Academic Report of College of Agricultural Sciences

• Bilingual education strengthens agricultural industry workforce Plant pathologist Luisa Santamaria teaches plant disease prevention to agricultural workers.  Since 2011, Santamaria has reached about 500 Spanish-speaking workers from 25 nurseries through a grant awarded by the USDA and NIFA, helping to keep Oregon’s $745m nursery industry healthy.

• Master Gardeners extend sustainable programs statewide The OSU Extension Master Gardener Program, taught by AgSci faculty, offers 10-week courses on natural resources and horticulture in 28 counties and online. AgSci faculty continue to support 3,800 Master Gardeners statewide as they provide public instruction in sustainable landscapes.

• Summer Ag Institute educates the educators SAI provides hands-on pedagogical experience in agriculture and natural resources to Oregon educators. Each year, two programs (in eastern and western Oregon) offer site-based science instruction and graduate credit to about 30 teachers, who in turn engage hundreds of school children with new ideas for science learning.

• AgSci has developed a set of metrics and goals for the next 3 and 5 years to advance equity and student success for graduate and undergraduate students. The metrics will be reviewed annually and a forum held each year for general discussion of the metrics.
• BioResource Research has 100% job placement: (BRR), one of the nation’s top research-based undergraduate programs, places 100% of graduates in jobs or graduate/professional school within three months of graduating, with 60% continuing toward advanced degrees. In 2014, 29% of BRR students were Underrepresented Minority, in contrast to 17% university-wide. The 6-year graduation rate for BRR students averages 85%.
• Multicultural Scholars Program has 100% graduation rate: (MSP) offers scholarships to undergraduate students of diverse cultural backgrounds and first-generation college students. To date, 22 BRR students have been awarded these prestigious NIFA-funded scholarships. The six-year graduation rate of the 2009 cohort was 100%, with 87.5% graduating in a STEM major.
• Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences ranks among top in nation The OSU MANRRS chapter has received the Region VI Outstanding Chapter Award each year since 2007, twice named as the National Chapter of the Year, and ranked 2^nd in the nation for the last 4 years. Membership is open to all students, but most of its members are from AgSci programs.

• Society for Advancement of Chicano and Native Americans in Science begins 3^rd year at OSU (SACNAS) fosters the success of Hispanic/Chicano and Native American scientists. The OSU SACNAS Chapter was recently re-established by AgSci faculty to fill a growing campus need.

• College Assistance Migrant Program builds leadership (CAMP) continues to provide educational and support services, including outreach efforts, to migrant and seasonal farm workers during their first year of college. Two examples:

• Clarisa Caballero, BRR junior, received an OSU PROMISE Internship and USFWS Conservation Careers Symposium Scholarship. She is incoming president of OSU SACNAS Chapter.
• Crystal Carrillo, BRR senior, is a USDA NIFA Multicultural Scholar and an EOP Alumni Scholarship recipient.She is past-president of the OSU SACNAS Chapter.
• AgSci supports Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) In 2014, AgSci provided tuition assistance to 9 underrepresented students and covered fees for 20 students to participate in the LSAMP Summer Scholars Bridge Program. BEE student, Randi Mendes, won best engineering poster at the 2014 PacNW LSAMP Conference.

• DPD values now integrated into non-DPD courses: Instead of segregating elements of Difference, Power and Discrimination into dedicated courses, AgSci is now integrating DPD curricula into standard, non-DPD-specified courses, in order to increase cultural fluency in our graduates.

• AgSci expands Ecampus to serve nontraditional demographic: Four new online degree programs––Fisheries & Wildlife, Agricultural Sciences, Horticulture, and Environmental Economics & Policy—expand the college’s ability to serve non-traditional students globally.
• Online enrollment doubles in five years: Online enrollment in AgSci courses has more than doubled over the past five years, growingfrom 506 in 2009 to 1,184 in 2014.

• Leadership Academy prepares students for career success AgSci’s Leadership Academy connects undergraduates with faculty mentors for leadership and communication training. The Academy has established two endowed scholarship funds totaling over $225,000 and engaged more than 20 industry professionals as guest speakers and mentors.

• NSF Grant helps engage undergraduates in STEM learning  AgSci is collaborating on a novel, two-credit U-Succeed First Year Experience course that prepares students for STEM undergraduate research, with peer mentors to provide support.

• Provost Initiative Funds provide experiential learning opportunities: Funds helped AgSci hire faculty and staff to promote experiential learning opportunities at our 11 Branch Experiment Stations.
• Graduation rates are rising: AgSci’s 6-year graduation rate from the 2007 cohort is 67.8%, above the university rate of 61.5%, for 2013-14.
• Total number of degrees awarded is increasing: In 2014, AgSci awarded a total of 564 degrees, up from 332 five years ago.
• Bioenergy Program teaches alternatives to fossil fuel: OSU now offers an undergrad minor, master’s scholarship, and pre-college programs in this USDA-funded biofuels development program.

Four new online degree programs––Fisheries & Wildlife, Agricultural Sciences, Horticulture, and Environmental Economics & Policy—expand the college’s ability to serve non-traditional students globally.

http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/undergraduate/

Ann Bernert, a BioResource Research and International Studies major, was recently appointed the National Director of the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS). Bernert is the president of the OSU’s IAAS Chapter and hopes to pursue a doctorate in either Plant Pathology or Entomology. Having a strong interest in international affairs, Ann has studied abroad in Thailand, Italy, Chile and Costa Rica. She also has strong research interests and is completing her undergraduate thesis concerning agriculturally significant insects and microbial interactions.