Bloom Where You Are Planted

Success stories from the College of Agriculture

Dean’s Office boasts new faces

Much has changed during the pandemic, and that includes the employee landscape in the Dean’s Office.

Dr. De’Etra Young has been named associate dean of Academics and Landgrant Programs. Dr. Fulya Baysal-Gurel has been named interim associate dean for Research filling in for Dr. Carter Catlin, who has retired.

Here are some of the new employees you will meet face-to-face upon your return to campus:

Dr. Fulya Baysal-Gurel

Since receiving her doctoral degree in 2003, Dr. Fulya Baysal-Gurel has worked at Ohio State University in different positions then took the plant pathologist position with the College of Agriculture in 2015.

She has been working at the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, but can now be found at the College’s main campus at least two days a week.

At TSU, Dr. Baysal-Gurel has established an impressive research program in plant pathology on nursery crop plants, published 21 refereed journal articles of first author equivalence, and secured over $ 14 million external grant funds as PI or co-PI.

Donna Hinton

Nashville native Donna Hinton is now serving as the senior office assistant to Dean Dr. Chandra Reddy.

Ms. Hinton earned a B.A. in Psychology minoring in French and English from Middle Tennessee State University. She worked in teacher certification at Fisk University for 17 years.

At TSU, she was working as an administrative assistant to Dr. Sam Nahashon, head of the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, before she joined the Dean’s Suite.

Curletha Campbell

Curletha Campbell is serving as the Faculty/Staff Resource Manager in the College of Agriculture. She will be taking the lead on Human Resources and personnel matters for the college.

Campbell recently relocated to Tennessee with her family from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She has more than 10 years of experience in Human Resource Management, Operations/Management, Public Relations, and Organizational Leadership and Communications.

Campbell holds a B.S. in Business Administration, an M.B.A. with a concentration in entrepreneurship, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Organizational Leadership, from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale.

Phoebe Jones

Phoebe Jones serves as the technical writer for the College of Agriculture.

A recent transplant from Greenville, SC, Jones has bachelor’s degrees in history and theatre with a concentration in creative writing from Presbyterian College.

She completed her master’s degree in Technical Communication at Arizona State University.

Dr. Jason de Koff speaks to visitors in his lab. Photo by Joan Kite

Janiece Pigg is the College’s new coordinator for online learning. Photo courtesy of Janiece Pigg

College of Ag professor twice named ‘Communicator of the Year’

For the second time, College of Agriculture Professor Dr. Jason de Koff has been named Communicator of the Year by the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Agents and Specialists (TAAA&S). This year, he is being honored for the exceptional educational tools he created to teach farmers and other stakeholders about using drones in agriculture.

This year, Dr. de Koff won first place for Best Fact sheet and Best Website. He won second place for Best Feature Story and Best Educational Video Recording. All of the award-winning materials are a direct result of his research about drone usage in agriculture and his adeptness at sharing that knowledge in the field. His fact sheet and website will move forward to compete for the National Communication Awards.

“I was pleasantly surprised,” Dr. de Koff said. He was initially named Communicator of the Year in 2017 for his work in bioenergy.

He was quick to credit his graduate student and research assistant Priya Saini for her contributions to his award-winning Fact Sheet “Using Software to Capture and Analyze Drone Images.” That fact sheet won an Excellence in Extension Education Materials with the American Society of Agronomy in November 2020.

Dr. de Koff also gave some credit to the pandemic, which compelled him to quickly take face-to-face classes and deliver them in the digital classroom.

“I had a workshop I was doing for farmers in January and February,” Dr. de Koff said. “When the pandemic hit, we turned that workshop into videos that could be put online. Priya helped me with the fact sheet.”

Dr. de Koff, who has been fully vaccinated for COVID-19, is looking forward post-pandemic to returning to the farmers’ fields and working directly with others.

“The vaccine has made me more willing to get back to the things that I had been doing,” he said. “Nothing can really replace that face-to-face interaction.”

Welcome new coordinator for online learning

Janiece Pigg is another new face you will see on the College’s campus.

