Source: TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM (TUFASP)
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1022361
Grant No.
2020-38430-31312
Cumulative Award Amt.
$752,632.00
Proposal No.
2020-00979
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Aug 1, 2020
Project End Date
Jul 31, 2024
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[SCST]- 1890s Scholarships
Recipient Organization
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
TUSKEGEE,AL 36088
Performing Department
CAENS
Non Technical Summary
The Tuskegee University Food and Agricultural Scholars Program will be administered by College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences. The goals of the program are to recruit, train and prepare underrepresented minorities to meet workforce or pursue further studies in the food and agricultural sciences. The program will promote these goals by using a multidisciplinary approach which will include innovative of recruiting, mentoring, experiential learning and internship. The program will support major areas Food Agricultural, Natural Resource and Related Sciences with emphasis, in Agribusiness, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Environmental Natural Resources and Plant Sciences and Food and Nutrition Science. The overall goals of the program are to: 1. Increase workforce in underrepresented minority in FANRRS, 2. Increase number of students going to graduate school and school of Veterinary Medicine by training competent students from minority and underrepresented groups. The program seeks to fund 8 students for 4 years to obtain B.S in Animal, Poultry and Veterinary Sciences and Environmental, Natural Resource and Plant Sciences by using a program which incorporates curriculum enhancement, mentoring internships and experiential learning. The program objectives will help meet NIFA strategic goals and objectives well as those of the Academic Competitiveness Council. The anticipated national impact of the program will help to increase the minorities who chose the Food, Agriculture, and Related Sciences as major in TU programs and successfully prepare them to enter the FANRRS careers though offering a comprehensive program that prepares them adequately to enter careers in Food and Agriculture.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
00100010001100%
Knowledge Area
001 - Administration;

Subject Of Investigation
0001 - Administration;

Field Of Science
0001 - Administration;
Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of this project is to develop a pipeline for students, who are adequately prepared to enter careers in the Food, Agriculture, Natural Resourecs and Realted areas (FANRRS). The proposed projectwill attract, train, and retain students in the food and agricultural sciences through a multi-tiered approach that includes mastery of the STEAM areas; exposure to career opportunities, hands-on experiences and projects, mentoring (faculty and advanced students), internships, oral and written presentations and competitions, and training in soft and social skills, including teamwork.Emanating from this primary goal of the TUFASP are efforts to train and prepare graduates to meet workforce needs in the food and agricultural domain, including industry/business, government and academia. The program will promote these goals by using a multidisciplinary approach which will include enhancement of curriculum, mentoring, experiential learning and internships. The program will support three major areas of emphasis, i.e. Agricultural Sciences and Engineering for Bioenergy, Natural Resource Sciences Training and Agrosecurity Science Training. Within these areas of emphasis, the proposed program will focus on major academic program disciplines in Animal Science (A), Conservation and Renewable Natural Resources (C), Soil Sciences (D), Plant Sciences, Environmental Sciences (G) and Food and Nutritional Sciences. The overall objectives of the program are to: 1) Increase the numbers of underrepresented minorities in the workforce, and 2) increase number of underrepresented minority students going to graduate schools in the food and agricultural sciences and into Veterinary Medicine by training competent students from minority and underrepresented groups.
Project Methods
Program objectives will be realized through program emphasis on recruiting, mentoring of students and experiential learning. This project will include a recruitment and selection strategy, based on experience which will attract highly motivated students to the TUFASP. The recruiting strategy which will be used will including updating of our current recruiting brochures to contain information on TUFASP. Teams will make visits to high schools in Alabama and make presentations at their open houses about the programs offered in TU and the availability of TUFASP scholarships. Faculty and recruiting staff will continue to cultivate ongoing relationship with high school counselors and also provide faculty volunteers to make presentations in high schools about the program. Application materials with information on the program will be shared along with other recruiting information provided by the university, the college (CAENS) and university websites will also be updated to inform prospective students of the scholarships aims, availability and the application process.Each scholar will be assigned two co-advisors. At least one of the advisors will be experienced in the field of interest of the student. Both advisors will be accessible for mentoring and encouraging the student. Additionally, two peer mentors (advanced undergraduate, or graduate students) will be assigned to each student to provide perspectives from successful students. All Scholars will be assigned an industry or government mentor in an area of interest of the student. These associations are designed to provide a "mini-village" surrounding each student to support them on their pathway to competence in the food and agricultural sciences.One of the major approachesthat has beendeveloped to ensure adequate preparation for students entering our programs is to develop curricula which integrates all areas of the food, agricultural and related sciences in the first two years and also emphasizes mastery of the STEM areas. In this respect our food and agricultural programs are structured to allow all FANRRS areas to work together. We also work closely with the biology, chemistry and mathematics department to make sure that FANRRS students achieve core competencies in these areas. The College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences offers majors in 1. Agri business, 2. Animal and veterinary Sciences, 3. Environmental Natural Resource and Plant Sciences, and 4. Food and Nutritional Sciences. Each of these majors has different optionsthat allows the students the opportunity to focus on areas of career interest.

