National Academies Press: OpenBook

Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World (2009)

Chapter: 5 Extending Beyond the University: External Partnerships to Effect Change

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Suggested Citation:"5 Extending Beyond the University: External Partnerships to Effect Change." National Research Council. 2009. Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12602.
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5 Extending Beyond the University: External Partnerships to Effect Change This report focuses on the need to effect change in undergraduate education in agriculture. Through improvements in instruction, assessment, and curricula, colleges and universities will be able to provide a relevant education in the context of the evolving food and fiber system for years to come. Effecting that change, however, is not limited to undergraduates or even to higher education institutions. Many opportunities for intervention that will indirectly affect the num- ber, training, and composition of students interested in undergraduate study in agriculture occur outside universities. Many kinds of intervention help to expose students to agriculture during their precollege years, including formal classroom activities in K–12 settings and academic enhancement programs. Others involve various types of informal education settings, from such extracurricular activities as the National FFA Organization and 4-H to activities organized by local gardening groups. Stakeholders in undergraduate agricultural education include ­employers outside the education sector who are interested in the “products” of the nation’s colleges and universities. Companies, public agencies, and other organizations that seek to hire college graduates well trained in agricul- tural disciplines have an obvious interest in improving education. Despite employers’ concern for the quality of college graduates, they often have few connections to undergraduate institutions and often limited awareness of undergraduate curricula. There is a need for enhanced communication and collaboration because agriculture professionals may not be aware of the issues and constraints faced by academic institutions; conversely, faculty, students, and academic administrators may have little understanding of the needs of industry or other nonacademic employers. This chapter describes a number of programs that involve partners from 77

78 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World outside the university that will lead to improvements in undergraduate edu- cation in agriculture. The committee believes that partnerships are not just value-added opportunities but essential components of systemic reform of agriculture education. As will be discussed in Chapter 6, many stakeholder communities will need to participate in changing how agriculture is taught, learned, and perceived. Partnerships with K–12 and Precollege Programs Almost all undergraduates enter college after graduating from the nation’s K–12 education system. Therefore, one strategy for increasing the number and quality of students pursuing undergraduate study in food and agriculture is to encourage more students to pursue careers in agriculture before they reach college. Even when the immediate target audience is at the K–12 level, precollege programs may play an important role in affecting the number and preparation of future undergraduates. Over the years, a number of highly successful K–12 and other precollege programs have provided students and teachers with firsthand knowledge of the broader educational and career opportunities in the agricultural sci- ences. Several of the most prominent such programs have been developed or supported, at least in part, by colleges and universities. For example, a number of colleges and universities provide teachers with innovative cur- riculum and teaching materials and provide research-based internships for students. However, many colleges and universities seem slow to engage in the partnerships despite the effect that K–12 and precollege programs can have on students’ educational and career choices. In part, that may be because higher education institutions are unaware of the types of programs that have been developed or because faculty receive little benefit from engaging in “recruitment activities.” As discussed in Chapter 3, faculty rewards play an important role in faculty motivation. The committee believes that higher education can play a more substan- tial role in outreach to high school and other precollege programs. Precol- lege programs, in particular, often involve engaging students in educational or scientific activities—common in a college setting—and giving them a taste of what a career in a field will entail. Sometimes, that is done by developing curricular materials or offering an agriculture-focused curricu- lum; more intensive initatives may have extracurricular or summer programs that bring students to college campuses for research and study. Agriculture colleges are well positioned to address each of those activities. Fostering

Extending Beyond the University 79 “engaged learners” at an early stage helps to provide a framework for the concept of a lifetime of learning. Some examples of K–12 and other precollege programs are discussed below; a few of them have been in operation for more than 30 years. K–12 Curricular Programs K–12 curricular programs provide valuable classroom resources to supplement and enhance an existing curriculum by increasing coverage of agriculture (see Box 5-1 for an example). Many of the programs pro- vide materials that are reviewed, tested, and evaluated by teachers, con- tent specialists, and curriculum experts for quality, appropriateness, and content accuracy. The materials are often aligned with national and state learning standards and help classroom teachers and curriculum coordina- tors to understand how they can fit into a curriculum without a sacrifice of required content. Several curricular programs have associated faculty-development activi- ties in which K–12 teachers have the opportunity to learn more about the materials and to be trained in their use. Many also have state-level networks that provide continuing local support from volunteers or state-level coor- dinators. It is also common for the programs to have partners in a variety of sectors, often including business leaders and policy-makers. Although there are often some connections to colleges and universities, higher-edu- cation institutions are not especially well represented among the programs’ partners; this suggests that there are additional opportunities for university faculty to be engaged in developing materials and in working with K–12 teachers in faculty development and implementation. The federal government has recognized the value of connecting K–12 students to agriculture. Although the bulk of the National School Lunch Act deals with such issues as nutrition, it also includes provisions for linking schools, agricultural producers, parents, and other community stake­holders to help students to understand the source of their food (42 U.S.C. 1769). Many states also have established farm-to-school programs that link students to producers. The predominant national standards include the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996b) and Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS 1993). See, for instance, the National Farm to School Program at <http://www.farmtoschool.org/>.