Pigg has been hired as the coordinator for online curriculum development working closely with Dr. John Rickets in the AITC building.

“Our College is very excited to be adding Janiece Pigg, a rare find with dual purpose experience and expertise in instructional technology and agriculture! Stop by the AITC and see her for ideas and help moving your Ag and Human Sciences programs online,” Dr. Ricketts said.

From Starkville, Mississippi, Pigg earned her undergraduate degree in Agriculture Education, Leadership, Extension and Communication from Mississippi State University (MSU) and her master’s degree in Agricultural Extension and Education from Louisiana State University (LSU).

She found her new home quickly in East Nashville where she lives with her “amazing” dog — a Husky-German Shepherd mix named Cotton.

She is a self-proclaimed foodie.

Pigg grew up familiar with agriculture. Her family owned a pecan tree orchard and their home was surrounded by farms.

Pigg participated in 4-H activities growing up. Her father managed a hunting farm.

Bloom where you are planted

Success stories from the College of Agriculture

ExxonMobil donates $5,000 to help restore The Farm

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company sets right next to the Agricultural Research and Education Center.

Affectionately known as the Farm, the College’s research farm was destroyed by a tornado in March of 2020.

In an instant disappearing act, an education center, dozens of hoop houses, poultry enclosures, and greenhouses housing ongoing research? All of it left to the wind.

Dr. Browning lost much of the infrastructure that housed his Dexter cattle and when the Farm flooded shortly after the pandemic due to heavy rains, his cattle were able to wander to areas unreachable due to the flooding.

Add the pandemic and it has been a difficult year.

So Dr. Browning was pleasantly surprised when the College’s neighbor, ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, donated $5,000 to Dr. Browning to assist with his livestock operations.

Dr. Browning manages not only the Dexter cattle, but also several varieties of goats.

Dr. Richard Browning, who oversees livestock operations at the Agricultural Research and Education Center, graciously accepts a $5,000 check from ExxonMobil to help with tornado damage restoration. Photo by Joan Kite

AAUW awards first-ever post-doctoral fellowship to TSU staff researcher

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has awarded its 2020–21 American Post-Doctoral Fellowship to Thyniece Bowden of Nashville.

“These funds will help me to complete my research project titled, ‘The Evaluation of Lysines’ Affect on the Microflora of Broiler Chickens’,” Bowden said. “I am thrilled to be awarded this post-doctoral fellowship and to be the only female to ever receive this award in the history of Tennessee State University.”

Bowden is seeking a full-time faculty position while training students in research and working at TSU.

“I enjoy mentoring and training the next young female scientists here at TSU,” Bowden said.

“The support of AAUW is giving me a head start on my journey toward accomplishing my academic goals and career aspirations,” she said. AAUW is one of the world’s leading supporters of graduate women’s education.

Over the past 132 years, it has provided more than $115 million in fellowships, grants and awards to 13,000 women from 150 countries.

AAUW is proud to be one of the nation’s largest educational funders for women of color.

Thyniece Bowden

Fiscal Analysts, Admin Assistants join Dean’s Office

Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean of the College of Agriculture, has been able to fill several positions in the Dean’s Suite to help support administrative and fiscal responsibilities.

Meet the new employees who you will find in the Biotechnology Building and in The Barn on the College’s campus grounds.

Cathy Mekula has been hired as an administrative assistant working in the Dean’s Suite at the College of Agriculture.

Mekula brings to the position years of administrative experience, namely in the medical field.

She has worked for nine years with orthopedic and neurological surgeons, transplant physicians, and management at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

She enjoys yard work, reading, napping, and doting on her German Shepherd, Ava.

She also has recently acquired a rooster whom she has named Buddy.

The rooster has taken to staying inside a kennel next to Ava’s.

Cathy Mekula Helen Trimble-Anthony

Helen Trimble-Anthony, a Nashville native, is a TSU alumna who earned her undergraduate degree in accounting from TSU and her master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. In her graduate program, Trimble Anthony specialized in Health Administration.

