20237044040161

The Barry University Craft Scholars Program (Cultivating Resilience through Agriculture and Food Training) will recruit, retain, and train a diverse group of Barry University undergraduates that will be well-equipped to enter the USDA workforce. The project goals align with those of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) USDA NextGen Program, including targeted recruiting of diverse and low-income students, academic and social supports throughout college, increased awareness of food and agriculture career opportunities, access to summer experiences that build research and extension skills across the food and agriculture system, and creating lasting connections and student pathways between a smaller, urban, undergraduate university and a large agriculture-oriented institution.

The complex issues surrounding food production, distribution, natural resource management, food safety, and economic concerns in American communities require that educational institutions attract, recruit, train, and retain students from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds from both urban and rural areas. However, at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) like Barry, there is limited awareness of agricultural careers and their relevance to undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. To increase the number of students entering graduate programs in agriculture and improve awareness about careers in agricultural and food sciences, Barry University will partner with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and with Urban Greenworks (UGW), a Miami-based nonprofit focused on food-systems solutions to human and community health.

UGW will provide a 15-week local, experiential learning project that shows participants firsthand the environmental and health-related impacts of our changing food system on their own communities. Coupled with strong faculty and peer mentoring components, the Craft Scholars Program provides thirty (30) undergraduate and five (5) graduate scholarships, a seminar series, field trips to USDA sites and UF, twenty (20) paid summer internships, and study abroad opportunities. Student experiences increase in duration and intensity as students progress through their undergraduate careers to address family hesitancy about studying away from home.

The partnership between Barry, an HSI, and UF/IFAS, a large land-grant institution and national leader in agricultural research, builds on each institution's complementary strengths and supports reciprocal professional development. Barry faculty will learn about USDA-related career opportunities, internships, and research taking place at UF, while UF/IFAS faculty will learn how best to recruit, mentor, and support students from diverse backgrounds to enter careers in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH).

Barry University

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]

Miami, Florida 33161-6628 United States

Single Zip Code

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