The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded North Carolina State University a $200,000 grant to increase leadership and career opportunities in agricultural sciences for women and minority students enrolled in community colleges statewide.
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) and N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative (N.C. PSI) will lead the two-year project with funding from NIFA’s Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Fields program.
North Carolina participants can take part in hands-on learning experiences such as internships, apprenticeships and introductions to successful agricultural entrepreneurs operating businesses in rural North Carolina.
The grant supports leadership and career opportunities for women and minorities, who are underrepresented in most undergraduate agricultural science programs, professional agricultural societies and the agricultural science workforce, especially in leadership positions, said Angel Cruz, academic and extension initiatives manager at CEFS. Cruz will lead the project with Michelle Schroeder-Moreno, CEFS director, and Terri Long, professor of plant and microbial biology and the N.C. PSI platform director for education and workforce development.
A 2011 National Academy of Sciences study found that targeted summer programs and research opportunities for underrepresented community college students increased diversity among STEM students. Participants will be recruited from North Carolina’s 58 community colleges, where 70% of students enrolled in 2022 were women of color and minorities.
Participants will complete a nine-week Agroecology Scholars Program in Research and Extension (ASPIRE) for Community College Students summer internship program hosted by CEFS and N.C. PSI at NC State. Sustainable agriculture and agroecology degree programs connect traditional agriculture with real-world problems, such as global food security in the face of climate change. The ASPIRE for Community College Students program, now accepting applications, will increase students’ awareness of career paths in sustainable agriculture, provide mentoring and professional development, and expose participants to diverse research programs.
The grant will also support three apprenticeship positions in North Carolina’s first registered agricultural apprenticeship program (CEFS’ Sustainable Vegetable Production Registered Apprenticeship) for women and minority community college students hoping to work in agricultural production in management positions. This paid apprenticeship program, registered with ApprenticeshipNC, offers 185 hours of classroom instruction and more than 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning over 18 months.
Visit cefs.ncsu.edu/cefs-career-pathways to learn more and apply for these opportunities through the Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Fields grant [no. 2023-38503-41225].