see the local chal-

lenges faced by rural villag-

ers and the ways in which

different development

practitioners work on those

challenges. It really got me

to thinking about how,

when, where, and why peo-

ple ever change their be-

havior.

HOW DO DEVELOPMENT

PRACTITIONERS INTEREST

PEOPLE IN CHANGING

THEIR BEHAVIOR?

Findings from anthropolo-

gy, behavioral economics

and psychology (and, per-

sonally, the experience of

parenting, interacting with,

or being a teenager) have

shown that oftentimes a

suggestion works better

than a directive.

Development practitioners

have seen time and again

that simply telling people

to do things frequently

fails. Rather, a more subtle

(Continued from page 1)

approach,

grounded

in a

sound

and cul-

turally

nuanced

founda-

tion can

really help

cross bar-

riers and

forge new

under-

standings.

In Janu-

ary, I helped advise a large

international non-

government organization

called FHI360 pilot test a

manual now adopted by

USAID, entitled Essential

WASH Actions. This manu-

al focuses on developing

trainers’ skill in teaching

people about improve-

ments in water, sanitation,

and hygiene and what

kinds of behavior changes

are recommended. In Ne-

pal, this

kind of pro-

gram re-

quires a

thorough

understand-

ing of the

cultures of

purity and

pollution,

the sacred

and the

profane,

which influ-

ence be-

havior eve-

ry day in that setting. It

also requires a skilled and

empathetic recognition of

how people commonly fail

to reach ‘ideal’ WASH re-

lated outcomes, because

of lack of water, soap, time

and so forth. Understand-

ing the social structures

underlying behavior well

enough to then influence

them is critical. And how to

influence behavior is not

simple. It’s been studied

for centuries. Recently this

topic has received quite a

bit of attention because

last month, the Nobel Prize

in Economics was awarded

to a theorist named Rich-

ard Thaler in recognition of

the merit of his ‘Nudge

Theory’.

JUST GIVE A LITTLE NUDGE

Nudge theory is based on

the idea that we humans

don’t always do what’s

best for us. But we also

(Continued on page 5)

IDS DIRECTOR’S GREETING

FROM KIMBER HADDIX MCKAY

Page 4

A loo with a view:

Photo credit: Anna Maria S. Jorgensen

Discussing Essential WASH Actions in Nepal with

Angjuk Lama, Kyamma Lama & Menuka Rai:

HIRING TRENDS

IN

INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

2017 From Devex 2017 Hiring Trends Report

Page 5

don’t always do as told.

Instead, our behavior is

frequently, and as it turns

out, powerfully influenced

by the suggestions and

encouragements around

us. The important thing for

us in the development

sphere to recognize is that

nudge theory’s approach

to changing behavior fits

extremely well with an em-

phasis on understanding

what influences people’s

behavior in the settings in

which they live. This feels

very comfortable to me as

a medical anthropologist!

A frequently cited example

of nudge theory in action is

the practice of etching the

image of a fly into the

porcelain of urinals in

Schipol Airport in Amster-

dam. The intent of this

exercise was to ‘improve

(Continued from page 4)

the aim’. Who could resist?

The importance of nudge

theory lies in its ability to

spur us to think about how

to influence behavior in an

effective fashion that helps

work in international devel-

opment achieve the best

outcomes. It’s an approach

based on encouragement,

not compulsion.

WHERE FROM HERE?

Sometimes people resist

adopting new behaviors or

habits because of inertia,

or because they lack the

tools to perceive and

choose among new pat-

terns. Nudging encourages

new behavior by, for exam-

ple, by making new options

available that are amusing,

relatively cheap to adopt,

or incentivized by positive

recognition. Making clean

toilets desirable when they

are not already can be

achieved through pro-

grams that reward with

awards and community

recognition the cleanest

toilet of the ward. Quickly,

people also perceive that

using a clean toilet is vast-

ly preferable to using one

that is not.

