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Media contact: Sally Gifford, 202-720-2047
WASHINGTON, D.C. June 27, 2017–The U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today
announced 20 grants totaling $4.3 million to help higher education institutions
teach the next generation of food and agricultural science professionals. The
grants are funded through NIFA’s Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants
Program.
“NIFA
invests in the development of future agricultural professionals,” said NIFA
Director Sonny Ramaswamy. “NIFA helps advance education of our nation’s
agricultural workforce at our public and private colleges and universities.”
The
Higher Education
Challenge
Grants Program supports colleges and universities in their efforts to educate
the next generation of the food and agricultural scientific and professional
workforce. The program seeks to improve formal, baccalaureate or master’s
degree level food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH)
education and first professional degree-level education in veterinary medicine
(DVM). HEC projects may improve the economic health and viability of
communities through the development of degree programs that emphasize new and
emerging employment opportunities. Projects may also address the national
challenge to increase the number and diversity of students entering the FANH
sciences.
FY
16 grants being announced today include:
- Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, $14,260
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, $692,054
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo,
California, 139,597
- University Corporation at Monterey Bay, Seaside, California,
$289,532
- Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa,
739,603
- Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, $139,604
- University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, $30,000
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, $139,604
- Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, $139,604
- Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, $126,167
- University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky,
$731,296
- University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky,
$139,604
- Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania,
$139,604
- University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico $30,000
- Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, 132,781
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, $139,541
- Texas A&M AgriLife, College Station, Texas, $139,584
- Texas A&M AgriLife, College Station, Texas, $138,579
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg,
Virginia $139,604
- Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, $139,455
Project
details can be found at the NIFA website.
Among
the grants, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University project will create a Sustainability
Scholars Program to build and increase the institutional capacity for
recruiting and retaining underserved populations into food, agricultural,
natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences programs. A University of Nebraska-Lincoln project will support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a
24-month sustained professional development program for postsecondary FANH sciences
faculty.
Since
FY 2009, NIFA has awarded more than $38 million through the Higher Education
Challenge Grants Program. Previously funded projects include a Oklahoma State
University project
that will improve baccalaureate degree completion in the states of Oklahoma and
Kansas by delivering an online degree in the food and agricultural sciences in
partnership with three regional two-year colleges. A State University
of New York
College of Environmental Science and Forestry project is developing a new
graduate program that integrates indigenous and scientific knowledge on
environmental sustainability. As a result, the program seeks to offer transformational
approaches to mentoring, training, and supporting the next generation of Native
American environmental professionals entering the FANH sciences workforce.
NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research,
education, and extension and promotes transformative discoveries that solve
societal challenges. NIFA support for the best and brightest scientists and
extension personnel has resulted in user-inspired, groundbreaking discoveries
that combat childhood obesity, improve and sustain rural economic growth,
address water availability issues, increase food production, find new sources
of energy, mitigate climate variability and ensure food safety. To learn more about NIFA’s impact on
agricultural science, visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts, sign up for email
updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAImpacts.
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USDA is an equal
opportunity lender, provider, and employer.
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