Over the years, Trimble-Anthony has worked for Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Prior to accepting the position at the College of Agriculture, Trimble-Anthony was working as a financial analyst in the Grants Office at TSU.

Trimble-Anthony says she is a people person and a foodie and when she is not entertaining friends or family, she can be found binge-watching her favorite shows or challenging someone to a game of “Words with Friends.”

Jason Foster, a relative newcomer to Nashville from Wisconsin, is an Administrative Assistant III within the College of Agriculture.

Foster recently served as testing coordinator at Middle Tennessee State University. He worked for Milwaukee Public Schools for six years.

He is married with one daughter, Aniya.

Jason Foster Hongmei Cui

Hongmei Cui is an Accounting Clerk III in the SNAP-ED Department within the College of Agriculture.

Cui brings years of accounting experience from her time at West Virginia University where she worked up from Accounting Assistant I to Business Manager 1.

Cui graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a B.S. in Accounting.

Bloom where you are planted

Success stories from the College of Agriculture

UT, TSU leaders meet to discuss future growth

Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean of the College of Agriculture, and Dr. Latif Lighari, associate dean of TSU Cooperative Extension, met with Dr. Ashley M. Stokes, the new dean of UT Extension in the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture in late July at TSU’s College of Agriculture.

The three met to become acquainted and discuss plans for potential growth.

Stokes, a veterinarian, is the first woman to serve as dean of UT Extension in its more than 100 years of service. She comes most recently from Colorado State University.

The three administrators said they enjoyed their meeting and look forward to collaborative projects in the near future.

Dr. Latif Lighari, associate dean of TSU College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension (from l. to r.), Dr. Ashley M. Stokes, new dean of UT Extension in the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, and Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean of the College of Agriculture at TSU, take a moment for photo opportunity following a mid-summer business meeting. Photo by Joan Kite

Corteva Agriscience donates grain legume plot harvester to professor

An internship completed years ago by Professor Matthew Blair proved fruitful when a contact from the former company where Blair interned reached out to the professor and offered to donate an Almaco grain legume plot harvester valued at $70,000.

“I will use it for production in Ashland City for seed certification,” Professor Blair said. “It is also a good opportunity for student training. It has GPS capabilities.”

As a graduate student, Blair had interned in the winter nursery for the company ASGROW, where he worked with Tom Monroe, who worked in the summer nursery. ASGROW was bought by Corteva Agriscience.

When Blair presented at a plant science conference in 2017, he reconnected with Tom Monroe, who reached out to the TSU professor extending him the donation. Monroe now works in Global Asset Recovery for Corteva Agriscience.

“...(this) would be useful for your mung bean experiments, as it is a two-row combine which works well with upright legumes such as soybean,” Monroe wrote to Blair. “Apart from this I will keep in mind if a planter comes up for donation from another one of our stations.”

Blair is quick to point out to his students that relationships established early in one’s career can bear fruit down the road.

“Like other professors, I reach out to the private sector,” Blair said.

Blair is making arrangements to pick up the combine from Union City, Tennessee this fall

Pictured above is the Split Harvest Pro (SHP50), which is a soybean nursery plot harvester identical to the one donated to Professor Matthew Blair for his research on mung beans.

TSU alum named minority-serving liaison for 1890 land-grant institutions for CARET

TSU alum James G. Brown Jr., who served since 2017 as the TSU delegate to the Council of Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) for the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities (APLU), has been appointed as the Minority-Serving Institutions Liaison to represent all 19 of the U.S. 1890 institutions for CARET.

Much of his vital contributions will include carrying the crucial message to federal and state government leaders about the economic needs of the 19 historically black universities in the United States that were established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890.

“It is overwhelming and I humbly accept the challenge. TSU College of Agriculture Dean (Chandra) Reddy said I could walk on water.” Brown said. “I believe that it is a large responsibility with an important task. I am now on the Executive Committee of CARET, and I will be giving reports at the national level on the ongoing issues at the 1890 land-grant institutions. Before it was just TSU. Now, it is all the 1890s.”

