|
Items in cart [1] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page R1
Agriculture
and the
Undergraduate
Proceedings
Board on Agriculture
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1992
OCR for page R2
NOTICE: The project that Is the subject of this report was approved by the
Governing Board of the Natlonal Research Councll, whose members are drawn
from the councils of the Natlonal Academy of Sclences, the Natlonal Academy of
Englneerlng, and the Instltute of Medlclne. The members of the committee re-
sponslble for the report were chosen for their special competences and with
regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to
procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of
the Natlonal Academy of Sclences, the Natlonal Academy of Englneerlng, and the
Instltute of Medlclne.
The Natlonal Academy of Sclences Is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating
society of dlstlngulshed scholars engaged in sclentlflc and engineering research,
dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the
general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to It by the Congress In
1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires It to advise the federal govern-
ment on sclentlflc and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press Is president of the
Natlonal Academy of Sclences.
The Natlonal Academy of Englneerlng was established In 1964, under the
charter of the Natlonal Academy of Sclences, as a parallel organization of out-
standlng engineers. It Is autonomous In Its admlnlstratlon and In the selection of
Its members, sharing with the Natlonal Academy of Sclences the responslblllty for
advising the federal govemment. The Natlonal Academy of Englneerlng also
sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages
education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers.
Dr. Robert M. White Is president of the Natlonal Academy of Engineering.
The Instltute of Medlclne was established In 1970 by the Natlonal Academy of
Sclences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions
In the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The
Instltute acts under the responslblllty given to the Natlonal Academy of Sclences
by Its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon
Its own lnltlatlve, to Identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr.
Kenneth 1. Shine Is president of the Instltute of Medlclne.
The Natlonal Research Councll was organized by the Natlonal Academy of
Sclences In 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology
with the Academy~s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal
government. Functlonlng In accordance with general policies determined by the
Academy, the Councll has become the principal operating agency of both the
Natlonal Academy of Sclences and the Natlonal Academy of Englneerlng In pro-
vldlng services to the government, the public, and the sclentlflc and engineering
communltles. The Councll Is administered Jointly by both Academies and the
Instltute of Medlclne. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and
vlce-chalrman, respectively, of the Natlonal Research Councll.
This project was supported by the Cooperative State Research Service of the U.S.
Department of Agrlculture, under Cooperative Agreement Number s~cooP-l-s8Ol;
the U.S. Department of Agrlculture Project Interact; and the Resident Instruction
section of the Dlvlslon of Agrlculture, Natlonal Assoclatlon of State Unlverslties and
Land-Grant Colleges. Dlssemlnatlon of these proceedings was supported by the W. K.
Kellogg Foundation.
Any oplnlons, flndlngs, conclusions, or recommendations expressed In this publlca-
tlon are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S.
Department of Agrlculture.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 92-60206First prlntlng, May 1992
ISBN 0-309 04682-3Second prlntlng, October 1992
Copies are available for sale from:
Natlonal Academy Press
2 1 o 1 Constitution Avenue
Washington, DC 20418
S523
Printed In the United States of America
OCR for page R3
Steering Committee
Karl Brandt, Chairman, Purdue University
C. Eugene Allen, University of Minnesota
Harry O. Kunkel, Texas A&M University
Joseph E. Kunsman, University of Wyoming
Conrad J. Weiser, Oregon State University
Paul H. Williams, University of Wisconsin
Staff
Carla Carlson, Project Director
Barbara J. Rice, Associate Staff Officer
Robert Cox, Senior Program Assistant
Michael K. Hayes, Project Editor
. . .
OCR for page R4
Board on Agriculture
Theodore L. Hullar, Chairman, University of California, Davis
Philip H. Abelson, American Association for the Advancement
of Science
Dale E. Bauman, Cornell University
R. James Cook, Agricultural Research Service at Washington
State University
Ellis B. Cowling, North Carolina State University
Robert M. Goodman, University of Wisconsin
Paul W. Johnson, Natural Resources Consultant, Decorah, lowa
Neal A. Jorgensen, University of Wisconsin
Allen V. Kneese, Resources for the Future, Inc.
John W. Mellor, John Mellor Associates, Inc.
Donald R. Nielsen, University of California, Davis
Robert L. Thompson, Purdue University
Anne M. K. Vidaver, University of Nebraska
Conrad J. Weiser, Oregon State University
John R. Welser, The Upjohn Company
Susan E. Offutt, Executive Director
James E. Tavares, Associate Executive Director
Carla Carlson, Director of Communications
Barbara J. Rice, Editor
1U
OCR for page R5
Preface
On many campuses, colleges of agriculture and related disci-
plines are undergoing programmatic changes and, more important,
are reexamining the philosophy underlying their missions. They
are developing a unique knowledge base that is much broader than
is generally perceived a knowledge base that is a composite of
disciplines that broadly link basic sciences, natural systems, eco-
nomics, business, and human resources to the more traditional
production agriculture and food enterprises.
