Recipient Organization
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY
P.O. Box 519, MS 2001
PRAIRIE VIEW,TX 77446
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Food and agriculture communities face ever-growing constraints and complex demands for ensuring the availability of a skilled workforce. A shortage of qualified labor is a primary concern in the Meat and Poultry Industry. Providing high school students and undergraduates at PVAMU with experiential learning opportunities will enhance the goals of 1890 Land Grant HBCU's. Additionally, providing students with learn-by-doing early in their careers through active involvement in research, service learning, leadership programs, and other hands-on activities will help develop future leaders whose knowledge in their area will be used to serve a global society. The major goal of this joint program between Prairie View A&M University and The Ohio State University is to provide students through creative inquiry with the necessary tools required to be successful in the areas of agriculture, food safety, nutrition, and food security. This educational project will counteract the loss of skilled labor and develop an ag workforce through applied education, experiential learning, direct mentorships from experts and to broaden and enhance experiences outside the county and state. We will achieve this by enhancing their field experience, interaction, hands-on opportunities, communication and problem-solving skills, and research experiences including technical and creative/critical/applied thinking skills through a collaborative team of mentors. As an outcome of the proposed programs, we expect to see an increase in student interest for the field of meat science and increased skilled laborers.
Animal Health Component
10%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
30%
Applied
10%
Developmental
60%
Goals / Objectives
Specific Objective 1: conduct a hands-on training/educational experiential-learning workforce development program for high school students on procedures related to the meat and poultry industry at PVAMU leading to certification with industry accepted credentials.Specific Objective 2: create an internship-based experience designed to develop communication and leadership skills, team-oriented problem-solving, and decision-making skills at The Ohio State University.
Project Methods
Objective 1: provide high school students with a hands-on training workforce development program. High school students who are interested in gaining experiential learning and expanding workforce skills will attend a week-long summer session Meat Master Training Program at PVAMU Meat Science Center under the supervision of Dr. Lea Ann Kinman. Students will be housed in the dormitory at Prairie View A&M where they will be exposed to the PVAMU campus. Students will learn all aspects of a meat processing facility. Students will acquire gainful skills in carcass fabrication and value-added processed meats and achieve industry accepted credentials. In addition to educational materials and lectures provided by PVAMU and Dr. Kinman, students will have paid access to supplemental iCEV video lecture material. iCEV through a partnership with the American Meat Science Association provides industry accepted credential certifications (letters attached in appendix). Students will have to pass a 100-question exam within 2 weeks from the end of the PVMAU program and they will obtain a certificate in Meat Evaluation. To evaluate knowledge, students will be presented with a questionnaire to assess their initial knowledge of meat processing techniques and procedures at the beginning of the week and another at the end to determine knowledge gained. Various homework assignments will be administered throughout the program to expand on specific learning topics. At the conclusion of this project students will be able to: identify specific physical and chemical components and their influence on meat and meat products, describe technological procedures involved in processing food animals, understand and interpret food safety issues, and finally describe the various aspects of the meat and poultry industry.Objective 2: provide PVAMU undergraduate students with skills to evaluate beef, pork, and lamb/goat carcasses in addition to developing communication and leadership skills. A select group of PVAMU undergraduate students will attend a 4-week summer program at The Ohio State University under the guidance of Dr. Lyda Garcia. Students will be housed in the dormitory at The Ohio State University where they will be exposed to the OSU campus. Students will learn carcass evaluation and translate impacts of livestock management practices on overall carcass merit, such as meat quality and percent saleable product using USDA formulas estimating yields for beef, pork, and lamb/goat. Students will also assist with Dr. Garcia's youth and adult extension-education carcass evaluation programs developing leadership and 21st century skills. Programs, on average ten, are organized to introduce and demonstrate the role of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the meat industry. Recruitment of students will begin with an application process and students will need to have completed ANSC 3523 Meat Science. Pre-and post-questionaries' will be given to students to determine knowledge gained. Upon completion, students will have paid access to supplemental iCEV video lecture material. iCEV through a partnership with the American Meat Science Association