80 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World BOX 5-1 Agriculture in the Classroom Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) is a grassroots program coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); its goal is “to help students gain greater awareness of the role of agriculture in the economy and society, so that they ­become citizens who support wise agricultural policies.” AITC is regarded as a flexible educational program designed to supplement and enhance teachers’ existing curriculum by providing teaching materials, strategies, interactive exer- cises, helpful links, and awards for excellence in teaching about agriculture. AITC is carried out in each state, according to state needs and interest, by people who represent farm organizations, agribusiness, education, and government. USDA supports each state organization by helping to develop AITC programs, acting as a central clearinghouse for materials and information, encouraging USDA agen- cies to ­assist in the state programs, and coordinating with national organizations to increase awareness of agriculture in the nation’s students. Additional information about AITC is available at <http://www.agclassroom.org/>. Urban Agricultural Education Programs As the nation’s population has become more urban and suburban, there has been a decline in the number of students who grew up on farms. The urban and suburban environments potentially have many highly qualified students who would be interested in pursuing careers in food and agricul- ture but have not been exposed to such opportunities. The concept of spe- cialized urban agricultural education programs has been around for more than 50 years, most notably since the development of the W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Esters and Bowen 2004). The last 20 years have seen increasing interest in educators in establishing urban agricultural education programs in other major cities. Agriculture-focused schools can now be found in some of the nation’s larg- est cities and include the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in Illinois and the Agricultural Food and Sciences Academy (AFSA) near St. Paul, Minnesota. These public or charter schools prepare students for leadership and professional opportunities in the agricultural sciences. In addition to a stan- dard college-preparatory curriculum, they typically offer a number of agri- culture-related courses, including both science-based and business-based courses. They also place an emphasis on engaging students in their learning,

Extending Beyond the University 81 using hands-on and experiential approaches and problem-solving related to agriculture. AFSA also engages its students in public outreach, helping to increase agricultural literacy in the Twin Cities urban population; this type of community engagement at the high-school level can serve as excellent preparation for extension activities once students get to college. Summer High-School Enrichment Programs in Agriculture In addition to formal K–12 school environments, a number of summer programs are designed to provide precollege students with exposure to careers in agriculture. One of the most successful is the intensive summer enrichment program offered by the Governor’s School for Agricultural Sci- ences in a number of states, including Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia (see Box 5-2 for an example). Governor’s schools offer several week-long summer academic experiences for high-achieving students and are generally on the campuses of state public academic institutions. In part because they are on college campuses, such summer residential BOX 5-2 Virginia Governor’s School for Agricultural Sciences The four-week Virginia Governor’s School for Agricultural Sciences was started at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 2004 with 52 students and has since grown to 92 students. Such organizations as the Virginia Farm Bureau and the Virginia Agribusiness Council recognized that an agricultural governor’s school would be a tool to develop gifted and talented students’ knowl- edge of the food and fiber system, recruit students to study agricultural sciences in higher education, and motivate them to pursue careers in the industry. The Depart- ment of Agricultural Extension Education in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is the administrative body for the school, and the department’s faculty and staff develop the curriculum and activities (Cannon et al. 2006). Students selected to attend the school choose a major in agricultural ­economics, animal sciences, food science, natural resources, plant science, or veterinary medicine. Each student takes a course in each of the six fields of study and one specialized course in his or her major (Cannon et al. 2006). Students also take elective courses, such as communication and leadership, and participate in inde- pendent group projects, which allow students to conduct research on real-world problems related to agriculture in Virginia. Additional information about the Virginia Governor’s School for Agricultural Sciences is available at <http://www.gsa.vt.edu>.

82 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World programs provide some of the clearest connections between K–12 students and four-year institutions. For example, the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Agricultural Sciences involves about 70–100 faculty and staff from Penn- sylvania State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences each year. It is not uncommon for governor’s school participants to choose to attend their state’s college of agriculture, and attracting students seems to be a common goal of such programs. Similar in some ways to governor’s schools are high-school ­ summer research programs. They provide students the opportunity to spend from a week to two months conducting research on a college campus. High- a ­ chieving high-school juniors and seniors are paired with faculty or ­graduate- s ­ tudent mentors. Many of these programs are targeted at members of under- represented minorities. Even briefer, the Iowa Agricultural Youth Institute brings Iowa high- school sophomores, juniors, and seniors together for a four-day retreat on agricultural career opportunities and issues facing Iowa and U.S. agriculture. Students in the program have the opportunity to participate in such educa- tional experiences as a team-building course, travel to the Iowa State ­Capitol, and a roundtable discussion with Iowa commodity representatives. The committee believes that there are substantial opportunities for states and universities to expand the scope and size of these programs. States without agriculture-focused summer programs may wish to start them. They seem not only to help to expand the number of high-achieving students interested in agriculture but to help to connect high-school students with the state’s colleges and universities. States that already have programs may wish to consider whether they can be expanded in size, inasmuch as such programs typically reach fewer than 100 students a year. Even without spon- sorship from a governor’s office, colleges and universities may be able to initiate similar programs on their own. In addition to educating and attracting students, such programs constitute an important way to connect university faculty with K–12 teachers. There are also opportunities to incorporate agriculture into existing programs. For example, the Center for Talented Youth (CTY), run by Johns Hopkins University, enrolls over 10,000 gifted and talented students per year in summer programs at sites throughout the country. Adding courses in agriculture to several of the CTY programs would expose a collection of some of the nation’s best middle- and high-school students to the excitement and opportunities in agriculture. See <http://cty.jhu.edu/> for more information about CTY.

