Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
We currently have 57 scholars, and We hope to recruit 17 scholars to be added to the scholarship program based on ourcurrent budget. To be more competitive with other institutions in the region and to attract the caliber of students desired to meetthe goals of the 1890 Scholarships, 1890 The scholarship committee deemed it necessary to increase scholarship amounts,reduce the number of scholarship recipients, start recruiting early, and be more intentional about marketing 1890Scholarships. At the beginning of fall 2021, 1890The scholarships program offered new scholarships for $20,000.00 annually to top recruits who have a minimumof 3.2GPA, 980 SAT or equivalent 21 ACT score(later reduced to 19), and students with 3.0-3.199 with 980 SAT or 19 ACT score willreceive $10,000 annually. Other scholarships will be offered to students with a GPA of 2.8 or higher and no ACT score in the nfollowing categories: $8,000.00 and $6,000.00. Those students with partial 1890 scholarships are expected to complementother financial sources such as Pell Grants, federally-backed student loans, foundational scholarships, churches, and othersimilar financial resources. In-state students may also be eligible for Arkansas Lottery and Arkansas Game and FishCommission (AGFC) Conservation Scholarships. As for systems and mechanisms to collect program data, awards are trackedwith a simple spreadsheet that contains each award recipient (i.e.,Scholar) on a single row, with columns representing different benchmarks achieved (e.g., credits completed through a particularyear, cumulative GPA attained by that year, list of courses not passed, etc.). Should any scholar lose their scholarship for anyreason, funds committed to that scholar will be reconstituted into another award for a scholar in the next cohort.Strategies for Evaluating Program Success ReportScholars ' annual retention and graduation rates will be tracked and compared to UAPB averages and, when possible, regionaland national averages (e.g., Food and Agricultural Education and Information System [FAEIS]). Within NIFA, it should bepossible to compare retention and graduation rates of these scholarship programs across the different 1890 institutions.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
Major goals of the projectThe objectives of this proposal are to increase student enrollment, improve retention, and support degree completion in Food,Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Human Science (FANH) degree programs in the School of Agriculture, Fisheries & HumanSciences (SAFHS) at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). Over the next several years, manyprofessionals will retire from the food and agricultural sciences industries. Highly skilled young professionals will be needed to fillthese vacant positions. Food and agriculture professionals rely on research-based knowledge to develop and extend innovativesolutions to serious problems facing our nation's agriculture markets. A long-term goal of UAPB is to develop and contribute tothe next generation of scientists trained in FANH fields. One approach to accomplishing this goal is by introducing students tothe FANH sciences early in their collegiate careers to address this critical workforce deficiency. Specifically, the 1890The scholarship program proposed herein addresses critical workforce needs by expanding opportunities for career development to universitystudents across multiple academic disciplines in the FANH industries. Between 2015 and 2020, it isexpected that there will be an average of 57,900 openings in these areas annually. However, only 35,400 students withagriculture-related degrees are expected to graduate during this period, leaving a 39% gap of jobs unfilled (Goecker et al. 2015).The lack of a trained workforce in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environmental and human sciences willgreatly limit the industry's ability to feed 9.8 billion people worldwide by 2050. Therefore, a concerted effort should be made tointroduce high school graduates and college freshmen to degrees, careers, and opportunities in the FANH and related sciences.To achieve this end, 1890 Land Grant institutions will play a vital role in preparing the next generation of FANH scientists,especially those students from underrepresented groups. The 1890 institutions offer a broad array of agriculture and foodindustry majors and have the opportunity to introduce students to the many opportunities available in these fields.
