NW Missouri Times

Northwest Missouri State University is set to host Dr. Omar Tesdell, an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Birzeit University in Palestine. The event will take place on Monday, October 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Charles Johnson Theater located within the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building. The lecture is free and open to the public, with doors opening at 7 p.m.

Dr. Tesdell will deliver a presentation titled “Agricultural Innovation in Moments of Crisis: Notes from the Fertile Crescent.” His research focuses on developing climate-adapted and resilient agricultural landscapes. "One of the charges of the Distinguished Lecture Series is to give people a global look at what’s going on in the world outside of our specific corner of Missouri," stated Luke Rolfes, chair of the Distinguished Lecture Series and assistant professor of English at Northwest.

Dr. Tesdell founded the Ardeea project aimed at transforming agricultural and community landscapes. He collaborates with researchers from The Land Institute based in Salina, Kansas. Additionally, he serves as editor for Barari, an open science platform dedicated to sharing knowledge about wild food and plants from communities worldwide. He has also edited “Palestinian Wild Food Plants,” an Arabic-English guide produced by a community-based research collective.

A Palestinian-American raised in rural Midwest America, Dr. Tesdell holds a Ph.D. in geography and sustainable agriculture from the University of Minnesota and was a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University in New York.

“I think having that moment where we get to see something totally different - that maybe we haven’t thought about and just get a perspective of someone living in an area of conflict trying to do the best they can – can be really interesting for people living in the middle of the country,” Rolfes commented.

The Distinguished Lecture Series aims to enrich academic life through both individual discipline-focused topics and interdisciplinary discussions. Supported by Northwest's Office of the Provost and Student Activities Council, it provides opportunities for students and local residents to hear insights from notable figures worldwide.