Extending Beyond the University 83 Youth-Enrichment Programs in Agriculture In addition to formal curricula and academic programs, there are oppor- tunities to provide K–12 students with exposure to agriculture and related fields through extracurricular youth enrichment programs, agricultural sci- ence clubs, and the like. Such programs can complement coursework and allow students to have a long-term engagement in learning about agricultural concepts. Two of the most prominent such programs are 4-H and the National FFA Organization, both of which have connections to federal agencies: the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 4-H and the U.S. Department of Education for FFA. Each provides opportunities for young people across the country to be involved with an agriculture-focused national organization, to gain leadership skills, and to connect with scientists, practitioners, and other agriculture professionals. The 4-H network, for example, claims to reach nearly 6.5 million young people through locations in all 50 states and territories and makes connec- tions to higher education through programs at more than 100 land-grant institutions. FFA, founded in 1928 as Future Farmers of America, reaches over 500,000 members 12–21 years old through over 7,000 local chapters. More than one-third of FFA members live in urban and suburban areas, and there are chapters in 11 of the 20 largest cities in the country. There are also programs that specifically expose minority-group students to educational and career opportunities in the agricultural sciences, includ- ing the precollege outreach program of the National Society of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences—Junior MANRRS— and the Retired Educators for Youth Agriculture Program, which bridges minority-group youth and agriculture professionals in Oklahoma. In addition to programs focused on agriculture, several general youth- development programs include some exposure to and programming around agricultural issues, including the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts USA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Many of the messages in the report about the changing nature of agri- culture also apply to the way that it is portrayed in youth-focused programs. These activities have the same responsibility as agriculture faculty to ensure that the treatment of agriculture in courses and curricula reflects the cutting edge and the increasing focus on issues such as sustainability and concern for the environment. See <http://www.4-h.org/> for more information about 4-H. See <http://www.ffa.org/> for more information about FFA.

84 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World Partnerships Between Academic Institutions Academic institutions seem to exist largely in isolation from one another. Connections even within the same geographic area are often based on per- sonal connections between individuals rather than institutionalized. Each institution may try to excel in everything rather than partner and choose to create stronger opportunities for all. Partnerships between academic insti- tutions can take several forms, including building connections for students to move from one institution to another and establishing joint and multi- i ­nstitutional programs that are stronger than any institution can do on its own. Connecting Two- and Four-Year Institutions It is increasingly common for students to enroll in community colleges instead of beginning their undergraduate study at four-year institutions; com- munity colleges now enroll nearly half of all U.S. undergraduates, includ- ing 47% of black and 55% of Hispanic undergraduates. To interest those students in possible careers in food and agriculture, it will be essential for community colleges to offer programs in agriculture and to facilitate the transfer of ­ community-college students into four-year agricultural degree programs. Many states are promoting transfer between two-year and four-year institutions to increase systemic efficiency and effectiveness in educating their citizens (Ignash and Townsend 2000). The most common type of col- laborative effort among four-year institutions and community colleges has been the articulation agreement, a formal agreement that identifies the types of credits that transfer and the conditions under which transfer takes place (Kisker 2007; Zirkle et al. 2006). The committee believes that there are particular opportunities to extend articulation agreements with two-year institutions among the 1994 tribal land-grant colleges and other minority- serving institutions to provide opportunities for members of underrepre- sented minorities to advance their education. Articulated programs of study have several benefits, including ease of transition from one institution to another, articulated courses that may eliminate the coursework duplication From American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) analysis of January 2007 data from AACC, U.S. Department of Education, and College Board, accessed February 2008 <http://www2.aacc.nche.edu/research/index.htm>.

Extending Beyond the University 85 that some students experience as they move from one institution to another, and a reduction in educational expenses. Most states operate articulation agreements under deregulated or regu- lated transfer systems. In a deregulated state system, individual institu- tions have the responsibility for establishing articulation agreements about which courses, programs, and degrees will transfer from one institution to another. In a more regulated system, the state may provide some general guidelines and incentives for institutions to develop the agreements; in a highly regulated system, a state may mandate that the associate of arts degree be accepted at all state institutions, as is the case in Florida (Ignash and Townsend 2000). In one study, Ignash and Townsend (2000) found that 34 of 43 states had statewide articulation agreements. Fifteen of them had developed or improved existing agreements within the preceding five years—an indica- tion of the attention that articulation and transfer policies have received from state higher-education agency officials, legislatures, colleges and uni- versities, and the public in the last decade. In some states, the impetus to develop strong articulation agreements was a legislative mandate. Ignash and Townsend (2000) noted the need for improvements in developing articulation agreements for program majors and for the inclusion of private institutions in statewide agreements. Articulation agreements are beginning to play a role particularly in teacher education: universities are strengthening partnerships with commu- nity colleges to prepare elementary-school and secondary-school teachers (Zirkle et al. 2006). Box 5-3 describes an articulation program in Ohio that addresses a shortage of business-education teachers, and Box 5-4 provides an example related to teacher education in Texas. Those efforts are meant both to address teacher shortages in subject-matter fields—such as math- ematics, science, and agriculture—and to assist in the hiring of teachers who have diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds (Townsend and Ignash 2003). Although articulation agreements have been touted as an essential first step in providing broad access to the baccalaureate degree (Ignash and Townsend 2000; Rifkin 2000), many scholars have argued that educators must move beyond articulation agreements to active collaboration with complementary institutions (Case 1999; Chatman 2001; DiMaria 1998). One type of partnership that has emerged in recent years is what Kisker (2007) has referred to as a transfer partnership—a collaboration between one or more community colleges and a bachelor’s degree–granting institu- tion for the purpose of increasing transfer and baccalaureate attainment for all or for a particular subset of students.

