Faculty consider what the discipline means to them
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lthough people often consider agriculture to be crop production and animal husbandry, academic opportunities can span far beyond traditional agriculture. When students play a role in the proper use of natural resources, whether it be through food safety, supply chain management or landscape architecture, they are involved in agriculture, said Cynda Clary, associate dean of academic programs in the Oklahoma State University Ferguson College of Agriculture. “The diversity of our students reflects the diversity of our disciplines,” Clary said. Among the college’s nine academic departments and three multidisciplinary academic programs, individuals may differ in small ways, but are connected through one common passion, Clary said. “If I look at the students we have coming into our programs and the faculty and staff who work in this diverse organization in terms of disciplines,
interests and skill sets, I see they all Kim Anderson, a professor emerihave a commitment to making the tus of agricultural economics and an world a stronger, better and more susextension economist for the Division tainable place,” Clary said. of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Sustainability is a main concentraResources, said agriculture can be tion of the biosystems and agricultural quite simple. engineering department, said Danielle “Agriculture is essentially marketBellmer, a professor who ing,” Anderson said. The diversity of our “What are you going works in the Robert M. students reflects Kerr Food & Agricultural to produce on that Products Center. the diversity of our land? How much “There really is a broad money is it going to disciplines. range of topics in this take to produce it? Cynda Clary department, but they all What management have the same end goal,” Bellmer said, skills do you have to produce it? How “which is to make agriculture more much money will it generate, and what sustainable and more profitable.” will the consumer pay for it? That’s Academic courses in this disciagriculture.” pline focus on food and bioprocess Anderson is in his 31st year of engineering, machine systems or teaching for OSU. In that time, he said environmental and natural resources, neither agriculture or the quality of inBellmer said. formation provided by DASNR faculty “One question we focus on is, ‘How and staff have changed in his eyes. can we optimally convert these agri“The one thing that hasn’t changed, cultural resources into products that is that the division is an unbiased are stable, safe and cost effective?”’ source of information,” Anderson said. Bellmer said. “Therein lies our value.” VOLUME VOLUME 22 22 NUMBER NUMBER 22 || 23 23