The Board on Agriculture of the National Research Council joined
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its office of Higher
Education Programs, Cooperative State Research Service, in spon-
soring a landmark national conference to chart the comprehensive
changes needed to meet the challenges of undergraduate profes-
sional education in agriculture. The conference, investing in the
Future: Professional Education for the Undergraduate, was held at
the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., on April
15-17, 1991. Leaders from the higher education community, busi-
ness, industry, and public agencies attended the conference.
After decades of association with research and extension, USDA
has recently focused increased attention on the evolving educa-
tional missions of colleges of agriculture. In early 1989, under the
auspices of USDA Project Interact, sponsored by the office of Higher
Education Programs, a committee of 27 people holding a wide
range of positions-presidents of universities, administrative heads
of agriculture, department heads, faculty, and representatives from
industry, USDA, and the U.S. Agency for international Development-
culminated a series of studies and explored the questions concern-
ing the requirements that will be placed on colleges of agriculture
in the future. The committee, chaired by Harry O. Kunkel of Texas
A&M University, reaffirmed the importance of these colleges. The
committee noted that colleges of agriculture, home economics, and
natural resources provide the intellectual foundations and focal points
U
OCR for page R6
PREFACE
for human activities related to food, agriculture, natural resources,
and other life-supporting systems. This group issued a rationale
and a call for a national conference.
The Board on Agriculture has previously focused its studies and
activities on education-secondary education, graduate education,
and doctoral and postdoctoral training in agriculture. The national
symposium Future Opportunities and Challenges Unique to Science
(FOCUS), held in April 1988, honored the first class of USDA na-
tional needs graduate fellows. The conference Investing in the
Future: Professional Education for the Undergraduate was an ex-
tension of that pursuit. It also marked the intention of the National
Research Council to place greater emphasis on science literacy
and science education in the United States.
The conference was organized as a series of alternating plenary
and smaller discussion sessions. A provocateur was designated to
give an initial presentation during each discussion session, and the
subsequent discussions and conclusions were summarized for the
conference audience by a rapporteur from each session. The chapters
in Part 1 of these proceedings comprise the presentations given at
the plenary sessions. Each chapter in Part 11 consists of the initial
presort tations made at each discussion session followed by the
rapporteurst summaries. Appendix A includes short biographies of
the conference participants, and Appendix B outlines the poster
session that was featured during the conference.
In the agricultural, food, and environmental system, as with other seg-
ments of U.S. industry, the problems of the twenty-first century inten-
sify more quickly than ever before, and opportunities must be seized
immediately, before their peak of potential benefit has passed. The
ability of the United States to resolve the spectrum of issues and
related problems in agriculture- nutrition, economics and international
trade, production efficiency, natural resources conservation, control
of pollutants, and others depends on depth of knowledge, the avail-
able tools and technologies, and the skill and insight to apply them.
The United States needs to invest in the future in human capital
and the scientific knowledge base to revitalize and reinvigorate
one of its leading industries, the agricultural, food, and environmen-
tal system, in its broadest sense. That objective can be met by
educating all students about agriculture as well as educating others
specifically for careers in agriculture.
These proceedings are a source for ideas that can contribute to
the improved education of not only students of agriculture but also
students throughout the higher education system.
We hope that these proceedings will thus serve to stimulate fur-
ther enhancement of undergraduate professional education and con-
tinue the momentum generated by the national conference.
Karl G. Brandt, Chair
Conference Steering Committee
.
V]
OCR for page R7
Acknowledgments
The contributions of several individuals to the conference and
these proceedings warrant special mention. We acknowledge the
ideas, enthusiasm, and personal time invested by numerous indi-
viduals represented by the Resident Instruction Committee on Policy.
We are also grateful for the generous sharing of ideas among the
27 individuals who constituted the committee convened by the U.S.
Department of Agriculturets (USDA) ProJect Interact to examine the
requirements that will be placed on colleges of agriculture in the
future.
In particular, we wish to thank Kenneth W. Reisch, associate
dean emeritus, College of Agriculture at Ohio State University, for
coordinating the poster presentations during the two and one-half
day conference. We also acknowledge the special assistance pro-
vided by the staff members of USDA's office of Higher Education
Programs, Cooperative State Research Service: Kyle Jane Coulter,
deputy administrator; and Gwendolyn L. Lewis, Gail House, M. Louise
Ebaugh, Stephanie K. Olson, Maxine Browne, and Anne Schumaker.