86 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World BOX 5-3 Articulation for Business-Education Teachers in Ohio To address the shortage and diversity of business-education teachers in Ohio, Ohio State University (OSU) and Columbus State Community College (CSCC) recently developed an articulation program designed to allow a seamless transfer between the two institutions. The primary rationale for the development of the program focused on four points: the location of both institutions in Columbus, institutional missions that mention the need for community outreach and linkages, the OSU College of Education’s goal of exploring ways to be on the cutting edge of new initiatives, and the opportunity for OSU to recruit a diverse student body into its teacher-education program from the student population of CSCC. Preliminary results indicate that the OSU–CSCC articulation program has r ­ esulted in an innovative approach to addressing the shortage of teachers in busi- ness education. Its success can be ascribed, in part, to the inclusion of specific attributes characteristic of successful agreements, including taking the first two years of coursework at the community college, students’ ability to complete most of the university general-education requirements at the community college, junior- class standing for students transferring to the university, and easy transfer and articulation policies to provide OSU credit for coursework taken at the community college (Zirkle et al. 2006). BOX 5-4 Articulation for Teaching Education in Texas Texas A&M University–Commerce (TAMUC) and Collin County Community College District (CCCCD) partnered to develop a program for articulated teacher education. CCCCD was the first community college in the country authorized to provide professional certification of teachers. TAMUC has a strong history in teacher education and sought to provide master’s-level coursework in con- junction with the CCCCD teacher-certification program (Chambers et al. 2003). This alternative teacher-certification model established a university–community partnership designed to ameliorate the national shortage of qualified teachers. The TAMUC–CCCCD partnership provides a venue for people working toward certification through the community college to be awarded graduate experiential credit ­toward a master’s degree that is not traditionally awarded to students taking courses at community colleges. One essential element of the success of the partnership is a mutual commitment of each institution that outlines several criteria, such as enrollment require­ments and use of classroom space and educational-technology equipment. Perhaps the most important effect of the TAMUC–CCCCD partnership is that it allows students to extend their education toward a master’s degree while they are completing teacher-preparation courses at the community college (Chambers et al. 2003).

Extending Beyond the University 87 One partnership that has achieved success involves a large public research university in southern California and nine area community col- leges (Kisker 2007). The partnership was established to develop a rigorous transfer-focused academic culture in each community college by address- ing the persistent problems of weak academic preparation and inadequate academic counseling. Specific goals included increasing minority-group members’ transfer to the university, using strategies that academically accel- erate—rather than remediate—underprepared students, and promoting interaction between two-year and four-year faculty and discussion about preparing students for coursework at the university level (Kisker 2007). Partnership activities included several programs, such as implementing a rigorous theory-based tutoring model, accelerating community remedial sequences, and bringing two-year and four-year faculty together to discuss how they could arrange the community-college curriculum to facilitate stu- dent matriculation. Kisker (2007, p. 297) noted that “the utility of community college–university transfer partnerships is greater than simply increasing the number of students who move from one institution to another.” In particu- lar, transfer partnerships can raise students’ awareness of the opportunities available to them after community college, assist in marketing and public- relations efforts, and create a culture of transfer on community-college campuses, especially among faculty. As another example, Iowa’s public and private four-year colleges and universities have historically had strong relationships with the state’s com- munity colleges (Blong and Bedell 1997). By the 1980s, community colleges and the three state universities had signed articulation agreements that allowed any person who had earned an associate in arts degree at an Iowa community college to enter a state university with junior status in the college of liberal arts. Recently, Iowa State University and Iowa Valley Community College District (IVCCD) joined forces to make it even more convenient for IVCCD students to transfer to Iowa State. Through a joint admissions program known as the Admissions Partnership Program, IVCCD students who plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Iowa State will receive special benefits to pave the way for academic success at both schools, including academic advising and career counseling, opportunities to participate in early orientation and registration before transfer to Iowa State, and guaran- teed acceptance into a bachelor’s degree program at Iowa State, provided that all college and program requirements are met at the time of transfer. Iowa State University, University of Iowa, and University of Northern Iowa.

