Galax Resident to Study in South Africa

BLACKSBURG, Va., Jan. 28, 2002 -- James O. Dixon, II, a sophomore studying Agriculture and Applied Economics at Virginia Tech, will spend the coming spring semester at the University of Orange Free State in South Africa.

Dixon is participating in Virginia Tech's exchange program with the university in Bloemfontein, a city of 400,000, in South Africa's Orange Free State. He is the son of Jim and Michele Dixon of Galax and the grandson of Bob and Aileen Nester of Galax, Marie Dixon of Galax, and Barbara Sutphin of Hillsville.

"This exchange program allows students to experience another culture and to study the agriculture system in another region of the world," said John Crunkilton, associate dean of Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "Agriculture is becoming more and more an international industry. Programs such as this prepare our students to be competitive in the global marketplace."

Dixie Watts Reaves, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics, will accompany the Virginia Tech students to South Africa and will help them adjust to studies at the University of Orange Free State.

Students participating in the exchange this semester will experience the South African summer and fall. The term begins in February and ends in June. Selected students from the University of Orange Free State spend the fall semester each year at Virginia Tech.