Neither the conference nor the proceedings could have attained
the goads of the USDA or the Board on Agriculture of the National
Research Council without the creative contributions of the speak-
ers, the provocateurs, and the rapporteurs, who laid the foundation
for discussion among conference attendees representatives of the
variety of communities related to higher education, secondary edu-
cation, and the agricultural, food, and environmental system. And
it will be these communities and the efforts of individuals within
these communities that carry the momentum that can lead to im-
proved education for all students.
. .
V]]
OCR for page R8
OCR for page R9
Contents
OVERVIEW .......
Harry O. Kunkel
1 introduction .
Frank Press
Charles E. Hess
Karl G. Brandt
· -
.
PART I: CONFERENCE PAPERS
2
Rethinking Undergraduate Professional
Education for the Twenty-First Century:
The University Vantage Point........
Nils Hasselmo
3 Rethinking Undergraduate Professional
Education for the Twenty-First Century
The Public Policy Vantage Point
Ray Thornton
The Challenges for Professional Education
in Agriculture: A Corporate Vantage Point
Robert M. Goodman
5 The Environmental Curriculum:
An Undergraduate Land-Grant Future?
John C. Gordon
6 Environment and Ecology: Greening
the Curriculum, A Public Policy Perspective.
James R. Moseley
7 The Inherent Value of the College Core
Curriculum ........................
Lynne V. Cheney
ix
· .
.
1
... 19
.. 29
. 35
................ 41
.51
.... 55
............ 60
OCR for page R10
CONTENTS
General Education and the New Curriculum 68
Gary E. Miller
9 Agriculture: A System, a Science, or
a Commodity? 75
Norman R. Scott and Brian F. Chabot
10 Educating a Culturally Diverse
Professional Work Force for the Agricultural,
Food, and Natural Resource System 86
William P. Hytche
11 Scientific Literacy: The Enemy IS Us 95
Robert M. Hazen
12 The Priority: Undergraduate Professional
Education 104
Joseph E. Kunsman, Jr.
13 Positioning Undergraduate Professional
Education as the Priority 109
C. Eugene Allen
14 Science, Technology, and the Public 1 13
Peter Spotts
15 A Challenge, a Charge, and a Commitment 121
Karl G. Hrandt
PART 1I: CONFERENCE DlSCUSSlONS
16 Teaching and Research: Balance as
an Imperative 125
Anne M. K. Vidaver and Arthur Kelman
Francille M. Firebaugh, Rapporteur's Summary
Mort H. Neufoille, Rapporteur's Summary
17 Rewarding Excellence in Teaching:
An Administrative Challenge 141
William H. Mobley
Samuel H. Smith, Rapporteur's Summary
18 lategrating Agriculture into Precollege
Education: Opportunities from Kindergarten
to Grade 12
Harry 0. Kunkel
Janis W. Lariviere, Rapporteur's Summary
19 Toward Integrative Thinking: A Teaching
Challenge
Richard A. Herrett
Roy G. Arnold, Rapporteur's Summary
X
148
158
OCR for page R11
CONTENTS
20 Striving Toward Cultural Diversity.
Edward M. Wilson
Peggy S. Meszaros, Rapporteur's Summary
21 Designing an Environmentally Responsible
Undergraduate Curriculum..............
Robert J. Matthews
Richard H. Merritt, Rapporteur's Summary
. . -
22 Breaking Traditions in Curriculum Design . . .
C. Eugene Allen
Diana G. Oblinger, Rapporteur's Summary
23 Changing the image of Agriculture Through
Curriculum Innovation...............................
Jo Handelsman
Jerry A. Cherry, Rapporteur's Summary
24 Teaching Science as Inquiry ............
Pout H. Williams
Aluin L. Young, Rapporteur's Summary
25 Emphasizing the Social Sciences and Humanities
Paul B. Thompson
William P. Browne, Rapporteur's Summary
26 Teaching Agricultural Science as a System . . .
Donald M. Vietor and Laurence D. Moore
C. Jerry Nelsor:l, Rapporteur's Summary
27 The Social and Ethical Context of Agriculture:
Is It There and Can We Teach It?
Otto C. Doering 11!
James G. Leising, Rapporteur's Summary
· .
28 The Economic Context of Agriculture .........
James L. Rained
Larry J. Connor, Rapporteur's Summary
29 The Global Context of Agriculture ............
Edna L. McBreen
Susan G. Schram, Rapporteur's Summary
APPENDIXES
A Program Participants
B Poster Exhibits...
.
xi
. 165
. 173
. 188
199
. 204
. 208
. 222
. 237
......... 245
.251
. -
·
. 259
. 279
OCR for page R12