88 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World Connecting Institution Types Expanded partnerships may allow better integration of large research- intensive land-grant institutions with the 1890 historically black and 1994 tribal institutions and with community colleges. Because 60% of tribal colleges have articulation agreements with local high schools, expanded partnerships could allow connections from the K–12 system to land-grant universities via tribal colleges. In fact, Kisker (2007, p. 299) argued that “community colleges occupy a unique position within a network of edu- cational institutions that enable them to work with both high schools and 4-year universities.” By instituting and publicizing transfer partnerships, especially partnerships that include all three educational sectors, two-year colleges can become the central agency to assure students a seamless transi- tion from secondary school to college degree (James et al. 2001). There are 32 tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) spanning 12 states. Several offer four-year degrees, although most remain two-year institutions that focus on certificate and associate degree programs (James et al. 2001). Key components of the TCU curriculum are cultural studies, community service, internships, and business training. Most TCUs seek to award transferable certification and maintain articulation agreements with four-year institutions to ensure that course credits can be transferred (Cole 2004). For example, the College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin has articulation agreements with the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and Green Bay and with W ­ isconsin technical colleges in Wausau, Appleton, and Green Bay (American Indian College Fund 1996). In 1993, under the leadership of the Montana University System, 15 community colleges, tribal colleges, and other state- funded colleges and universities agreed on a core of 30 semester-hours that, if taken at one institution, could be applied as a block to the general-­education requirements at another (Crofts 1997); the agreement was reached by a course-by-course identification of equivalence at the institutions. Establishing Multi-institutional Centers of Excellence Academic institutions may be able to do more with less by establishing multi-institution partnerships in which they work together on programs of common interest. The resulting consortia can offer a wider array of high- quality programs and opportunities than can a single institution alone. Such partnerships allow cost savings by diminishing the duplication of resources. See Chapter 2 for a discussion of the history and types of land-grant institutions.

Extending Beyond the University 89 BOX 5-5 Midwest Poultry Consortium The Midwest Poultry Consortium was established in 1993, with the generation of the idea from the Midwest-United Egg Producers. The specific goals were to support and enhance poultry science programs in the Midwest, encourage stu- dents to enter poultry science, increase basic and applied research, and facilitate coordination in the poultry science community (Graves 1998). Most relevant for this report is the consortium’s Center of Excellence Program, which offers research-based education for students from 14 states in the Midwest and Florida. Although all courses are offered at the University of ­Wisconsin–­Madison during two summer sessions, the faculty come from throughout the consortium and credits are transferred to the student’s home university. The program therefore provides access to students from a wide geographic area that might not be available at their individual campuses, and also provides access to laboratory training, industry field trips, and lectures and discussions with poultry science experts. Additional information about the Midwest Poultry Consortium is available at <http:// www.mwpoultry.org>. They also allow for the growth of centers of excellence and foster opportu- nities for collaboration and exchange that extend beyond the consortia. As an example, the Midwest Poultry Consortium has created something akin to a “virtual poultry science department” that involves faculty and students from 14 states (Box 5-5). Washington State University and the University of Idaho have taken collaboration a step further, merging the two institutions’ food science programs into a single Bi-State School of Food Science. Involving Undergraduates in Outreach and Extension Land-grant institutions have a long history of outreach and extension in which university faculty and staff work with individuals and communities across the state to enhance agricultural knowledge and practice. However, those activities have largely been isolated from undergraduate educa- tion, and students rarely have the opportunity to participate despite long- s ­ tanding agreement about the benefits that students gain from internships, p ­ racticums, service learning, and cooperative educational ­ experiences— See <http://sfs.wsu.edu/> for more information about the Bi-State School of Food Science.

90 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World practical learning that has been shown to improve the quality of learning, increase student satisfaction, and enhance job placement. That disconnect indicates a need to encourage the involvement of undergraduates in out- reach and extension. The committee is enthusiastic about applied learning experiences for many reasons. They can challenge students to apply theory to practice, provide experience in solving complex problems, offer opportunities for communication to a variety of audiences, and build skills in negotiation and conflict resolution with diverse stakeholders. In addition, the experiences often provide a valuable service and link the university to the community. Involving undergraduates in extension is also a natural mechanism for inte- grating service learning and community engagement, which is becoming a field of concentration in many institutions (see Chapter 3 for additional discussion). High-quality learning experiences in outreach and extension have the potential to recruit undergraduates to agriculture majors by giving them a glimpse of the diverse ways in which professionals contribute to community well-being. Facilitating the involvement of students in diverse disciplines will help to open their eyes to the exciting potential of careers in agriculture and natural resources. To ensure high quality in practical learning, faculty must devote ade- quate time and resources to planning and oversight. Objectives, timelines, assignments, procedures, evaluation approaches, policies, and student expectations must be clear to both participating community partners and to students. Students must have accurate job descriptions and must not be assigned to menial work. The committee encourages opportunities for students to share their work through presentations or poster sessions on c ­ ampus and in the community; nonmajor undergraduates, student news­ paper reporters, faculty members, and community partners should be invited to the presentations. Student internships and experiences in the extension service are advan- tageous because they provide a natural arena for applying theories learned in agriculture and natural-resources classes. In addition, they give students direct knowledge about career opportunities in extension (see Box 5-6 for an example from Florida). Some opportunities in outreach are not associated with formal extension activities. An example in community-supported agriculture is discussed in Box 5-7.

