Nicaraguan university inspired by Kirkwood Community College

IOWA CITY – When Carroll Harrison of Nicaragua was asked earlier this year whether there was anywhere in particular he wanted to visit in the United States, he said yes, Iowa City.

That's because he had been to Iowa City and Cedar Rapids in 1998 as part of a U.S. State Department exchange program. He co-founded a Nicaraguan university, and what he saw at Cedar Rapids-based Kirkwood Community College inspired him to help start a community college program back home in 2001.

With it taking about six years to get a bachelor's degree in Nicaragua, he thought, “If we could put students out in two years, it would be very good in terms of time and cost.”

Harrison spoke Monday at a luncheon lecture hosted by the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council at Iowa City's Congregational Church.

Harrison is again in the United States as part of the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program's “Gold Stars' Tours.” IVLP, as it's called, is a professional exchange program that includes short-term visits to the U.S. for foreign leaders in a variety of fields, according to the program's website.

Harrison is one of a select group of IVLP alumni who was asked to return to the U.S. because of the significant achievements they have made. In Harrison's case, that's the community college program.

Harrison is the co-founder of Bluefields Indian & Caribbean University, the first university on the Atlantic coast side of the Central American nation of Nicaragua. He is now director of university extensions and research.

The Atlantic side is the more disadvantaged part of the country, he said, and the school serves the indigenous population, people of African descent and others without the means to go to school elsewhere.

Tuition is $20 per semester, and some students struggle even to pay that, he said.

He said touring Kirkwood Community College in 1998 was eye-opening. He brought back to his colleagues what he calls the “short program” concept, and there are now seven areas for students to study: agro-farming, business administration, construction, nursing, marine biology, mining and seamen (for people who work on fishing and tourist boats).

Harrison said he visited Kirkwood again on this trip and got an update on its programs.

“I hope with this experience, I can also make some improvements at my university,” he said.