Three years ago, Tony Frank, president of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, visited the campus of Hawassa University in Ethiopia. The campus had a brand new library but Dr. Frank noticed that the many of the library shelves had no books.
For the past three years, students and faculty have been collecting books to send to Hawassa University. Recently, more than 20,000 textbooks and journals were packed into 641 boxes weighing more than 33,000 pounds. The boxes were packed into a shipping container that is currently on its way to Ethiopia. Shipping costs of $11,000 were assumed by the Office of the President of Colorado State.
The shipment, which includes textbooks on health, psychology, computer science, statistics, natural resources, and agriculture will arrive at Hawassa University in three to six months, depending on the speed of Ethiopian customs procedures.
“Countless people across our community donated their scholarly resources to make this shipment possible,” President Frank said. “This has been an important project for CSU as well as for our academic partners in Ethiopia, and it’s a wonderful demonstration of the strong bond between our institutions and the people of Hawassa and CSU. Thanks to all who have made it possible.”
Below is a video about the book drive.