Brown brings to his new position 36 years of experience working as a district soil conservationist with the United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). He graduated from TSU’s College of Agriculture in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Agriculture Economics.

“Adequate and timely congressional support for the nation’s agricultural research and outreach is of utmost importance for the United States to lead and feed the burgeoning world population. The nation’s 1890 land-grant institutions play a vital role in not only solving the grand challenges facing the agricultural sector but also in training its future leaders,” said Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean of the College of Agriculture. “I am glad Mr. Brown has been selected to represent all 19 of the 1890 universities for CARET and the APLU. I am confident he will represent well the 1890 community in this Council. As chairman of the 1890 Association of Research Directors, I certainly need capable individuals like Mr. Brown to articulate our needs with the Congress.”

Brown is clearly a “people person.” He retired from the NCRS in 2009, but Brown is far from resting on any laurels. He currently pastors at Parker’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Portland, Tennessee, and is the Second Vice Moderator of the East Fork District Association of Missionary Baptist Churches.

He has been involved in organizations such as Leadership Middle Tennessee, Leadership Robertson County, Tennessee, the Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency Board of Directors, the King David Masonic Lodge #187 P.H.E., and I Care of Robertson County, Inc. of Robertson County, Tennessee.

Brown has served as a board member on the Robertson County YMCA board member and for the United Way, both of which he has served as past chairperson. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Robertson County Community Foundation, the Robertson County Joint Economic and Community Development Board, and the Robertson County Scholarship Foundation.

He currently serves as the Grand Jury Foreman for Robertson County, where he is the first black Grand Jury Foreman of Robertson County, Tennessee. He has served in that role monthly for more than 15 years.

Not only will he carry the message about the crucial work of 1890 institutions in agriculture to national and state legislators, but he also reaches out to farmers in the fields, business enterprises, and other organizations.

“I believe it is a large responsibility with an important task. I am now on the Executive Committee of CARET, and I will be giving reports at the national level...”

James G. Brown, Jr. Liaison, Minority-Serving Institutions, CARET

small farm program in Hardeman County and Stribling jumped at the opportunity to work with adults.

Once at TSU, Stribling settled in, working as the superintendent of the Cheatham County Farm for about three years, then becoming a Small Farm Specialist in 2008. During this time, he transferred to Maury County, which was closer to home in Williamson County where he lives with his wife.

When Stribling started working with the New Farmer Academy, nine farmers attended its first meeting. Currently, 150 farmers are attending this year’s Academy from across the state. Stribling has helped expand the program from the Nashville arena to Wartburg and Memphis, Tennessee.

“We need new farmers and innovators to continue to build on our agricultural leadership in the world and small farmers are the backbone of the agricultural industry and rural economies,” said Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean of the College of Agriculture. “Mr. Stribling has been successfully running TSU’s New Farmer Academy and has also been supporting our small farm programs. I am confident that Mr. Stribling will build on our current strengths in these programs and help new and small farmers become sustainable and profitable.”

Already Stribling’s efforts have had an impact on the Nashville farming landscape. Farmer Reggie Marshall, who used to sell his goods at the Nashville Farmer’s Market, has now opened up a new farmer’s market at an area hospital. Veteran Farmer Charley Jordan, who was named the Most Improved Beginning Small Farmer in 2016 by the College’s Small Farm Expo, helped establish a state chapter of the Farmer Veteran Coalition, a nonprofit that helps veterans and active duty members start careers in agriculture.

FARM BILL SCHOLARS, From page 15

Deerfield, Tennessee.

All three scholars, who have been part of the “virtual class” are expected to arrive at Tennessee State University this fall, when the University re-opens its doors for business. Despite the students’ distance from campus this past year, the scholars said they felt connected through their involvement in courses, the College’s Dean’s Scholars Program, and national organizations such as Agricultural Future of America (AFA), and the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS).

“I would say to (other students), ‘Most definitely apply’,” Walker said. “Make sure they have a strong essay. I really think TSU is looking for students who are contributing to the community, those who show their passion within their work.”

