Source: TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
EMPOWERING GLOBAL LEADERS WITH INTEGRATED THINKING: MORAL RESILIENCE OF SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE UNDERREPRESENTED UNDERGRADUATE POPULATION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1031371
Grant No.
2024-38413-41464
Cumulative Award Amt.
$192,575.00
Proposal No.
2023-05715
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Nov 15, 2023
Project End Date
Nov 14, 2026
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[KF]- Multicultural Scholars
Recipient Organization
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
LUBBOCK,TX 79409
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Critical human virtues, moral values, and ethics play a crucial role in effective leadership. Therefore, fostoering a sense of right and wrong and guiding individuals' behavior toward the greater good is essential in higher education, especially in the context of sustainability. Therefore, this study aims to cultivate global leaders with integrated thinking (IT) skills in the context of the moral resilience of sustainability (MRoS) in food and agricultural sciences. This project goal is directly aligned with the MSP program purpose and priorities including global engagement, leadership skills development and incorporating social sicence and enhancing impacts. The specific objectives of this study include 1) identifying MSP Scholars among undergraduate students in a diverse population, 2) providing experiential learning that focuses on the MRoS, 3) developing multicultural global leaders with IT skills and a greater level of MRoS, 4) distributing the knowledge and application of MRoS to broader and diverse undergraduate student population and communities, and 5) evaluating the short-term and long-term outcomes of the project. We will accomplish the objectives by developing clear MSP Scholar selection criteria and supervising the progress of the MSP Scholars throughout the project. The MSP Scholars will produce case studies and vlogs from their supply chain field trips as deliverables of this project. The one-to-one and group mentoring from faculty and industry professionals will support the MSP Scholars in achieving their goals and reach their full potential. Also, the evaluator will measure the effectiveness of the MSP training and provide suggestions for improvement.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6045199310040%
4035110302030%
6011719302030%
Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 403 - Waste Disposal, Recycling, and Reuse; 604 - Marketing and Distribution Practices;

Subject Of Investigation
5110 - Clothing/apparel; 1719 - Cotton, other; 5199 - Clothing and textiles, general;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education; 3100 - Management;
Goals / Objectives
This study aims to build global leaders with integrated thinking (IT) skills in the context of the moral resilience of sustainability (MRoS) in food and agricultural sciences. The specific objectives of this study include 1) identifying multicultural scholars (MSP Scholars) among undergraduate students in a diverse population, 2) providing experiential learning that focuses on the MRoS, 3) developing multicultural global leaders with IT skills and a greater level of MRoS, 4) distributing the knowledge and application of MRoS to broader and diverse undergraduate student population and communities, and 5) evaluating the short-term and long-term outcomes of the project.
Project Methods
This MSP project incorporates proven and effective approaches into programs and services to support the success of MSP Scholars and underrepresented undergraduate populations. We will focus on the following: 1) personalized learning, 2) collaborative learning, 3) active learning, and 4) mentorship and advising. Five MSP Scholars will be selected from diverse backgrounds based on our selection criteria, and we will tailor our project instructions and support to meet the individual needs of each scholar. With the help of one-to-one mentoring, we will be able to implement this personalized learning. Second, we will encourage the scholars to work together and learn from one another through case studies and vlog development. Third, for active learning, we will engage students in hands-on, interactive learning activities that promote critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity from field trips and personal and group assignments and activities. Lastly, mentoring will be provided throughout the three-year project, including one-on-one guidance and support from experienced mentors (i.e., PD and Co-PDs). These activities enhance the quality of education about IT and MRoS, which can lead to improved academic outcomes and the success of our scholars.Evaluation:The evaluation and assessment of the MSP Scholar training include both short-term and long-term goal evaluations. For the short-term goal evaluation, the project director and co-PIs will have an evaluation of the MSP Scholar they are mentoring each semester. This evaluation is based on the progress report submitted by the MSP Scholars as well as the case study and vlog developed by the scholars throughout the project period. The MSP Scholars will also evaluate the experience of experiential learning and training with an anonymous short survey. For the long-term goal evaluation, the external evaluator will evaluate the overall effectiveness of the training program at the end of each year.To evaluate measurable objectives for the impacts of the proposed training to build global leaders with IT skills in the context of the MRoS, developing clear, specific, and measurable goals that could be assessed at various stages of the training process was essential. Thus, we set and assessed our goals in a framework of specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

Progress 11/15/23 to 11/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project consists of multicultural scholars (MSP scholars) from diverse backgrounds. We followed the guidelines of the RFA to recruit five MSP scholars. We strongly encouraged students who met the following criteria to apply: students enrolled in the College of Human Sciences or the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources at Texas Tech University, U.S. citizens or permanent residents, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, demonstrated leadership potential, a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion, career goals aligned with the project's purpose, and students who consider themselves part of an underrepresented group. Recruitment was completed in Spring 2024, and MSP activities startedin Fall 2024. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our five MSP scholars were trained in ESG and sustainability through whole team meetings, small group meetings (mentor-mentee sessions), and a field trip. The training process included experiential learning, research, and professional development with industry professionals, mentors, and peers, as outlined in our project proposal. The MSP scholars had opportunities to conduct research on ESG, sustainability, and the farm they visited, with guidance and support from faculty mentors. Additionally, they had the opportunity to present their findings in various formats (essays, PowerPoint presentations, and videos), which helped strengthen their leadership and public speaking skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next step of our project is to move further along the supply chain in the cotton and fashion industry, specifically to the cotton gin and mills, to understand their ESG and sustainability processes. This will be linked to and analyzed based on the scholars' previous findings from the cotton farm. The same training process will be followed, with one additional component to accomplish: initiating a platform to disseminate the knowledge gained throughout this project. Both critical and creative thinking in sharing their knowledge and applying what they have learned will be key goals for the following year. In addition, we have completed the program evaluation conducted by our five MSP scholars. We will review the feedback to refine and guide the project in a better direction, helping our scholars build their moral resilience in sustainability and global leadership.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? First, we achieved our first objective, "identifying multicultural scholars (MSP Scholars) among undergraduate students in a diverse population," by planning and recruiting five MSP scholars in Spring 2024. The application process was competitive, and three faculty members involved in the project oversaw the rigorous scholar selection process. The selected scholars were invited to the project orientation to learn about the program's goals, what they would gain from it, and what was expected of them. Additionally, we achieved our second objective, "providing experiential learning that focuses on the moral resilience of sustainability," by organizing a field trip experience in Fall 2024. Especially, we foucsed on the envirionmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects of sustianbility.The field trip included reflection essays, a PowerPoint presentation, and short videos. Five MSP scholars, three faculty mentors, and one graduate student visited Broadview Agriculture Inc., a cotton farm. The farm's commitment to regenerative farming methods reflects a deep-rooted philosophy: nurturing the land leads to abundant harvests and a thriving ecosystem. By employing principles such as limited disturbance, soil armor, crop diversity, and integrated animal grazing, Broadview Agriculture not only enhances the vitality of its soil but also fosters a strong community connection through its "farm to table" approach.

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