From student and faculty exchanges to joint research projects, U.S. universities maintain a broad spectrum of collaborative relationships with African universities. It's unclear how many U.S. colleges and universities have partnerships with African universities. The African Studies Association, an organization of scholars, doesn't keep that kind of data. But anecdotal evidence suggests that more colleges and universities are reaching out to counterparts in Africa. Indeed, for several decades, extensive collaborative relationships with African universities have been the province of major research institutions. One of the earliest major collaborations was between Oklahoma State University and an institution of higher learning in Ethiopia that is known today as the Haramaya University. Oklahoma State helped found Haramaya University in Ethiopia in 1954. Dozens of faculty and staff from Oklahoma State helped get the new school with its focus on agriculture off the ground. The university perhaps most celebrated for its partnership with African institutions is Michigan State University (MSU), which during the 2010-2011 school year marked the 50th anniversary of its presence in Africa. MSU kicked off its work in Africa in Nigeria by helping establish the University of Nigeria in the new nation's eastern region.