UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. —  Edwin Sabuhoro, assistant professor of recreation, park, and tourism management and African studies, has been named the Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor in Global Health.

Sabuhoro’s research focuses on providing evidence-based data to community leaders, park managers, and policymakers in East Africa’s Virunga area (at the geographic intersection of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Serengeti ecosystem area (Tanzania and Kenya). These data, including information related to health, food, education, and finances, help leaders and policymakers make informed decisions on the physical and economic health of their communities and the wildlife areas that surround them.

“These issues affect their communities’ well-being, cause health-related physical and psychological challenges, and lead to environmental degradation that significantly impacts East Africa’s iconic wildlife species, including mountain gorillas, an endangered species; African lions, which are vulnerable to extinction; and African forest elephants, which are critically endangered.”

“This professorship will help me develop new partnerships and connections, allowing me to further collaborate with indigenous communities, researchers, students, and policymakers,” said Sabuhoro, who plans to use the funds from this three-year appointment to support existing and new partnerships in East African communities. “This will enable me to carry out significant research that will benefit the health and livelihoods of individuals within indigenous communities, which will, in turn, create incentives for them to preserve their environment sustainably.”

According to Peter Newman, department head and Martin Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, “Edwin Sabuhoro is a passionate and creative conservationist, researcher, and teacher. His work with park-adjacent communities in places like Rwanda has shown that addressing community health and well-being is key in creating community partnerships toward collaborative conservation and the protection of mountain gorillas. This professorship will help him continue to build his impactful program of research and elevates the global impact of our department by combining science and education to improve society.”

Sabuhoro joined the departments of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and African Studies at Penn State University Park in 2020. He is also a faculty affiliate with the Penn State Sustainability Institute and the Center for Responsible Travel. Prior to his appointment at Penn State, Sabuhoro was a post-doctoral fellow at Clemson University and an affiliate professor at Colorado State University. He also worked as a lecturer at the African Leadership University in Rwanda, teaching courses on wildlife conservation, natural resources management, and governance.

The Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professorship in Global Health, along with two other early career professorships in the College of Health and Human Development, were established by the late Ann Atherton Hertzler, who earned her degree in home economics from Penn State in 1957. Hertzler was a professor emerita of human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Tech University. The endowments provide faculty members in the first decade of their careers with funds to improve their research and teaching and support their professional development. Their impact extends to students too, as professors often use such funds to hire undergraduate and graduate students as research or teaching assistants, or to cover students’ independent research or professional travel.