IDS DIRECTOR’S GREETING CONTINUED

FROM KIMBER HADDIX MCKAY

Want to learn more

about the theories and

practices that influence

the sphere of ‘social

and behavioral change

communication’? Take

IDS 497-02 in Spring

2018, Communication

for Social and Behavior-

al Change. We recom-

mend that all IDS stu-

dents take one or both

versions of IDS 497

(Monitoring and Evalua-

tion in odd years, Com-

munication for Social

and Behavioral Change

in even years). These

are cross-cutting toolkit

courses that will pro-

vide you with infor-

mation, methods, and

know-how that you will

find essential in all sec-

tors of international de-

velopment.

Aim for this! A housefly in

the men’s room urnals

at Schipol Airport:

Nudge theory is based

on the idea that we

humans don’t always

do what’s best for us.

But we also don’t al-

ways do as told. In-

stead, our behavior is

frequently, and as it

turns out, powerfully

influenced by the sug-

gestions and encour-

agements around us.

NEW CROSS-CUTTING IDS COURSE, COMMUNICATION FOR

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGE, OFFERED SPRING 2018

Do you aspire to make a

difference in the world? If

so, IDS has a course for

you! IDS is now offering a

second a cross-cutting

methods course that will

serve students in eve-

ry sector of interna-

tional development!

IDS 497-02 Commu-

nication for Social

and Behavioral Change will

equip you with the essen-

tial skills for bringing about

positive change in a world

that faces significant

health and development

challenges –poverty, gen-

to create valuable for posi-

tive progress. By making

specific changes at the

individual, community,

and/or societal levels, peo-

ple can improve not only

their own lives, but

the wellbeing of gen-

erations to come. In

addition to being a

core capstone course for

the IDS minor, IDS 497-02,

offered Wednesdays 3:30

to 6:30, is also a content

course for Global Public

Health Minor; and an allied

course for Organizational

Communication.

der inequities, public-

health problems, environ-

mental degradation, un-

sustainable practices, and

many others. Social and

behavior change communi-

cation (SBCC) strategies

are about using the power

of communication to

change behaviors by influ-

encing people’s

knowledge, attitudes, and

social norms for the better

IDS Faculty member Dan

Spencer (Environmental

Studies) is the recipient of

this year’s UM Distin-

guished Service to Interna-

tional Education Award.

Dan has been involved in

international education for

nearly 40 years, following

five months studying volca-

noes in Costa Rica in

1978.

He led his first internation-

al travel seminar to the

Dominican Republic and

Puerto Rico in 1983, and

directed the Latin Ameri-

can programs for the Cen-

ter for Global Education

from 1984-89. Since

then he has developed

international programs in

Central and South Ameri-

ca, the Caribbean, south-

ern Africa and Vietnam,

taking over 2000 travel

seminar participants. He

began organizing interna-

tional programs at the Uni-

versity of Montana to Gua-

temala, Nicaragua and El

Salvador in 2004, and to

Vietnam in 2012. To date

he has traveled with over

210 UM students to Cen-

tral America and SE Asia.

Dan is grateful to his col-

leagues in Environmental

Studies and the Mansfield

Center, the Davidson Hon-

ors College, International

Development Studies, and

the Office of International

Programs for all the sup-

port and encouragement

he has received for devel-

oping and leading interna-

tional programs at the Uni-

versity of Montana. And

finally, for all the students

who have traveled with

him and so enriched his

life with their passion for

and commitment to our

wider world.

IDS FACULTY MEMBER DAN SPENCER AWARDED THE

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO INTERNATIONAL

EDUCATION AWARD

tional core courses includ-

ing 2 Anthropology cours-

es, a Business course, a

Geography course and

Political Science course. In

addition we have added 5

content courses from An-

thropology, Business, and

Communications. To en-

sure students benefit from

IDS’ interdisciplinary com-

ponent, we are limiting

students to no more than

2 IDS Core Courses from

any one discipline and no

more than 2 IDS Content

Courses from any one dis-

cipline.

