Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:This project's target audiences encompassed a diverse range of individuals, groups, and communities within the food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. Specifically, the project aimed to serve students, educators, industry partners, and underrepresented groups, including racial and ethnic minorities and the socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged. This project recognized the need to bridge the gap in access to higher education. It provided targeted support for students with exceptional potential who lacked the financial resources to pursue a degree in agricultural sciences. One primary audience was undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Agriculture at TSU. Special attention was given to those demonstrating significant academic promise but facing financial barriers. By providing funding through the TSU 1890 Scholarship program, the project empowered students from historically marginalized communities, including racial and ethnic minorities, first-generation college students, and students from rural or underserved urban areas. The scholarships not only reduced financial burdens but also opened pathways for these students to engage in formal education, laboratory instruction, and practical training, thereby equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary for future success in agricultural and natural resource fields. Another key audience included educational institutions, educators, and TSU College of Agriculture faculty members. The project emphasized developing and implementing innovative mentoring, teaching methodologies, and experiential learning opportunities promoting high-impact educational practices. Faculty members were targeted through professional development programs, workshops, and training to improve pedagogy and effectively integrate inclusive practices to support diverse learners. The project also focused on community organizations, industry partners, and stakeholders. These groups played an essential role in creating students' internships, mentorship, and employment opportunities. The project fostered strong partnerships that enhanced experiential learning for students through internships, practicums, and research experiences. This approach helped create a more integrated pathway from education to the workforce, ensuring students were prepared with hands-on experiences matching industry needs. In summary, this project's target audiences included undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture, educational institutions and faculty members, community organizations, industry partners, and the broader community. Through a combination of scholarships, curriculum development, experiential learning, extension, and outreach, the project provided science-based knowledge and opportunities that promoted student success, workforce development, and equity in the food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. Changes/Problems:The only factors that impacted the grant/project were the COVID-19 pandemic and increased tuition costs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?To achieve objective (3), "Increase opportunities to engage, retain, mentor, train and graduate scholars with scientific, technical and professional competencies in food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences within four years," the College of Agriculture provided the following training opportunities for students in our scholarship program. Participation in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) cluster and national conference -- a career development opportunity. Scholars were also required to attend professional development opportunities hosted by the College ofAgriculture. Scholars participated in the Summer Apprenticeship Program. The Summer Apprenticeship is the College's bridge program for high schoolstudents. Scholars were selected and participated in the Agriculture Future of America Leaders Conference and LeadersInstitutes. In coordination with the Office of Student Affairs, scholars participated in the Freshmen Innovation Council -- a student retention and leadership program for first-year students. Scholars participated in Men's Initiative and Student GovernmentAssociation. Scholars completed internships and undergraduate researchexperiences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An Awardee Profile Summary for the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023, 2023-2024 Academic Years has been created and disseminated to faculty, staff, and alums of Tennessee State University. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project sought funding to extend education and opportunity to students who showed exceptional promise but needed more financial support to pursue a baccalaureate in the food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. In the spring of 2020, Tennessee State University's College of Agriculture began its effort to increase its capacity by successfully recruiting and retaining high-quality undergraduates. The College established a Scholarship Selection Committee, successfully launched its program, and awarded full-ride and partial scholarships. Using Tinto's Integration Model, accessible academic and support services were offered to the scholars. The Scholarship Leadership Team hosted monthly "Pulse Checks" meetings as students navigated online learning and transitioned back to campus. Additionally, scholars were paired with faculty and peer mentors to participate in the Dean's Scholars undergraduate research program. The Dean's Office hosted professional development seminars to develop the scholars' communication, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, and scholars were assisted in participating in external career/professional development training programs. Moreover, the project implemented and delivered high-impact practices such as intrusive advising, interdisciplinary collaborations, networking opportunities, and other silo-destroying activities. Scholars participated in undergraduate research, attended conferences, and participated in study abroad programs. Overall, the program effectively prepared students for the workforce and graduate school.
Publications
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Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:This project seeks to provide funding to extend education and opportunity to students who show exceptional promise but lack financial support to pursue a baccalaureate degree in the food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. Changes/Problems:Co-PI Lauren Kennedy is no longer employed at Tennessee State University. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?To achieve objective (3), "Increase opportunities to engage, retain, mentor, train and graduate scholars with scientific, technical and professional competencies in food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences within four years," the College of Agriculture provided the following training opportunities for students in our scholarship program. Participation in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) cluster and national conference -- a career development opportunity. Scholars were also required to attend professional development opportunities hosted by the College of Agriculture. Scholars participated in the Summer Apprenticeship Program. The Summer Apprenticeship is the College's bridge program for high school students. Scholars were selected and participated in the Agriculture Future of America Leaders Conference and Leaders Institute. In coordination with the Office of Student Affairs, scholars participated in the Freshmen Innovation Council -- a student retention and leadership program for first-year students. Scholars participated in Men's Initiative and Student Government Association. Scholars completed internships and undergraduate research opportunities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An Awardee Profile Summary for the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 Academic Years has been created and disseminated to faculty, staff, and alums of Tennessee State University. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue our monthly meetings with current scholars through our formal peer-to-peer and faculty-student mentoring programs. Additionally, we will evaluate applications and select our next cohort of scholars. We will begin disseminating information to prospective students, other educational programs, interested researchers, and educators through dedicated websites and social media outlets.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project seeks funding to extend education and opportunity to students who show exceptional promise but need more financial support to pursue a baccalaureate degree in the food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. In the Spring of 2020, Tennessee State University's College of Agriculture began its effort to increase the College's capacity by successfully recruiting and retaining high-quality undergraduates. The College established a Scholarship Selection Committee, successfully launched its scholarship program, and awarded both full-ride and partial scholarships.Using Tinto's Integration Model, we offered accessible academic and support services to our scholars. The Scholarship Leadership Team hosted monthly meetings, "Pulse Checks," as students navigated online learning and navigated back to campus. Additionally, scholars were paired with faculty and peer mentors to participate in our Dean's Scholars undergraduate research program. To develop our scholars' communication, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, we hosted professional development seminars and assisted our scholars in participating in external career/professional development training programs. Moreover, we implemented and delivered high-impact practices such as intrusive advising, interdisciplinary collaborations, networking opportunities, and other silo-destroying activities.