Progress 08/01/20 to 06/12/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Students in the TUFASP program and continuing students in the Food, Agriculture and related programs. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As this project is a Scholars program and not just a scholarship, there have been a variety of activities that we have undertaken to support the progress of the scholars. These activities have included academic programs, extracurricular activities, and career-related experiences. Academic programs are those that are related to the Scholars' progress as a student academically and professionally. This has included, but has not been limited to, college programs on different academic and scholarly topics, "soft" or human skills seminars, and workshops and seminars on various topics in food and agriculture. These programs are both scheduled as monthly or bimonthly programs as well as those that are one-time events. Extracurricular activities are those that bolster the students, engage them with their chosen field and provide them with networking opportunities with other students and professionals. This has included, but has not been limited to, involvement with our numerous clubs and organizations at the department, college, and university levels, state, regional, and national conferences and meetings, and our college peer mentoring program. These activities are ongoing, monthly, or annually held. Career-related experiences bring the student a direct connection to employment opportunities and range from thorough preparation for interviewing to actual employment experiences. This has included, but has not been limited to, career day coaching with hiring officers, career fairs with multiple employers, job fairs with one or more employers for specific positions, visits and presentations from USDA agencies and industry representatives, and internships at corporate or government sites. These experiences are year-round. 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? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Funded students participated in a number of programs organized by the college to expose them to the Food and Agricultural Industry. A number of visits by USDA and industry personnel was initiated during the current period. Students received funding ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. A total of thirty students were supported. Of the thirty students, seven students became ineligible for the funding at some time during the project either by withdrawing from the institution or changing their major. The remainder, 23 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in food and agriculture by May 2024. The students graduated in the following areas: Agribusiness, 8; Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 10; Environmental, Natural Resource, and Plant Sciences, 2, and; Food and Nutritional Sciences, 3. Anecdotally, the majority of the Animal and Veterinary Sciences graduates will pursue a professional degree in Veterinary Medicine.

Publications


    Progress 08/01/22 to 07/31/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Students in the TUFASP program and continuing studentsin the Food, Agriculture and related programs. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A number of the funded students participated in local and regional conferences. During career day, Funded students had the opportunity to receive coaching from industry representatives. College also organized some seminars to introduce students to soft 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?Will report on the number of funded students who will be graduating and their placement in Food, Agriculture and Related industry,

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Funded students participated in a number of programs organized by the college to expose them to the Food and Agricultural Industry. A number of visits by USDA and industry personnel was initiated during the current period, The number of students funded were twenty-two, Students received funding ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.

    Publications


      Progress 08/01/21 to 07/31/22

      Outputs
      Target Audience:Undergraduate Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences. Changes/Problems:COVID-19 continued to be a challemge for students. Howevwr we had more progess in reating funded students. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?TUFASP students participated in professional programs offered on campus. Some students were also able to attend Career Fairs offcred by Food and Agricultural companies. 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?Will continue to work with students on career development modules in food and agriculture. Will also increase students exposure to Food and Agricultural industries through internships. Seniors and juniors in the program will be assisted in obtaining internship and jobs in the agriculture, food and related areas.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? About 80% of the initial students are still in the program, Overall enrollment in the Food, Agricultural, Natural Resourcesand Related Sciences have increased since the program was started. The program has also resulted in the increase in the majors that had problems attracting students. The Environmental. Natural Resources and Plant Sciences; Food and Nutrition Sciences and Agri-Business have all seen increase in enrollment. Animal Science continues to have the largest number of students.

      Publications


        Progress 08/01/20 to 07/31/21

        Outputs
        Target Audience:High school students, community college students and students who were recipient of awards. Changes/Problems:Due to COVID-19 restrictions and disruptions, we were not able to complete planned recruitment activities.We also had a number of admitted students not able to attend due to COVID related issues.. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Funded students participated in campus organized seminars and clubs. 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?In the next reporting period, we hope the report on the progress of funded srtudents and funding impact on recruitment and retention.

        Impacts
        What was accomplished under these goals? Thirty-four students were recruited in the areas of Animal Sciences, Agricultural Natural Resources and Plant Sciences, Agri-business and Food and Nutrition Sciences. Overall, there were increases in the enrollment for Animal Sciences, Agri-Business and Food and Nutrition science over the 2019 enrollment,Of the 34 scholarships awarded, 11 were half scholarships and 23 were partial scholarships (less than half),. Over ninety percent of funded students met the minimumGPA requirement to continue in the program.

        Publications