To ensure IDS students

have access to the most

current and relevant inter-

national development cur-

riculum that UM has to

offer we have worked with

faculty across campus to

identify courses that are

important to IDS students.

We have identified 5 addi-

Page 6

Dan is grateful ...for all the

students who have

traveled with him and so

enriched his life with their

passion for and

commitment to our wider

world.

Dan Spencer and a new friend

NEW IDS COURSES AND REQUIREMENTS

‘International

Development Jobs for

Young Professionals’

Facebook Page

Connect with other profes-

sionals in the International

Development community

for tips and tricks on find-

ing jobs and internships.

Page 7

IDS Professor Sarah Hal-

verson and Dr. Laura Cap-

lins published an article

titled Collecting Ophio-

cordyceps sinensis: an

emerging livelihood strate-

gy in the Garhwal, Indian

Himalaya. The article fo-

cuses on the Bhotiya, an

ethnically and culturally

distinct tribal group from

Garhwal of Uttarakhand,

India. The Bhotiya histori-

cally livelihood was based

in seasonal migration to

take advantage of scarce

mountain resources and

trade relations with Tibet.

This livelihood practice has

all but disappeared leading

to the Bhotiya adapting by

engaging in the collection

and sale of the valuable

alpine medicinal fungus

Ophiocordyceps sinensis,

widely known as

Cordyceps. The collection

of this fungus has explod-

ed, emerging as a lucrative

yet high-risk livelihood

strategy for many Bhotiya

communities. The

Bhotiyas’ historic herding

and trade-based interac-

tions and knowledge of

these alpine environments

where Cordyceps are

found uniquely positions

them to access this valua-

ble biological resource. To

learn more about the

Bhotiya livelihood adapta-

tion as well as the ecologi-

cal and economic aspects

of the emerging Cordyceps

trade you can reference

the 2017 article in the

Journal of Mountain Sci-

ence 14(2).

held at the World Bank’s

Global Environmental Fa-

cility, in Washington, D.C

where Koehn spoke with

about 40 interested at-

tendees from the World

Bank, USAID, the U.S. EPA,

and NGOs.

While in Washington D.C.,

Peter Koehn and Juha Uit-

to launched their new book

on Universities and the

Sustainable Development

Future (Routledge Sustain-

ability and Development

Series) at the Association

of Public & Land-grant Uni-

April was a

busy

month for

Professor

Peter

Koehn,

IDS found-

er and

faculty. Besides his usual

spring course load that

includes the popular GPH

lecture series, Dr. Koehn

presented an invited talk

on “Emerging Global Lead-

ership on Climatic Stabili-

zation: Why China Will Step

Forward.” The talk was

versities (APLU) on April

21, 2017.

Then in September 2017,

Peter Koehn presented a

paper on Soft Power and

the Belt and Road Initia-

tive: Symmetrical Higher-

education Partnerships as

the Way Forward for Chi-

na at the Confer-

ence Memories and Vi-

sions: China's Ties with the

Outside World through the

Belt and Road Initia-

tive at Northwestern Poly-

technic University, Xi’an,

IDS PROFESSOR SARAH HALVERSON CO-PUBLISHES

ARTICLE ON EMERGING LIVELIHOOD STRATERGY IN

INDIA HIMALAYA

WHAT’S UP WITH IDS FOUNDER PROFESSOR PETER KOEHN

Cordyceps cleaned and

ready for market.

Fatal trail drop-off on route to

Cordyceps meadows.

"Poverty is like punishment for

a crime you didn't commit."

— Eli Khamarov, writer

"As long as poverty, injustice

and gross inequality exist in

our world, none of us can truly

rest."

— Nelson Mandela

"Where you live should not

determine whether you live, or

whether you die."

— Bono, singer-songwriter

"Extreme poverty anywhere is

a threat to human security

everywhere."

