Delaware State University in Dover has announced the establishment of a new Economic Development Leadership Institute to nurture future global business leaders from the university’s student population. Four Delaware State students have been selected to be the inaugural fellows.
Over the course of their two-year fellowships, students will take six courses. Junior Fellows will be placed in an internship during the summer following their first year. Senior Fellows will be afforded an opportunity to travel abroad to countries in Western Africa to apply their economic development knowledge to real-life development efforts.
The new initiative will be under the direction of Michael Casson, director of the Delaware State University Center for Economic Development and International Trade. Dr. Casson has stated that the goal on the institute is “to provide underrepresented students with theoretical, practical and experiential learning in the field of economic development while introducing and cultivating the tenants of effective leadership in developing economies both domestic and abroad.”
Dr. Casson is a graduate of Florida A&M University. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Connecticut.