Extending Beyond the University 91 BOX 5-6 Summer Internships in Extension at the University of Florida For 6 years, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the Uni- versity of Florida in Gainesville has sponsored a summer internship program for 10 undergraduate students in county extension-service offices in response to proposals from county agents. Preference is given to minority-group students and those majoring in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida, but students in any accredited college or university in the state are eligible. Interns are asked to plan and teach programs at the local level under the supervision of an extension agent. The internship does not provide academic credit directly, but some students arrange to get credit by working with resident faculty advisers in their home institutions. Students are often placed in their own home counties, which makes housing arrangements less challenging. Seven ­ former i ­nterns have been hired in permanent positions as county agents in Florida, and this provides at least anecdotal evidence that internships are an effective method of training and recruiting extension professionals. Additional information about IFAS is available at <http://www.ifas.ufl.edu>. Partnerships with Nongovernmental Organizations There are a variety of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) whose interests include agriculture; partnerships with these organizations offer opportunities for service learning and community engagement. Several are devoted to sustainable or organic farming or to fostering rural develop- ment. In fact, connecting with such groups can be a way to engage students directly with farmers (see Box 5-8 for an example). Others can connect stu- dents with those concerned with environmental impact, such as the Green Lands, Blue Waters Project described at the summit, which promotes multi- functional agriculture in the Upper ­Mississippi River Basin (see Box 5-9). A number of community-based independent organizations across the country foster students’ interest in gardening. For example, Mixed Greens uses school vegetable gardens at ten public schools in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to teach urban youth about health, nutrition, agriculture, and the environment.10 Growing Hope focuses on underresourced and disadvantaged populations in Ypsilanti, Michigan with school-based and community gardens.11 These types of community-based organizations serve as important partners in 10See <http://www.mixedgreens.org/> for more information about Mixed Greens. 11See <http://growinghope.net/> for more information about Growing Hope.

92 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World BOX 5-7 Opportunities in Community-Supported Agriculture Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a system of small-scale commer- cial gardeners and farmers. Shareholders pay in advance to cover costs of a farm or garden operation; in return, they receive a share of the farm’s vegetables, fl ­ owers, fruit, herbs, milk, and meat products by way of weekly deliveries or pick- ups. CSAs are ideal for practical learning about production in a setting that values both high-quality food and high-quality care for the land, plants, and animals. They i ­llustrate the characteristics of a small-scale closed market and can appeal to stu- dents’ ­values and interests even if they are not majoring in agriculture or natural r ­ esources. Especially now, when more and more students in agriculture-related majors do not have any direct agrarian experience, CSAs can provide valuable experience and perspective to both majors and nonmajors. The Cook Student Organic Farm at Rutgers University is operated as a CSA and is the largest organic farm managed by university students. The farm, founded in 1993, provides paid internships in the summer in which students learn about greenhouse operations, crop planning, pest and disease control, irrigation, post- harvest storage, soil building, fertilizer, composting, mulching, and weed control. Interns grow vegetables organically, gain experience in managing an operating farm, address issues of hunger in the community, and gain leadership training while they earn an income and raise their own food. The internship attracts a wide array of students; the farm’s Web site (http://www.cook.rutgers.edu/~studentfarm/) shows interns majoring in nursing, public health, journalism, English, and natural resources. Students provide food for CSA shareholders and donate and deliver surplus produce to a local soup kitchen called Elijah’s Promise. Many universities with agriculture and natural-resources departments offer similar student farm experiences. increasing public consciousness about agriculture and offer opportunities to engage precollege students in agriculture-related activities. In addition, some of the NGOs have sources of financial support beyond federal agen- cies, such as local foundations, local governments, and local businesses. NGOs can also provide a number of opportunities that are discussed below with respect to employers. For example, faculty can look for oppor- tunities to spend sabbaticals working at these organizations or serve in an advisory committee. Similarly, the leadership and staff at NGOs might be able to serve in various advisory capacities to academic institutions or to suggest problems and challenges that might serve as case studies in relevant classes. Internships and other student learning opportunities might be espe- cially appropriate for NGOs: these organizations can get low-cost assistance