TSU has been able to attract stellar students from all over and competition for the Farm Bill Scholarship is picking up.

“The average GPA for students awarded for the Farm Bill Scholarship is 3.9,” said Dr. De’Etra Young, interim associate dean of Academics and Land-grant Programs in the College of Agriculture. Dr. Young, who oversees the scholarship program, says she now has 42 students who are Farm Bill Scholars.

“I am able focus on the next step. I am not worried about how I’m going to pay for school,” said Grosskreutz offering advice to the future agriculture students. “Get it. It’s completely worth it.”

To find out more about the Farm Bill Scholarship Program, contact Dr. De’Etra Young at dyoung23@tnstate.edu.

Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean of the College (middle), poses with Chelsea Randle (left) and Alanis Onwu (right). Both young ladies received scholarships from the Rehabilitation Corp. of Tennessee Scholarship. Photo by Joan Kite

Student Kudos

The College of Agriculture recognizes just some of many of our students doing outstanding work on and off campus.

Emmanuel Wallace

• Ag Lending Intern, Farm Credit Mid-America, Dickson, TN, 2021 • President, Chi Psi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Inc., 2021 • Intern, Nashville Zoo, 2020 • Director of Public Relations, Chi Psi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional

Business Fraternity Inc 2020-2021 • Junior Class Vice President 2020-2021 • Sophomore Class Vice President 2019-2021 • MANRRS Farm Credit VIP Scholar • Mister MANRRS 2019-2020 • Freshman Innovation Council Mentor

Zahria Austin

• PetSmart Summer Experience internship, 2021 • Zion Hill Baptist Church scholarship, Atlanta, Georgia, 2021 • Scholarship, Tennessee State University Atlanta Alumni Chapter, 2021 • Majoring in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Food and

Nutritional Sciences

Shaun Wimberly

• African American Catholic Rodriq McCravy Scholarship, Office of Multicultural

Ministry of the Archdiocese of Louisville, 2020 • Majoring in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences with a concentration in

Agribusiness

Kerrington Howard

• Internship, Mammoth Cave National Park, HBCUI Greening Youth Foundation, 2021 During his internship, Howard led cave crawls, shadow cave guided tours, river clean ups, and bird banding. • Majoring in Agricultural Sciences with a concentration in Agribusiness

The student’s presentations were also a bit surprising considering they were writing papers for the College of Agriculture, which researches goats and Dexter cattle for livestock production. Huntley was concerned about the living conditions that farm animals had to withstand on their way to the slaughterhouse.

“I don’t want to judge other people, but the animals are not treated well,” said Huntley who saw her first factory farm as an intern at Purdue University.

Classmate and junior student Damien Antwine, 21, opted to explore wet markets where animals are slaughtered upon a customer’s purchase. Wet markets earned a dark reputation when initial word that the COVID-19 virus may have come from a bat purchased at one. Antwine’s photos were graphic, showing the carcasses of animals on display for sale in countries such as China.

Antwine told his classmates there were pictures he omitted because of his concern with distressing his classmates. Huntley chose a similar path for her presentation. She omitted the more brutal graphics of factory farm life. Better to inform than disturb, Huntley said.

“Dr. Boykins told us to find some issue that is related to the meat industry,” Antwine said. “When it came to finding something about meat sales, I thought about how the virus may have come from the wet markets.”

Huntley aspires to become a clinical veterinarian, but she also wants to be in the position of enforcing factory laws for farm animals. Antwine wants to travel and work with wildlife, namely exotics.

Boykins-Winrow joked that her students are skilled enough in Zoom, they could probably teach. Still, she misses the real classroom.

“I miss students. I really enjoy the interaction,” Boykins-Winrow said. “I remind students and myself that we have learned a lot in pre-COVID and postCOVID life. We will take a lot of that with us.”

A photo of a wet market taken from Damien Antwine’s Zoom presentation about wet markets.

CAPTURED, From page 21

had enough energy to use the restroom, drink fluids, take vitamins (C, D, and Zinc), elderberry supplements, and Tylenol.

