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.
1027479
Grant No.
2021-70400-35531
Cumulative Award Amt.
$526,315.79
Proposal No.
2021-10264
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 15, 2021
Project End Date
Jul 14, 2025
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[SCST]- 1890s Scholarships
Recipient Organization
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
TUSKEGEE,AL 36088
Performing Department
Agric. & Environ. Sciences
Non Technical Summary
College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences will administer the Tuskegee University Food and Agricultural Scholars Program. 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
3073820101025%
1020199101025%
1230621310025%
5121450101025%
Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 307 - Animal Management Systems; 123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources; 512 - Quality Maintenance in Storing and Marketing Non-Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
0621 - Broadleaf forests of the South; 1450 - Sweet potato; 3820 - Goats, meat, and mohair; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism; 3100 - Management;
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 Resources and Related 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 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 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 approaches that have been developed to ensure adequate preparation for students entering our programs is curricula, which integrates all areas of the food, agricultural and related sciences in the first two years and emphasizes mastery of the STEM areas. In this respect, our food and agricultural programs have been 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 have different options that allows the students the opportunity to focus on areas of career interest

Progress 07/15/21 to 08/22/24

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 07/15/22 to 07/14/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Funded students and continuing students in Food, Agriculture and Related programs. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Students had opportunity to participate in mentoring programsoffered in the College and the University. Students also attended local and regional conferences. 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 progress of funded students.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Fourteen students were funded under program in Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Food and Nutrition Sciences, Agri-business and Environmental Natural Resources and Plant Sciences. Students participated in workshops and seminars that introduced them to various skill sets needed to succeed in the work place. Students also attended job fairs organized by the University and College to introduce them to potential employers.

    Publications


      Progress 07/15/21 to 07/14/22

      Outputs
      Target Audience:Undergraduate students in the Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Areas. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Students participated in mentoring activities during the period. 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?Report on how cohort is progressing and activities conducted during the period.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? Fourteen students were selected and given partial scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. Students in the program rceived mentoring during the course of the year. Cohor included nine Animal and Veterinary Sciences,three Food and Nutritional Sciences,, one Agribusines and one Environmental Natural Resouce and Sciences majors.

      Publications