20237044040156

SDSU brings together more than 32 internal and external partners, including four USDA agencies and three Mexico-based universities, to expand and diversify the workforce in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH). The goal is to graduate inspired undergraduate and graduate students who are eligible to join the USDA FANH workforce in positions ranging from entry-level to leadership.

The Education and Leadership Program (ELP) will involve 240 undergraduate, 18 masters, and 7 doctoral students. These students will engage in focused experiential, classroom-based learning, and research-oriented solutions. The program aims to bridge the practices and knowledge of historically excluded communities (HECS) with new strategies for regenerative agriculture that address climate change, environmental degradation, food insecurity, and poverty.

Participants in the program will be students from indigenous, immigrant, and Mexican-origin HECS along the US-Mexico border. They will receive training in programs spanning research, field schools, intensive internships, symposia, classroom education, and extension. The program will expose them to the work of USDA FANH agencies, field stations, scientists, and policy experts.

The Outreach and Engagement Program (OEP) aims to diversify the pipeline of future FANH professionals. It will include activities delivered through 4-H, Master Gardener, Growing Hope, Climate Science Alliance, SAGE, SD County Food System Alliance, SD Botanical Gardens, two HECS-dominant high schools, and tribal communities. The program will offer 50 scholarships to tribal students participating in workshops.

SDSU participants from HECS will graduate with baccalaureate and advanced degrees, highly qualified and interested in bringing a unique set of skills, knowledge, and expertise on sustainable food systems and regenerative agriculture to the next generation of the USDA FANH workforce.

The process, formative, and summative evaluation will measure participant behavioral change, academic progress, degree completion, and USDA career pathways knowledge, interest, and application.

San Diego State University Foundation

10.237 - From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals

Institute of Youth, Family, and Community (IYFC) [USDA - NIFA]

San Diego, California 92182-1901 United States

Single Zip Code

From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals (USDA-NIFA-ARPAED-009362)