As  a high school student in Ethiopia, Tadesse Giorgis (PhD ’92) dreamt about coming to the United States. His first exposure to the United States was through his teachers—many of his instructors were Peace Corps volunteers.

“They impressed me,” he said, “and I thought, ‘If they could come all the way from America to Ethiopia to teach us, someday I might be able to go to America.’”

Giorgis is one of six siblings in a family that placed a high value on education and helping others.

“We didn’t have much to brag about economically, but we believed in hard work and that if you worked hard you would somehow be rewarded. We had this unconditional optimism and we wanted to go as far as we could go,” he said.

After thriving at his high school, Giorgis attended Addis Ababa University, the first university in Ethiopia, to earn his bachelor’s degree in psychology.

In 1987, Giorgis lived out his dreams. Through the Baylor University Third World Scholarship, he traveled from Ethiopia to Waco, Texas, to pursue his master’s degree.

“It was the beginning of the second phase in my life, a huge turning point, and a tremendous opportunity,” he said.

Next, Giorgis came to The University of Iowa College of Education to earn his doctorate in the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation, and Student Development.

“To this day, I couldn’t find a program stronger or better than the UI’s College of Education counselor education program,” he said. “When I saw that program, I thought, ‘This is the program for me.’”

Giorgis is now a professor of psychology and counseling at Chicago State University. After serving as chair of his department for six years and coordinator of the graduate program, now Giorgis is striving to provide opportunities like the ones he’s enjoyed to others in Ethiopia by developing a partnership between the UI College of Education and his African alma mater.

“I strongly believe education has no boundaries,” Giorgis said. “If we put two fine institutions to work together, you know something good is bound to happen. This is the century of globalism and education should take the lead.”

Giorgis’s plan features two main components. First, UI College of Education professors will travel to Ethiopia and serve as visiting professors at AAU. Second, high-achieving master’s students and faculty at AAU will travel to Iowa to earn their Ph.D.s.

“One of AAU’s biggest challenges is a serious shortage of Ph.D. holders,” Giorgis said.

“At Addis Adaba University, which claims to have the best-trained educators in the country, Ph.D. holders constitute only 25 percent of the academic staff. Addressing this issue will be the primary focus of the proposed link between the two universities.”

Professor Dennis R. Maki, chair of the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation, and Student Development, will be the first UI professor to travel to Africa as part of this partnership.

He said he’s proud to be part of Giorgis’ plan.

“Tadesse is an inspiring, generous man with a vision toward the future,” Maki said. “He has the capacity to bring people together, and in this situation, bring graduate programs together to enrich and enhance the research, teaching, and service agendas in the name of globalization.”