Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
SAPLINGS envisions leading the 1890 land-grant universities (LGUs) and the nation in growing the next generation of underrepresented minority (URM) workers, leaders, and innovators for food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) careers. SAPLINGS establishes sustainable pathways, partnerships, and programs to prepare URM students across the educational continuum -- 4-H youth, Grades 5-12, and college - for federal and private sector employment. Our overarching goal is to use collaborative networks and innovative concepts and approaches to leverage institutional assets, expertise, and resources to increase the number of students persisting and succeeding at each major juncture along the education-to-workforce pathway. SAPLINGS is aligned with USDA Nextgen priorities and contributes to all 6 strategic goals of the 2022-2026 USDA's Strategic Plan, Goals 2, 5, and especially 6. The SAPLINGS objectives are to (1) strengthen the college pipeline by igniting interest and engagement in FANH programs among grades 5-12 school students (2) use a comprehensive modular approach with multi-layer partnerships to attract, retain, mentor, and graduate more URM college students across the FANH continuum; and (3) increase institutional capacity for student success and boost students' awareness of FANH careers. Upon the completion of this project, we expect to (1) train 6134 G5-12 students, 326 G5-12 educators, and 5871 college students; (2) reach 980 families; (3) engage more than 30 partners; (4) enhance URM student enrollment, retention and graduation rates at 1890 LGUs; (5) increase URM graduates for USDA employment; and (6) enhance the 1890 LGUs' capacity by scaled courses, certificates, and training modules.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
SAPLINGS envisions leading the 1890 land-grant universities (LGUs) and the nation in growing the next generation of underrepresented minority (URM) workers, leaders, and innovators for food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) careers.The SAPLINGS objectives are to (1) strengthen the college pipeline by igniting interest and engagement in FANH programs among grades 5-12 school students (2) use a comprehensive modular approach with multi-layer partnerships to attract, retain, mentor, and graduate more URM college students across the FANH continuum; and (3) increase institutional capacity for student success and boost students' awareness of FANH careers.
Project Methods
Led by North Carolina A&T State University in collaboration with six other 1890 Land-grant universities, SAPLINGS will lead partnerships, involving industry, academia, nonprofits, FANH agencies, and other communities of practice, provide end-user insights, services, infrastructure, and transition-to-practice pathways. SAPLINGS consists of six complementary modules designed to enhance student learning, training and success. The modular approach affords the opportunity to: (1) cater to the needs of our diverse students; (2) leverage resources and assets across partners and stakeholders; and (3) pilot, customize and scale programs to ensure more aligned outcomes across all SAPLINGS' 1890 LGU partners. The following are the complementary modules:Module 1 - Formal and Informal Pathways to Prepare G5-12 ScholarsThis module builds early student interest in FANH and readiness for college success using 4-H and Ag-focused youth programs, internships, and summer programs. It targets Grades 5-12 educators (Ag, FCS, STEM) and students, families, guidance counselors, community volunteers, and 4-H Agents. The module will develop research-based marketing and recruitment strategies; expose students to Ag experiences and career paths during elementary/middle and high school positively influences youth perceptions and attitude; develop new STEM educational contents for use in 4-H, community-based organizations and schools based on URM market research insights; and utilize the 4-H Youth Futures model to engage URM families in smart Ag and college preparation. In addition, the module will increase student and teacher awareness of FANH, provide experiential learning for students to expose students in grades 11-12 to Federal/State Government programs, and enhance the competencies of Ag and Family and Consumer Sciences educators (Ag and FCS) in FANH disciplines.Module 2 - Experiential Training in Agricultural Entrepreneurship (Agripreneurship) This module aims to develop Ag professionals with technical and leadership skills to start, grow, and succeed in their own agribusiness or gain employment in FANH sector. Activities includeinternships, farm visits and training on business and marketing plans, collaboration with the newly funded 1890 Agriculture Business Innovation Center based at NC A&T to equip students with the application of acquired entrepreneurship skills, and engagement in Ag101 Bootcamps in partnership with the Farm Foundation as well as their engagement in Cultivators program for mentoring. Module 3 - Training Integrated Climate-Smart Agriculture Stewards (TICAS)This module will prepare students for careers in integrated Ag and natural resources (animals, plants, soil, water, environment) across research, education, and extension.To advance state-of-the-art-training in Ag and natural resources, SAPLINGS will work with local and regional partners to establish a new precision Ag site at NC A&T's 492-acre farm. Student training support includes scholarships, internships, new integrated certificate in natural resources. Teaching will be enhanced through hands-on training modules in courses, field trips to USDA facilities, and guest lectures/seminars. Module 3 will also build regional and national partnership cluster to expand resources and ensure long term sustainability.Module 4: Food, Nutrition, and Health - Let the Farm be the Pharmacy (The "Farmacy")Module 4 uses team science to train the next generation of diverse food and nutrition professionals to use foods to combat diet-related health disparities in communities of color and increase interest in Food and Nutritional Science (FNS). SAPLINGS advances "farm as pharmacy" education and training by: (1) creating The Farmacy Scholars scholarship to attract, support, retain, and graduate students in FNS; (2) using multi-layer clusters and experiential learning to expose students to the best educational and leadership opportunities within the field of FNS (the "farmacist"), and (3) enabling students to be ambassadors of underserved communities to combat health disparities. The team will build the internal cluster through leveraging existing assets and partnering with The Southern University's 1890 Center of Excellence for Nutrition, Health, Wellness, and Quality of Life (Sang is Co-PD) to strengthen existing training capacities. This module will also create a regional cluster and later expand into a national cluster to support student training and enhance sustainability.Module 5: ARtificial Intelligence and Data Science for Precision Agriculture (ARISE 4 Ag)Introduce data analytics, precision Ag and AI into food & Ag education to enable the next-generation workforce as to develop solutions for food and Ag industries. The module will engage students at high school, undergraduate and graduate level, faculty; and young farmers. Module 5 introduces advanced data analytics and AI-technologies into food and Ag education in SAPLINGS institutions. Plans are to develop three AI-enabled educational labs with data analytics modules at three levels focusing on statistical approaches, econometrics, data mining, The learning modules will implement experiential and collaborative learning of precision Ag, AI, and data analytics using the infrastructure and materials and develop educational materials for student training (i.e., labs, projects, workshops).Module 6: Enhance FANH Sciences Student Success Module 6 provides centralized professional development for faculty, expanded course offering to students, and other institutional support infrastructure (i.e., National Student Exchange, Research and Extension Experiences, Emerging USDA Leaders; mentoring) to impact FANH teaching and learning within the 1890 LGU system. This includes (1) offering Faculty Development through Center for Teaching Excellence at NC A&T using the Association of College and University Educators Teaching Effectiveness Program along with specialized teaching workshop, (2) covering membership for all SAPLINGS partners to participate in the NSE allowing students to matriculate up to two semesters at other LGUs at no additional cost to complete courses not available at their home institution, (3) offering a Distributed Research and Extension Experiences matching students with mentors from another 1890 LGU for paid summer research or extension internship experience, (4) launching the Emerging USDA Leaders Model Program to support professional learning communities where students benefit form experiential learning opportunities, including apprenticeships, internships, practicums, and fellowships, (5) providing professional Mentoring to students through MentorCollective, and (6) engaging the USDA and the 1890 Foundation in Career Awareness and Exploration benefiting students.