Hiram Larew, 2016 recipient of OSU Alumni Fellow award

 

Hiram Larew

About Dr. Hiram Larew

Since earning two degrees from Oregon State University (an MS in Botany and Plant Pathology in 1977 and a PhD in Entomology in 1981) Dr. Hiram Larew rose to prominence in the science, policy, and management of the US Government’s international agricultural sciences programs.

From 1998 until his retirement in February 2015, Dr. Larew served as Director of International Programs at the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture. He transformed international agricultural science programs into models for sustainable development overseas by fostering partnerships between American university, business, government and charitable organizations to assist countries around the world. Dr. Larew directed programs in sustainable development and food in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere. He helped launch an agricultural partnership with India and guided programs to revive extension and help food research in Iraq. Dr. Larew has won the hearts and minds of people around the world by helping to fill empty stomachs.    

 Dr. Larew has had a path of distinction in science, policy, and management of agricultural programs. Dr. Larew distinguished himself early in scientific discovery and policy. He is first author on a book published from his work at Oregon State University “Common insect and mite galls of the Pacific Northwest” (1983); he invented a novel method of insect and disease control using a plant-derived seed extract that was co-patented with W.R. Grace, Inc. As an AAAS Diplomacy Fellow, he advised the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on international programs in Integrated Pest Management (IPM). He added to these achievements by (1) informing the political process as a Brookings Institution LEGIS Congressional Fellow (Office of U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer) (2) managing very large research programs at USAID ($ 350 million) and creating a prototype evaluation tool for the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health  to evaluate strengths and weakness of its $300 million grant portfolio, and (3) promoting the US positions on sustainability in international discussions at the United Nations.

Dr. Larew’s publications symbolize the breadth of his scholarship with over 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals, popular magazines, and books.

Poetry

In addition to his contributions as an agricultural scientist, Dr. Larew is an accomplished and decorated poet.

From a recent interview with Grace Cavalieri,host of "The Poet and the Poem from the Library of Congress", she provides a synopsis of his work as follows: “Hiram Larew’s poetry has appeared in more than 100 journals and books such as Rhino, Ars Poetica, Poet’s Corner, and Innisfree. His poems have received numerous awards, including three Pushcart nominations and first prizes from Louisiana Literature, the Washington Review, and Baltimore’s ArtScape festival."

Link to Podcast “The Poet and the Poem” from the Library of Congress hosted by Grace Cavalieri: 

http://wayback.archive-it.org/5183/20160711193700/https://www.loc.gov/poetry/media/avfiles/poet-poem-hiram-larew.mp3

His third collection, a chapbook titled Utmost, was published in 2016 by I. Giraffe Press. He has written and revised poetry while at the Weymouth Center in North Carolina, Bread Loaf Writers Conference, Rope Walk, the Catskills Poetry Conference, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and he has organized a number of poetry events that feature the diversity of voices in the greater D.C. area.  He is a member of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Poetry Board, and his poetry papers are held in the Washington Writers’ Archive at George Washington University’s Gelman Library.”

Global Experiences Fund

The Global Experience Fund was established in 2012 by Dr. Larew who recently retired as director of the Center for International Programs in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In this role, and as a policy adviser at U.S. Agency for International Development, he spent years traveling in developing countries, guiding programs in Afghanistan, Armenia, Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Nicaragua, South Africa, and more.

The international bug bit early in Hiram’s professional career, he reflects – with no pun intended. Born in Indiana, he came to Oregon State as a master’s student in botany and plant pathology, going on to earn a doctorate in entomology. He moved to the Washington, D.C., area for his first job with the USDA, where he studied insects that attack ornamental crops. As he searched for solutions, he became aware of insecticides based on neem seeds, a plant native to India.

“I began to appreciate that there might be knowledge and approaches used overseas that are unknown here,” he says. “While the U.S. has a great deal to offer the world, we also have a great deal to learn from our international colleagues, whether in Bolivia, Belgium, or Botswana. It is essential that students enter the world of work with the skill base, the competencies, the overall global awareness to effectively work with colleagues around the world.

“There’s a sense that only the privileged who have resources get to go,” he adds, but that has to change. The Global Experience Fund provides opportunities for students regardless of financial capability.  (Read more...)

 

The College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University is Oregon's principal source of knowledge relating to agricultural and food systems, and a major source of knowledge regarding environmental quality, natural resources, life sciences, and rural economies and communities worldwide. The College provides undergraduate and graduate education leading to baccalaureate and graduate degrees, and extended education programs throughout Oregon and beyond. Its research programs create knowledge to solve problems and to build a knowledge base for the future. It is a source of information and expertise in integrating and applying knowledge with benefits that are felt in domestic and international settings.

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