— Kofi Annan, Seventh Secre-

tary-General of the UN

"Poverty is the parent of revo-

lution and crime."

— Aristotle

"Wars of nations are fought to

change maps. But wars of pov-

erty are fought to map

change."

— Muhammad Ali

"It is a common condition of

being poor...you are always

afraid that the good things in

your life are temporary, that

someone can take them away,

because you have no power

beyond your own brute

strength to stop them."

— Rick Bragg, journalist

WHAT IS

POVERTY?

Missoula, MT 598

INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

STUDIES

Phone: 406-243-6752

Fax: 555-555-5555

E-mail:

someone@example.com

We are on the

Web!

hs.umt.edu/ids

University of Montana

32 Campus Drive SS 302

Missoula, MT 598

406-243-6752

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

international focus or virtual.

These internship opportuni-

ties have been designed and

selected to give IDS stu-

dents an opportunity to

make global connections

while staying locally ground-

ed. Opportunities include

internships with the UN

World Food Program, Circle

of Health International (an

international nongovernmen-

tal organization based in

Austin, Texas, founded by

UM alumna Sera Bonds),

Ecology Project Internation-

al, Unite for Sight, Missoula

based Soft Landings, and

many more.

“The international intern-

ships expand the workforce

experience and professional

networks of UM students

immeasurably and help

them find work in their cho-

sen field after graduation,”

said Kimber McKay, director

of UM’s International Devel-

opment Studies and the re-

lated Peace Corps Prep pro-

gram.

The freestanding minor

brings together UM faculty

members’ networks full of

international experts in eco-

nomic development, health

economics, global health,

agriculture, communication

and environmental change.

Through classes from de-

partments and colleges

University of Montana In-

ternational Development

Studies students now have

more connections to global

careers through the new

international development

studies minor custom-

designed app tile on

the UMontana mobile app.

IDS students will automati-

cally have access to the

tile when they register on

the UMontana mobile app.

The IDS tile provides IDS

students with a quick way

to keep up on IDS events

as well as selective inter-

nationally-focused scholar-

ship and internship oppor-

tunities. The app tile points

IDS students to carefully

vetted international devel-

opment-focused intern-

ships many of which are

either locally based with an

across campus – including

business, economics, for-

estry, anthropology, politi-

cal science, geography and

many more – students

learn how to build a multi-

disciplinary toolkit suited

for international careers

spanning sectors, govern-

mental and nongovern-

mental organizations.

UM has a long-standing

tradition of making global

connections, with faculty

members conducting re-

search and consulting

abroad in each one of its

colleges. Every year, UM is

recognized in the top five

campuses in the nation for

producing Peace Corps

volunteers and was the

first public University to

offer the Peace Corps Prep

program.

NEW IDS APP-TILE ON UMONTANA APP!

Director:

Kimber McKay

Kimber.mckay@mso.umt.edu

Program Coordinator:

Delyla Wilson

Delyla.wilson@mso.umt.edu

We are on the

web:

hs.umt.edu/IDS

International Development

Studies is an interdisciplinary

field of study focusing on the

interconnected processes of

social, political, economic,

cultural, and environmental

change taking place in low-

income countries and disad-

vantaged regions of wealthy

countries. Coursework in the

minor emphasizes a global

perspective on the process of

change and development,

critical analysis of the role of

internal and external influ-

ences on the development

process, and applications to

local (including Montana) situ-

ations and challenges. The

IDS minor takes advantage of

existing faculty expertise and

courses to offer an interdisci-

plinary experience for those

students interested in either

international or domestic de-

velopment work. Students

minoring in IDS will develop

knowledge and skills appropri-

ate for graduate study and for

working in non-governmental

organizations, international

and bilateral government de-

velopment organizations, the

U.S. Peace Corps and other

national/international equiva-

lents, and /or community de-

velopment groups. In addition,

the IDS is the home of Peace

Corps Prep Program.

What is

International

Development

Studies?