Recipient Organization
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY
820 CHESTNUT ST
JEFFERSON CITY,MO 651023537
Performing Department
Cooperative Research
Non Technical Summary
A prosperous agricultural and food industry is vital to the well-being of United States citizens and the economy. There is strong demand and ample employment opportunity in animal agriculture, especially for individuals with graduate-level training to enhance animal productivity, adapt technology, and increase food security. This project establishes a graduate-level animal science program to recruit, train and support master's students at Lincoln University of Missouri, an 1890s Institution. The specific objective is to provide graduate-level training and confer degrees to six master's students in integrated agricultural systems with projects specializing in the areas of animal science: small ruminant production, outdoor poultry and food-fish production. The fellows will be selected according to the Lincoln University standard graduate enrollment rules and USDA NNF funding criteria with special consideration for underrepresented groups. Selectedfellows would complete 33 credit hours of graduate-level courses, conduct field research, and write a research-based thesis with support from their mentors and advisory committee.Overall, this program will produce a diverse pool of animal science master's graduates with expertise in the TESA and enhance the food animal industry's competitiveness.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
50%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
This project establishes a graduate-level animal science program to recruit, train and support master's students at Lincoln University of Missouri. The specific objective is to provide graduate-level training and confer degrees to six master's students in integrated agricultural systems with projects specializing in three areas of animal science: (1) small ruminant production; (2) outdoor poultry production; and (3) food-fish production.
Project Methods
Graduate candidate selection and screening will be focused on the areas of (1) small ruminant production, (2) outdoor poultry production, and (3) food-fish production. Mentors and selected graduate fellows will work together to design and create a research/thesis project, study plan and activity agenda for their assigned specialty. Each fellow will receive a stipend at the master's degree level for two years. During that time, fellowswill conduct their designated research project and participate in field/lab duties for 20 hours/week.The fellows will complete their required integrated agriculture graduate level courses, field lab practicum, research project, and thesis. Through their training, the fellows will gain knowledge of animal (small ruminant, poultry, and food-fish) production, and an understanding of farming communities' and stakeholders' needs. The PI and CO-PIs will also recommend other relevant scholarly opportunities for the fellows to participate in, such as contests and presentations are research symposia. Additionally, the fellows will attain leadership skills, and demonstrate competency and expertise through participating in scientific conferences, presenting at workshops/field days, mentoring undergraduates, and publishing their research. Drs. Wuliji, Wetzel and Fisher will serve as project mentors and Drs. Baughman, Lourencon and Epple-Farmer will serve as advisors for course work and TA tutoring, respectively. The project mentors will be responsible for routine advising, hands-on research coaching, and monitoring the student's progress. Meanwhile, the course advisors will be responsible for selecting graduate level courses, supervising TA practicums, and monitoring student's course performance. The thesis advisory committee will provide quality control, collective coaching, TA evaluation, and thesis examination functions. The fellows will report course grades and project progress to their committee, and meet with their committee at least twice a semester to discuss, evaluate, and/or modify the project or plan of study. LU has excellent technological resources to support the fellows' research. These resources include high speed wireless internet service, a comprehensive digital library, literature search engines, and e-learning/e-document acquirement/delivery systems. In addition, LU has established state-of-the-art classrooms, fully equipped research laboratories,and research farms with an aquaculture research center, a poultry production unit, and a small animal research laboratory to support animal science education and extension services.