Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Based on our current budget, sixty-one scholars will be added to the scholarship program. To be more competitive with otherinstitutions in the region and to attract the caliber of students desired to meet the goals of the 1890 Scholarships.The scholarship committee deemed it necessary to increase scholarship amounts, reduce the number of scholarshiprecipients,start recruiting early, and be more intentional about marketing the 1890 Scholarships. The total amount awarded for year onewas $500,000.00. We had thirty-seven scholarship recipients in the fall of 2020. In spring 2021, we had twenty-eightscholarship recipients remaining in the program. In the 2020-2021 academic year, the 1890 Scholarship Program awarded$181,003.00 among thirty-seven recipients, and $420,024.23 was awarded to forty-two 1890 scholarship recipients for the 2021-22 academic year. For 2022-23, 15 additional students were recruited, and for2023-24, 19additional students were recruited. Althoughwe have lost somescholarship recipients, we have funded 91 students in SAFHS.For the remainder of the scholarships from 2023-24, along with the additional discretionary and mandatory funds for 2024-25, SAFHS plans toaward a total of 29 new 1890 scholarships across five award levels in 2024-25: $20,000.00 (8 scholarships), $10,000.00(4 scholarships), $8000.00 (10 scholarships), $6000.00 (2 scholarships), and transfer scholarships (5 scholarships) at $8000.00annually covering only five semesters.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
0%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
The 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, a remarkable number ofprofessionals 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 1890Scholarships Program proposed herein seeks to address critical workforce needs by expanding opportunities to universitystudents across multiple academic disciplines for career development 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 in jobs unfilled (Goecker et al. 2015).A trained workforce in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environmental and human sciences willsignificantly limit the industry's ability to feed 9.8 billion people worldwide by 2050. Therefore, a concerted effort should be madetointroduce 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.The 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, a remarkable number ofprofessionals 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 1890Scholarships Program proposed herein seeks to address critical workforce needs by expanding opportunities to universitystudents across multiple academic disciplines for career development 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 in jobs unfilled (Goecker et al. 2015).A trained workforce in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environmental and human sciences willsignificantly limit the industry's ability to feed 9.8 billion people worldwide by 2050. Therefore, a concerted effort should be madetointroduce 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 twomeetings with the mentors and two with the mentees (one at the beginning and another at the end of each semester). At thebeginning 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/assistantships• 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 to distribute 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 and Twitter for sending detailed information, concise instructions, and fileattachments. Scholars will also be encouraged to manage their email accounts to preserve and maintain items. Anothercareerdevelopment strategy will be to develop a seminar series where on-campus and off-campus guest speakers will overviewFANHcareers and future job prospects.Mechanisms for monitoring scholar progress and performanceScholars and mentors are expected to see each other regularly; thus, communication should be accessible. 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 disseminate announcements concerning a wide variety of professionaldevelopment activities. First, scholars will be encouraged to participate in campus student clubs, particularly thoseassociated with FANH majors. Second, in addition to on-campus training 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 significantly increase the engagement of scholars within their chosen careerfields, 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,enhancing communication skills. Professional development in the above areas is essential to successfully pursuing graduatestudy following graduation.