Publications
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Progress 06/01/21 to 05/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:This project seeks to provide funding to extend education and opportunity to students who show exceptional promise,but lack financial support to pursue a baccalaureate degree in the food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. Changes/Problems:Co-PI Lauren Kennedy is no longer employed at Tennessee State University. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?To achieve objective (3), "Increase opportunities to engage, retain, mentor, train and graduate scholars with scientific, technical and professional competencies in food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences within four years," the College of Agriculture provided the following training opportunities for students in our scholarship program. • Participation in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) cluster and national conference -- a career development opportunity. Scholars were also required to attend professional development opportunities hosted by the College of Agriculture. • Scholars participated in the Summer Apprenticeship Program. The Summer Apprenticeship is the College's bridge program for high school students. • Scholars were selected and participated in the Agriculture Future of America Leaders Conference and Leaders Institute. • In coordination with the Office of Student Affairs, scholars participated in the Freshmen Innovation Council -- a student retention and leadership program for first-year students. Scholars participated in Men's Initiative and Student Government Association. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An Awardee Profile Summary for the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 Academic Years has been created and disseminated to faculty, staff, and alums of Tennessee State University. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to launch the 2023 AY Scholarship application packet during the next reporting period. We will continue our monthly meetings with current scholars through our formal peer-to-peer and faculty-student mentoring programs. Additionally, we will evaluate applications and select our next cohort of scholars. We will begin disseminating information to prospective students, other educational programs, interested researchers, and educators through dedicated websites and social media outlets.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the Spring of 2020, Tennessee State University's College of Agriculture began its effort to increase the College's capacity by successfully recruiting and retaining high-quality undergraduates. The College established a Scholarship Selection Committee, successfully launched its scholarship program, and awarded both full-ride and partial scholarships. Using Tinto's Integration Model, we offered accessible academic and support services to our scholars. The Scholarship Leadership Team hosted monthly meetings, "Pulse Checks," as students navigated online learning and navigated back to campus. Additionally, scholars were paired with faculty and peer mentors to participate in our Dean's Scholars undergraduate research program. To develop our scholars' communication, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, we hosted professional development seminars and assisted our scholars in participating in external career/professional development training programs. Moreover, we implemented and delivered high-impact practices such as intrusive advising, interdisciplinary collaborations, networking opportunities, and other silo-destroying activities.
Publications
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Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:This project seeks to provide funding to extend education and opportunity to students who show exceptional promise, butlack financial support to pursue a baccalaureate degree in the food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. Changes/Problems:Co-PI Lauren Kennedy is no longer employed at Tennessee State University. COIVD-19 impacted student's ability to attend classes in-person and attend in-person events. Currently, we are offering programming, classes and professional development events in-person and virtually. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?To achieve objective (3), "Increase opportunities to engage, retain, mentor, train and graduate scholars with scientific, technical and professional competencies in food, agricultural and natural resource sciences within four years," the College of Agriculture provided the following training opportunities for students in our scholarship program. Participation in the Virtual Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) cluster -- a career development opportunity. Scholars participated in a virtual panel hosted by the National Pest Management Association, TSU Alumni, and participated in the Summer Apprenticeship Program. The Summer Apprenticeship is the College's bridge program for high school students. Scholars were selected and participated in the 2020/21Agriculture Future of America Leaders Conference and Leaders Institute. In coordination with the Office of Student Affairs, scholars participated in the Freshmen Innovation Council -- astudent retention and leadership program for first-year students. Scholars participated in Men's Initiative and Student Government Association. Scholars were selected and particated in summer experiential experiencessuch as NSF REU, USDA REEU, Federal and industry internships. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An Awardee Profile Summary for the 2020-2021 and2021-2022 Academic Year has beencreated, and disseminated to faculty,staff and alumni of Tennessee State University. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the nextreporting period, we plan to launch the 2022 AY Scholarship application packet. We will continue our monthly meetings with current scholars through our formal peer-to-peerand faculty-studentmentoringprograms. Additionally, we will evaluate applications and select our next cohort of scholars. We will begin to disseminate information to prospective students and other educational programs, interested researchers and other educators through dedicated website and socialmedia outlets.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the Spring of 2020, Tennessee State University's College of Agriculture began its effort to increase the capacity of the college by successfully recruiting and retaining high-quality undergraduates. The College established a Scholarship Selection Committee, and successfully launched its scholarship program. As a result, we received over 130applications, and selected 42high-quality students for our scholarship program. The college has awarded27full-ride, last dollar scholarships and 15partial scholarships. Using Tinto's Integration Model, we offered accessible academic and support services to our scholars. The Scholarship Leadership Team hosted monthly meetings, "Pulse Checks," as students navigated online learning and navigating back to campus. Additionally, scholars were paired with faculty and peer mentors to participate in our Dean's Scholars undergraduate research program. To develop the communication, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills of our scholars, we hosted professional development seminars and assisted our scholars in participating in external career/professional development training programs. Moreover, we implemented and delivered high-impact practices such as intrusive advising, interdisciplinary collaborations, networking opportunities, and other silo-destroying activities.
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