Cultivating Sustainable K-12 Agricultural Sciences Pathways through CommUniversity Partnerships

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Commodities

Practices

• Education and Training: mentoring, youth education

Purpose: There is a strong need to create agricultural sciences and technology curriculum for underrepresented students in the state of Arkansas. Approximately 15.3% of Arkansans identify as Black/African American, 7.8% as Latino/Hispanic, 1.81% as Asian or Pacific Islander, .68% as Native American, 2.69% as two or more races, and 2.79% identify as other, yet current student enrollment in an agriculture degree at the primary land-grant institution includes only 2.3% Black students, 7.0% Hispanic/Latino students, .80% American Indian students, 1.3% Asian/Pacific Islander students, and 4.8% Mixed Race. Audience: UA CommUniversity will collaborate with UA Bumpers College, UA MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences), AR Junior MANRRS, and Arkansas Lighthouse Academies (ALA) to create the Arkansas Lighthouse Summer Enrichment Academy (ALSEA) for K-12 students partnering with Discovery Farms, Crystal Bridges, AR Soul, and other agriculture researchers. Products will include: (a) immersive hands-on learning opportunities for K-12 students; (b) mentorship opportunities with UA MANRRS, AR Junior MANRRS and K-12 students; and (c) representation with Discovery Farms partnerships and stakeholders owned and operated by African Americans who are considered historically underrepresented, who will provide representation in agriculture fields. Impact: The ultimate goal is to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing agricultural degrees and expand the community of diverse agricultural leaders in Arkansas to foster more expansive representation and mentors for future students. AR CommUniversity plays a key role in expanding the state of Arkansas’ capabilities in agricultural research and supporting its land-grant mission.

The overall goal for AR CommUniversity is to increase the number of historically underrepresented students who pursue an agricultural degree with land-grant institutions; in order to do that, the central goals of AR CommUniversity are the:

Goal 1. Creation of high experiential agricultural curriculum programming for K-12 underrepresented students in the Arkansas Lighthouse Academies Summer Enrichment (ALSEA) program; and bi-yearly tours with Discovery Farms;

Goal 2. Mentorship opportunities in partnership with UA MANRRS and AR Junior MANRRS and ALA K-12 students; and

Goal 3. Collaborating with Discovery Farms partnerships and stakeholders owned and operated by African Americans who are considered historically underrepresented, who will provide representation in agriculture fields for K-12 students.