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The Land Grant Ledger: February 2022
Dean's Message
Dear stakeholders and supporters of TSU’s Land-Grant Programs,
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This has been a momentous week and month with a lot of great things happening all at once. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission approved the Ph.D degree proposal in Agricultural Sciences. We will begin offering this unique and multi-disciplinary research based doctoral program in Agricultural Sciences in Fall 2022. Governor Lee proposed in his new budget, a $318 million-dollar investment in Tennessee State University, a historic commitment by the state. It’s thrilling to hear this announcement and imagining the possibilities what our students would experience just in a few short years as these dollars transform the campus landscape! Shaun Wimberly, a sophomore agricultural business major and President Glover joined FedEx Corporation to ring the closing bell at New York Stock Exchange. Dr. De’Etra Young, the Associate Dean for Academics and Land-Grant Programs is recognized by the Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as the Emerging Scholar of 2022. With the appointment of Coach Roderick Reed, we intensified our efforts to connect with the agricultural industry. This issue aptly covers the successful visit to the college by Bayer company technical team and our visit to Uncle Nearest, a native whiskey company in Shelbyville, TN. These efforts are primarily focused to find partners interested in developing diverse workforce for agricultural industry. As covered in these pages, the Cooperative Extension Agents are continuing to deliver modern technologies to agricultural producers and developing youth and families through 4-H and Family Consumer Sciences programs across the state.
Chandra Reddy, Dean, Director of Research and Administrator of Extension
Impactful Youth Service in Johnson County 4-H
By Danielle Pleasant
Service and community are an essential part of the Johnson County 4-H program. Every year, 4-H youth across the county take part in service projects that benefit our local community, while learning the importance of giving back and how small efforts can add up to make a big difference. National statistics report that youth involved in 4-H are four times more likely to give back to their communities.
The Feed a Family service project has been a part of the Johnson County 4-H program for over 15 years. Through this project each fourth, fifth, and sixth grade class receives a list of requested non-perishable food items. Youth work as a class to collect the items, which make a traditional holiday meal. These small efforts added up quickly and resulted in twenty-five, Johnson County families receiving a holiday meal box from this project in 2021.
As youth learn and gain skills through their involvement in 4-H, the Honor Club youth are tasked with planning and implementing their own service ideas and projects to benefit our communities. This Fall, Honor Club youth planned a service project focusing on our local first responders. Knowing how tough he past year has been for these individuals, youth wanted to do something special to say thank you. In November, 4-H Honor Club members met to complete the service project by baking and delivering cookies to our local police, emergency management services (EMS), and sheriff’s department.
These service projects, along with others throughout the year, had a huge impact on our youth and community. In 2021, Johnson County youth completed over 175 hours of service with an economic impact of $4,884. We can’t wait to see what is accomplished in 2022.
EXCITE Advances Sustainable Heath Education
By Janiece M. Pigg
Ms. Rita Fleming, Extension assistant professor in the Department of Human Sciences, is leading the way for underserved populations in Tennessee to receive COVID-19 vaccine education. Ms. Fleming, along with a team including Dr. Veronica Oates, Dr. Tokesha Warner, Dr. Wendelyn Inman, and collaborative consultant, Dr. Shea Austin Cantu, have made great strides in furthering the health of Tennesseans across the state.
Though the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE), Cooperative Extension at Tennessee State University (TSU) has received generous funding from an interagency agreement between the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This two-phase initiative acts to educate rural and underserved communities on the empirical data that surrounds the health benefits of, not only the COVID-19 vaccinations, but all adult vaccinations.
Through consultation with the TSU SNAP-Education (SNAP-Ed) program and TSU College of Health Sciences, the EXCITE project was able to utilize funding from the CDC and USDA NIFA to print factual vaccination information on the back of SNAP-Ed recipe cards. These partnerships were vital to spreading the educational materials to the public, as TSU SNAP-Ed already serves a vast audience across the state. Additionally, EXCITE has worked with county Extension agents and community leaders to publish various educational videos to spread reliable information about vaccinations and healthy living.
Dr. De’Etra Young Named 2022 Emerging Scholar
By Janiece M. Pigg and Jessica Ruf
Dr. De'Etra Young, associate dean of academics and land-grant programs and associate professor, has been named a 2022 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, the "preeminent source of critical news, information and insightful commentary on the full range of issues concerning diversity in American higher education."
Dr. Young is highly involved, personally and professionally, with many minority engagement organizations in agricultural and environmental sciences including, TSUAg Dean's Scholars, the TSU and Vanderbilt geosciences partnership, Earth Horizons, and Metro Nashville Public Schools nonprofit, Urban Green Lab.Along with this great honor, Dr. Young's civic-minded efforts have earned her national recognition from the Sierra Club, Women’s Earth Alliance,The Nature Conservancy’s Climate Equity Innovation Lab. She also earned Nashville’s Emerging Leader Award for education in 2018.
“She is a natural teacher, a lifelong learner, and a solid and compassionate leader who inspires others to chase after their academic and professional dreams,” writes Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean and director of research at TSU, in his nomination letter.
But, despite her many accolades, Young tends tospend more time talking about the generosity andhelp of her own mentors.
“I’ve had some pretty incredible mentors,” she says.
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey Hosts TSUAg to Explore Student Opportunities
By Janiece M. Pigg
Coach Rod Reed, director of marketing and communications, and Dr. John Ricketts, professor in Agricultural and Extension Education, were hosted by the Tennessee native whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest. Coach Reed and Dr. Ricketts got the opportunity visit the Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee to discuss prospective student opportunities such as internships, partnerships, and full time jobs upon graduation. For more information about community partnerships, please feel free to contact Coach Rod Reed at rreed2@tnstate.edu.
President Glover and TSUAg Agribusiness Student Ambassador at the New York Stock Exchange
By Janiece M. Pigg
Shaun Wimberly Jr., a sophomore Agribusiness student, with Tennessee State University President, Dr. Glenda Glover, and representatives from FedEx rang the closing bell to the New York Stock Exchange on February 1st. The New York Stock Exchange bell is rang to signify the beginning and end of each trading session per day.
Mr. Wimberly is a part of FedEx's HBCU Student Ambassador Program, a newly established program that aims to strengthen FedEx's capacity and connections with talented students at HBCUs across the country.
Industry Visits Spark Collaborative Conversations
By Janiece M. Pigg
Representatives from Bayer Crop Science were on campus this month to explore student, research, and partnership opportunities in the College of Agriculture at Tennessee State University.
Mr. Alan Coskrey, Bayer market development lead, Mr. Toby Covin, technical agronomist, and Mr. William "Buck" Smith, agronomic research manager, were able to discuss with faculty, leadership, and staff the myriad of ways TSUAg is leading the path to build the future of the agricultural workforce.
After rousing conversations, representatives got to tour TSUAg education, research, and Extension facilities across the TSU campus.
This collaborative event, facilitated by marketing and communications director, Coach Rod Reed, and associate dean, Dr. De'Etra Young, has fostered greater strides in agricultural industry representation in the higher education landscape for Tennessee.
For more information on how TSUAg is serving both students and industry, feel free to contact Coach Rod Reed at rreed2@tnstate.edu or associate dean, Dr. De'Etra Young at dyoung23@tnstate.edu.
