USAID Higher Education: A Retrospective 1960-2020

USAID’s Legacy in Advancing Global Higher Education: The Last 60 Years

When the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was created in 1961, its purpose was, and still is, to promote social and economic development around the world. Investments in higher education have been crucial to achieving this purpose by preparing institutions and individuals to become actors in supporting their countries’ paths to development. From establishing universities, colleges, and technical training institutes to facilitating ground-breaking and life-saving research and innovation, USAID assistance is transforming the ability of healthcare systems to provide care, farmers to supply food, industry to innovate, and governments to serve their people. USAID’s legacy in advancing global higher education is manifested in the achievements and contributions of the individuals and institutions it has supported who have made impacts in three key development areas: building country capacity, advancing social progress, and creating economic and social opportunity.