Recipient Organization
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
FORT COLLINS,CO 80523
Performing Department
Agricultural Biology
Non Technical Summary
Agricultural biosecurity is essential for global food security and food safety. Currently there is a paucity of graduate students available to fill these positions; moreover, racial and ethnic minority groups are vastly underrepresented in agricultural professions. A diverse agricultural workforce will result in a stronger, more creative, and effective industry in the future. Currently, the Department of Agricultural Biology at Colorado State University (CSU) has a 2-year experiential Pest Management M.S. program that is developed around an internship rather than a research project. This project supports USDA and NNF goals through education of 6 additional Fellows to our Pest Management M.S. program in the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area (TESA) of Agricultural Biosecurity. This will increase the number of graduates with improved technical competency for the United States workforce in the academic disciplines of agricultural biosecurity (Code X) and Plant Sciences and Horticulture (Code P). They will be recruited through efforts designed to increase workforce diversity and will be broadly trained in the biology and management of plant diseases, weeds, and arthropod pests. Each Fellow will complete a graduate professional development course, a T-training career mentoring program, a communications training activity, and a professional networking activity. In addition, they will complete one paid internship, a professional paper, and participate in an Agricultural Biosecurity seminar series. Our department, college, and university will provide additional resources to this project through support of student recruitment and travel, professional development, and networking with industry professionals. We will track employment placement of graduates following program completion.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Agricultural biosecurity is essential for global food security and food safety. Currently there is a paucity of graduate students available to fill these positions; moreover, racial and ethnic minority groups are vastly underrepresented in agricultural professions. A diverse agricultural workforce will result in a stronger, more creative, and effective industry in the future. Currently, the Department of Agricultural Biology at Colorado State University (CSU) has a 2-year experiential Pest Management M.S. program that is developed around an internship rather than a research project. This project supports USDA and NNF goals through education of 6 additional Fellows to our Pest Management M.S. program in the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area (TESA) of Agricultural Biosecurity. This will increase the number of graduates with improved technical competency for the United States workforce in the academic disciplines of agricultural biosecurity (Code X) and Plant Sciences and Horticulture (Code P). They will be recruited through efforts designed to increase workforce diversity and will be broadly trained in the biology and management of plant diseases, weeds, and arthropod pests. Each Fellow will complete a graduate professional development course, a T-training career mentoring program, a communications training activity, and a professional networking activity. In addition, they will complete one paid internship, a professional paper, and participate in an Agricultural Biosecurity seminar series. Our department, college, and university will provide additional resources to this project through support of student recruitment and travel, professional development, and networking with industry professionals. We will track employment placement of graduates following program completion.
Project Methods
The selection, mentoring, internship placement, and all other aspects of the Agricultural Biosecurity Fellows program will be led by the project leadership team. The PD and co-PDs will serve as advisors and co-advisors of the Fellows, connect Fellows with internships, mentor Fellows for their professional papers, and guide Fellows through the four additional required professional development activities. The Project Leadership team represents the three core disciplines (Plant Pathology; Entomology; Weed Science) as well as a strong track record of inter-disciplinary collaboration.This Fellows program will emphasize the recruitment of students from marginalized and historically underrepresented groups. Students will be recruited to the Agricultural Biosecurity Fellows program through our yearly coordinated departmental recruiting event, which is held each January and supported by our department and by the CSU graduate school. We will recruit from students minoring in Entomology or Plant Health in our department and students from our new undergraduate major in Agricultural Biology. We will continue to recruit from majors such as Horticulture, Biology, Soil and Crop Science, and Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, majors from which we have previously recruited students to our program. We are developing in-state recruiting relationships with Fort Lewis College, a Native American-serving institution, and CSU-Pueblo, a Hispanic-serving institution in the CSU system. Both SACNAS and MANNRS have chapters on the CSU campus, so we plan to recruit at the local chapter meetings. We will continue to attend national SACNAS and/or MANNRS meetings to recruit students.Our goal is to have the demographics of our students represent the demographics of Colorado within the next five years.All Fellows recruited to this program will be evaluated by our department's Graduate Education Committee to ensure that they meet qualifications for graduate study.The selection criteria will include a demonstrated interest in agriculture based on previous coursework, jobs, and/or their application essay and demonstrated academic ability to succeed in graduate school (minimum 3.0 GPA required for admission). We do not use the GRE score as a selection criterion. We will also seek candidates who clearly describe their interest in Agricultural Biosecurity, as well as interest in working in or leading teams, in community engagement in food systems, or in the big picture of agriculture, in their application essay.The project PD and co-PDs will provide oversight for Fellow advising, writing, internships, and mentoring. In addition, the PD and co-PDs will assist the students in their job search and guide the Fellows in the additional opportunities in Agricultural Biosecurity required for the fellowship.Our Agricultural Biosecurity Fellows will participate in professional development activities related to teaching and communicating scientific information to diverse audiences.