Extending Beyond the University 93 BOX 5-8 Connecting Farmers: Practical Farmers of Iowa Those involved in production agriculture throughout the country are engaged in a number of activities that provide professional development for farmers. For e ­ xample, Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) brings together over 700 members in Iowa and neighboring states to research, develop, and promote agricultural a ­ pproaches that are ecologically sound, that enhance communities, and that have been found to be profitable. Organized around sustainable agriculture, PFI organizes a number of programs and projects of interest to members in areas such as grazing clusters, developing niche pork markets, and improving horticulture through fruit and vegetable clusters. The organization not only fosters information sharing and community building, but can help promote science-based approaches to agriculture and help sustain family farms. PFI has also been active in the educational arena, organizing a summer camp for youth and their families, offering a youth leadership program, and developing sustainable agriculture curricula for both elementary and high school students. Additional information about PFI is available at <http://www.practicalfarmers.org/>. BOX 5-9 The Green Lands, Blue Waters Project The Green Lands, Blue Waters (GLBW) Project involves a partnership between more than a dozen nongovernmental organizations and several land-grant univer- sities to support multifunctional agriculture in the Upper Mississippi River Basin that incorporates an increased number of perennial plants and other continuous living cover. GLBW incorporates such goals as sustainable grazing systems, use of perennial plants to obtain biofuels and oils, agroforestry, and wetland agroecology by working through an interdisciplinary, cross-sector collaboration. The educational partnership involves formal coursework at affiliated institutions and summer internships in which undergraduate students in several disciplines are placed in a variety of enterprise development settings. Academic coursework at the University of Minnesota includes service-learning courses on the ecology of agricultural systems that incorporate systems thinking and an extensive service- learning project (Jordan et al. 2005). Another course offers a larger world-view challenge that explores the nexus of sustainable development, engagement, and professionalism; this course engages students collaboratively in considering the “Corn Belt” of 2036. Additional information about the GLBW Project is available at <http://www.­ greenlandsbluewaters.org/>. Summit presentation: Nicholas R. Jordan, Professor of Agroecology, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota.

94 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World on issues of concern while students can receive course credit for applying their classroom learning to real-world situations. ConnectionS Between Academic Institutions and Employers Colleges of agriculture send many of their students to careers in industry, but students are often unaware of the full array of career options that await them once they leave the university. The committee sees many opportunities to develop the connections between academic institutions and employers. Some would directly affect student experiences, others would indirectly influence the undergraduate curriculum. The connections provide abundant benefits in enriching student experiences, enhancing career placement, and improving program quality. Partnerships at the faculty level can help fac- ulty to understand the changing needs of industry, make connections with industry scientists, and learn real-world examples that can be taken back to the classroom. Colleges must build true reciprocal partnerships and avoid viewing industry only as a source of funding, in-kind support, resources, and intern- ships. Lasting relationships require that both parties benefit in a true recipro- cal interaction. The committee encourages academic institutions to engage industry more fully in many of its activities, including asking for input on curricular decisions and for guidance on the kinds of educational programs that will best prepare their students for future careers. Opportunities for Students Agriculture and natural-resources programs and colleges are encour- aged to devote adequate time and resources to developing internships and cooperative education programs in industry settings. Students and their supervisors need clear learning objectives, timelines, and definitions of deliverables, procedures, and policies. Students also need opportunities to showcase what they learn in internships to a wide audience, including to students in their own and other disciplines, faculty and administrators in a variety of departments and colleges, and partners outside the university. The benefits of poster sessions (or other mechanisms of sharing) are many and include student recruitment, résumé building, and enhancement of the reputation of the department or college. Boxes 5-10 and 5-11 describe two well-established partnerships between academic institutions and industry that provide opportunities for students to gain experience in the corporate world even before receiving their degrees.

Extending Beyond the University 95 BOX 5-10 Professional Practice at the Georgia Institute of Technology The Division of Professional Practice at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) has one of the oldest and largest optional cooperative-education programs in the nation. The program involves more than 3,000 student participants and 700 employers each year and is supported by a staff of 20. It is consistently ranked as a premier program. The division also houses a structured student intern- ship program that includes an orientation program required of all participants. The cooperative-education and internship programs both have carefully planned structures, policies, procedures, support systems, requirements for students and employers, and handbooks for students and employers. Student handbooks ­ describe eligibility and requirements, policies, résumé writing, ele- ments of a successful interview, the job and internship search process, and use of job-search tools. Employer handbooks describe benefits of the programs to participants and sponsors, requirements for employers, and the process of post- ing internship and cooperative-education positions and openings. Georgia Tech places a high value on experiential learning and dedicates r ­ esources to provide a high-quality experience for all participants. Benefits to students include early career exploration, the ability to confirm career choices, developing skills in résumé writing and interviewing, honing job-search skills, be- ginning a professional network, earning a competitive wage while learning, and improving after-college job prospects. Additional information about the division is available at <http://www.profpractice. gatech.edu>. Summit Presentation: Thomas M. Akins, Executive Director, Division of ­Professional Practice, Georgia Institute of Technology. The General Mills example in Box 5-11 illustrates the essential elements of strong partnerships and internships. Most important is that both partners benefit. The core academic programs gain interesting guest lecturers, bring successful graduates to the campus at the company’s expense, and motivate students with the opportunity of well-paying and well-supervised summer internships that help them to compete for challenging first jobs. The company benefits by having access to high-quality students, building relationships with the students, and being able to hire outstanding young professionals who already know a lot about the company and can make wise decisions when they accept offers so that they are likely to remain with the company. Although the committee endorses expanded opportunities for intern- ships and other formal programs, more modest initiatives may meet with