Project Methods
The scholarship program will have an overall Program Coordinator. Each semester, the Program Coordinator will schedule two.meetings with the mentors and two with the mentees (one at the beginning and another at the end of each semester). At theAt the beginning of each academic year, a meet and greet social (Mixer) will be hosted for program mentors and mentees.Mentees (scholars) will be required to utilize all of the University's academic resources for students, including the StudentSuccess Center (SSC) and career services. The SSC provides tutoring, math, and writing support services, and it organizesvarious workshops dedicated to strategies for student success.Mentoring plan for scholarsSelected scholars will be assigned mentors with closely aligned interests as much as possible. This will occur immediately afterthey are accepted into the program. These duties will include but not be limited to course selection/sequencing/scheduling;guidance in networking, pursuing internships, attending conferences, and other professional development activities; andassisting with pursuing an eventual FANH career (e.g., writing recommendation letters, serving as a reference, etc.). Inaddition, scholars will be required to utilize all of the University's academic resources for new students, including the StudentSuccess Center (SSC). The SSC provides tutoring, math, and writing support services and organizes various workshopsdedicated to strategies for student success. In addition, program mentors and relevant UAPB administrators will meet annuallyat the beginning of each school year for a general briefing of the program's structure and expectations. This meeting will beorganized as a small social event so that new and continuing scholars and mentors can all meet each other.Additionally, external mentors will inspire the collegiate experience and foster professional connections in their areas of interest.Specifically, external mentors will provide the following:• Host seminars to convey the importance of HBCU 1890 land-grant institutions.• Promote community engagement and linkages.• Promote an understanding of the uniqueness of the Arkansas region.• Promote a general understanding of the various schools of SAFHS, including agriculture, fisheries, and humansciences.• Connect scholars to resources, such as food and farm service agencies.• Support students with interpersonal and leadership development• Integrate scholars into fields of interest• Link scholars with internships/assistantshipsListed below are some of the various types of external mentors: Types of External MentorsLocal Community Agency ContactsUSDAUAPB AlumniNRCSInternship/ Assistantship CoordinatorsPublic/ Private AgenciesDissemination of existing career development activities that will provide scholars with broad exposure to careers in thefood and agricultural sciences.All UAPB departments with FANH degree programs (Agriculture, Human Sciences, and Aquaculture and Fisheries) willdevelop an email list for distribution of announcements, including scholarships, internships, student work opportunities, andmany other such items to all scholars. Although sometimes considered an outdated form of communication, email is stillsuperior to text messaging apps such as Instagram Twitter for sending detailed information, concise instructions, and fileattachments. Scholars also will be encouraged to manage their email accounts so items are not lost or misfiled. Another careerdevelopment strategy will be to develop a seminar series where on-campus and off-campus guest speakers will overview FANHcareers andfuture job prospects.Mechanisms for monitoring scholar progress and performanceScholars and mentors are expected to see each other regularly, and thus, communication should not be difficult. Scholarperformance will be monitored using University resources such as Dashboard, Blackboard, and/or AVISO asappropriate. Mentors will provide brief mid-term and final reports on each scholar's performance to the SAFHS dean and otherprogram leaders. Scholars will provide reports outlining their accomplishments and/orachievements at the end of each semester.Dissemination of opportunities for professionalization, e.g., workshops, meetings, etc.The emails will be used to disseminate announcements concerning various professionaldevelopment activities. First, scholars will be encouraged to participate in campus student clubs, particularly thoseassociated with FANH majors. Second, in addition to on-campus trainings and workshops (e.g., those organized by the SSC),scholars will be encouraged to attend events such as UAPB's annual Research Forum and SAFHS's Rural Life Conference.Finally, scholars will be assisted in pursuing student travel grants to attend off-campus scientific conferences. Many professionalorganizations offer travel grants exclusively for students, examples of which include the American Associationof Family & Consumer Sciences, Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE), American Society of AnimalScience, Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, American Fisheries Society, and World Aquaculture Society.Dissemination of information, experiential learning, and/or other opportunities that will broaden the engagement andcommunication skills of scholars.Emails will be used to disseminate announcements concerning various internships andother experiential learning opportunities. With the assistance of mentors, scholars will be encouraged to secure summerinternship opportunities while in school on scholarship instead of simply returning home. Internships are valuableopportunities for undergraduate students that support many forms of professional development, including high levels ofexperiential learning. At a minimum, internships greatly increase the engagement of scholars within their chosen career fields,withgood prospects of permanent, and sometimes non-competitive, employment following graduation. In addition, students engagedwith their career fields through internships often complete a significant amount of oral presentation and writing, whichenhances communication skills. Professional development in the above areas is essential to successfully pursuinggraduatestudy following graduation.