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Ledoux and Valdivia earn MU International Engagement Awards

David Ledoux, a professor of animal sciences, and Corinne Valdivia, an associate professor of agricultural economics, were recognized with International Engagement Awards from the University of Missouri's International Center. The award honors outstanding work that contributes to internationalizing MU through research, service or teaching.

The awards were presented during the Chancellor's Global Issues Forum on April 14. This is the first year that the awards have been bestowed.

David Ledoux

David Ledoux relaxes in Brazil with a favorite coconut drink. In 2002, he spent six months in Brazil teaching and conducting research as a Fulbright Scholar.

Ledoux earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree at MU and holds a Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Florida.

Before attending American universities, Ledoux was an extension agent in the Department of Agriculture, in Guyana, South America. He also served as an instructor/farm manager at the Guyana School of Agriculture and as a credit analyst/supervisor for the Guyana Agricultural Bank.

Ledoux was a postdoctoral research associate in the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal Physiology Unit and was appointed as an assistant professor in the MU Division of Animal Sciences in 1990. He was promoted to professor in 2003.

His current research involves improving mineral utilization by poultry and investigating the effects of mycotoxin contamination of feed and feed ingredients on the performance and health of poultry. He is also evaluating methods to detoxify contaminated feedstuffs.

Ledoux has lectured in more than 30 countries and has collaborated on research projects with colleagues in countries such as Poland, Serbia, Brazil and India. In 2002, he spent six months in Brazil teaching and conducting research as a Fulbright Scholar.

Corinne Valdivia

Corinne Valdivia, right, visits with a leader of a women's group in a rural Puno, Peru who participated in a research project.

Valdivia earned a bachelor's degree in economics and planning from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Peru, and earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from MU.

Valdivia has been an MU faculty member in agricultural economics since 1991 and is the MU Graduate School's director of the graduate interdisciplinary minor in international development. She is a fellow at MU's Cambio Center, an organization addressing international and local dimensions of immigration.

Valdivia was principal investigator for the NOAA Human Dimensions project between 1998 and 2003. From 1994 to 1997 she collaborated with researchers at the Instituto Boliviano de Tecnología Agropecuaria, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, the International Potato Center and the International Livestock Research Institute.

Valdivia's research, teaching and outreach work focuses on understanding the mechanisms that lead to sustainable livelihood strategies. Her methodological approaches integrate household economics, political economics and sociology in relation to decision-making in rural areas of Latin America, East Africa and India.

Valdivia's research in the Andean region focuses on adaptation to change driven by climate as well as by markets. This effort is based on past research to understand household strategies to cope with climate variability, changes in land-use patterns, and welfare through the life cycle in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia. Current research is funded by USAID and several partnering institutions in the U.S. and the Andes.

Her research in East Africa details the role of livestock in household food security and understanding households' strategies to deal with climate shocks that affect income, consumption and agriculture.

The mission of the International Center is to coordinate, support and promote the internationalization of the MU campus. It promotes international awareness, fosters an appreciation for diversity and helps students understand their roles and responsibilities as world citizens.

Posted April 15, 2009
Story by: Randy Mertens