Katherine Snyder, MDP Director
Tim Finan, UA MDP Co-Founder
I am both elated and humbled to have led the Master of Development Practice (MDP) program at the University of Arizona (UA). For many years, numerous faculty and students at our university have dedicated themselves to reducing the grinding impacts of global poverty; defining the pathways to enhanced well-being for the under-resourced and unlucky; advancing the urgent need for social and economic justice; and raising the awareness of basic human rights. Through teaching, applied research and practice, UA has embraced its responsibilities in the global community to which it belongs. The UA MDP represents a milestone in this effort, a point around which the expertise and experience our diverse faculty and student body can coalesce and mobilize.
The University of Arizona is a public, land-grant institution of higher learning with a mission of service to both communities of knowledge and communities of practice. Located in the desert that links the US to Mexico, our global commitment is as much a mission as it is a matter of history and tradition. In the academic areas that have firmly rooted our reputation—environment, health, science and engineering, social sciences, law—the University has always looked outward across borders to the broader global community, and the MDP here at Arizona takes full advantage of the deep tradition of teaching, research and applied practice that has earned Arizona its international distinction.
Our MDP is founded in the MDP Global Network, which envisions the development practitioner as a broadly-trained, multi-talented individual who combines a solid knowledge base with a skill set honed in the reality of field experience. At the same time, we feel that our MDP adds unique value with its distinct Arizona character. We are particularly keen on our partnerships with TANGO International, a highly-regarded development assistance firm located here in Tucson, and with the range of international institutions in Africa, Latin America, and Asia which participate in our program.
The MDP at Arizona carries the promise that our university assures the quality of this learning-in-action experience and exposes our MDP students to the best of what we offer. I am confident that our MDP graduates will leave the University ready to engage and make contributions, with their professional credentials already established. The MDP program is a big moment for us at UA, the culmination of much effort and reflection, and we invite all of you to share in our success as it prepares the development practitioners of the future.
Tim Finan, MDP Founding Director