By the second week, I slowly started to eat hot soups, and drink tea, but was still fatigued by headaches and nasal congestion. My girls didn’t feel well either, but my husband felt better than all of us, so he ensured we had food or friends sent food and other supplies to our house.

Everyone was told to wear masks in the house, and everyone had their own designated spaces. They were to avoid each other as much as possible. Everywhere, I sprayed disinfectant and used disinfectant wipes. Basically, we went through this for about four weeks and some of us still tested positive for COVID-19 after 14 days.

By February of 2021, we all tested negative and, except for my 16-yearold, most of us were feeling normal. S contracted strep the first day back to school and still had lingering symptoms until the end of February. I had to take her to the hospital twice. Due to her health condition and having COVID-19, she still had inflammation and the irritation in her lungs caused her to have difficulty breathing. She took oral steroids, used a steroid inhaler, and rested for another nine days. This caused her to miss a lot of school instruction time.

In late February, I had Dr. Suping Zhou, who was doing research for COVID-19 in nurseries, test my blood for antibodies for COVID-19. I tested positive for antibodies in my blood stream. By April of 2021, my husband, my 16-year-old, and me were fully vaccinated.

Had my daughter not been able to be vaccinated so soon, she would have gone back to virtual learning for safety of her not catching COVID-19 again. My other 12-year-old daughter was fully vaccinated by June of 2021.

The data is not out yet for smaller children, so my 5-year-old still is waiting to be vaccinated, so we still run the risk of catching COVID-19. We are still being careful and will continue to do so.

I am glad to say that we are very blessed to have made it through all of this because we personally know of many who did not.

will be in the TSU bookstore, the same locale where students can stock up on TSU’s sport teams’ swag. The other place she sees people eager to buy TigerLyte is wherever TSU games are played.

She envisions the drink could serve as a marketing vehicle to promote successful TSU athletes.

“I’m very excited,” Williams said. “I’m looking forward to leaving my legacy behind here.”

Williams, who has always been an athlete herself, is involved with TSU’s track team while she is attending classes. The development of a sports drink became a side gig for her.

“Essence is a charming young woman who is a go-getter and a business woman at heart,” said Dr. Blair. “She works like crazy.”

Williams also envisions using her profits from the drink to help the underserved whether it be minorities or the disabled or the poor.

“I am a giving person,” Williams said. “Any money I make will go back to the community.”

Williams uses this lab in Lawson Hall to prepare her innovative sports drink. Photo courtesy of Essence Williams.

August 2021

Aug. 16 Classes Begin

November 2021

Nov. 11 Veterans Day

Nov. 22-24 Fall Break

Calendar of Events

September 2021 October2021

Sept. 1 TSU Extension Agent County Program

Sept. 2 Small Farms Expo 2021

Sept. 6 Labor Day Holiday

Dec. 24 Fall Break

December 2021

Oct. 13 Founders Day

Oct. 24-30 TSU Homecoming, “The Return”

January 2022

Dec. 24-Jan. 2 Fall Break

Jan. 17 MLK Jr. Day

Tennessee State University College of Agriculture (615) 963-7561 www.tnstate.edu/agriculture

Dr. Chandra Reddy Dean & Director of Research Administrator of Extension

Joan Kite AgLINK Editor

Tennessee State University College of Agriculture

3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. Nashville, TN 37209

TSU - 22-010(A)-3-13500 - Tennessee State University does not discriminate against students, employees, or applicants for admission or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or any other legally protected class with respect to all employment, programs and activities sponsored by Tennessee State University. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Natasha Dowell, Office of Equity and Inclusion, ndowell1@tnstate.edu, 3500 John Merritt Blvd., General Services Building, Second Floor, Nashville, TN 37209, 615-963-7435. The Tennessee State University policy on nondiscrimination can be found at www.tnstate.edu/nondiscrimination.

Be social! Safely!

TSU College of Agriculture is active on social media and invites you to join in the conversation. We want to hear your stories, thoughts and comments. Find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!