96 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World BOX 5-11 Internships at General Mills General Mills, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, identifies six core food-science pro- grams in universities around the country on the basis of program quality. Core programs, which are highly ranked by General Mills scientists, provide a source of diverse students and have a track record of recruiting and retention success. The company designates an employee to serve as recruiting leader who is a graduate of the ­assigned institution and several more junior graduates who travel to the core campus each year. While on campus, company representatives attend career fairs, make classroom presentations, and interview applicants for internships and jobs. General Mills has a well-developed internship program that seeks to iden- tify high-quality candidates to take jobs after graduation. General Mills scientists compete to have interns work in their units by submitting proposals for intern-led problem-solving projects in their divisions or units. The best and most challenging proposals are chosen by a team of scientists and the company’s human-resources department. The interns are assigned to technical units and have well-defined practical projects in those units when they arrive on the General Mills campus. An experienced manager supervises the assigned project, provides midcourse and summary performance appraisals, and offers regular coaching about personal and professional development. General Mills uses a competence-based model for hiring and performance appraisal that also guides the choice and coaching of interns. Desired compe- tences include judgment and problem-solving, energizing and developing people, delivering outstanding results, collaboration, adaptability and flexibility, technical excellence, leadership of innovation, and integrity and ethics. success. College “career days” in which industry professionals visit with students and offer career advice can broaden the array of careers to which the students are exposed. Those intersections need not take place only on the college campus; opportunities for “job shadowing” and industry open houses can provide more information about the work of an agriculture pro- fessional in a single day than a week’s worth of workshops. Opportunities for University Faculty and Agriculture Professionals University professors and food and agriculture professionals operate largely in different spheres. Although there are certainly some people who have moved between industry and academe, there are many benefits of increased permeability between various sectors. University faculty can gain increased insight into the corporate world, the kinds of problems that

Extending Beyond the University 97 exist there and approaches to them, and firsthand experience with the opportunities that may be available to their students. Food and agriculture professionals can benefit from a more direct role in undergraduate and graduate curricula, and they have enormous expertise—and often differ- ent ­ perspectives—to offer to individual students and to departments and institutions. In addition to the education benefits, fostering increased part- nership between academic and nonacademic professionals also increases the likelihood of research collaboration. Intellectual property issues may pose a concern, especially with cutting-edge research, but the committee is hopeful that these issues can be addressed through general agreements and memoranda of understanding between academic institutions and their industrial partners. Box 5-12 describes a program at the Massachusetts Insti- BOX 5-12 The Industrial Liaison Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) is an example of partnerships between a university and a business outside the agriculture sector. Companies that pay a fee to join the ILP are assigned an industrial liaison officer (ILO) who has business experience and in-depth knowl- edge of MIT. The ILO is the direct contact for the company’s managers, advocates for the company’s needs, and serves as a liaison with MIT faculty and programs. Throughout the year, the ILO updates the company on MIT’s activities, introduces MIT innovations and knowledge that could help the business, and takes other steps to meet the company’s objectives. Mars, Incorporated, is one corporation that has a partnership with the ILP. The company uses the partnership in various ways. For example, eight MIT doctoral stu- dents spent two months at the Mars technical center working on a project to ­optimize the company’s manufacturing process and its economics on a global scale; and train- ing classes provided for Mars managers by a faculty member at MIT’s Sloan School of Management led to the adoption of a variety of new business techniques and new intellectual-property strategies. Mars research and development vice presidents noted that the ILO became a part of their research family, rather than an outsider, and that the ILO was a partner, not just an information provider. The MIT ILP demonstrates several benefits that can accrue from academic– business partnerships. Students at all levels gain valuable experience in working on practical problems in real business settings, faculty members have opportunities to leverage their research and teaching, and member companies improve their processes and solve problems more quickly because they can access expertise and research results from a world-class research university. Additional information about the ILP is available at <http://ilp-www.mit.edu>.

98 Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World tute of Technology that involves students, faculty, and industry researchers in a multifaceted partnership. International Partnerships Chapter 3 discusses the value of increasing the coverage of international perspectives for undergraduate students by both expanding opportunities for learning abroad and including global viewpoints in U.S. courses. Achieving these aims will require faculty members and graduate instructors who are knowledgeable about international issues and prepared to bring a variety of perspectives into their teaching. International faculty exchanges and temporary international teaching assignments would increase the global perspective in both course content and research focus and should be encouraged. It will be important that such exchanges are rewarded in faculty promotion and tenure to reinforce the value that the institution puts on these experiences. Programs could also be developed that would enable graduate students to spend a semester or year working and studying in another country. The international connections resulting from such exchanges will last for decades as graduate students launch their faculty careers with a personal understand- ing of the importance of international perspectives. Unique approaches to funding and supporting globally focused pro- grams should be developed. Universities should consider collaborations with foreign governments, and industry around the globe should be con- sidered to make the programs lasting.

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During the next ten years, colleges of agriculture will be challenged to transform their role in higher education and their relationship to the evolving global food and agricultural enterprise. If successful, agriculture colleges will emerge as an important venue for scholars and stakeholders to address some of the most complex and urgent problems facing society.

Such a transformation could reestablish and sustain the historical position of the college of agriculture as a cornerstone institution in academe, but for that to occur, a rapid and concerted effort by our higher education system is needed to shape their academic focus around the reality of issues that define the world's systems of food and agriculture and to refashion the way in which they foster knowledge of those complex systems in their students. Although there is no single approach to transforming agricultural education, a commitment to change is imperative.

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