Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** this program has four main…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** this program has four main objectives: (1) provide underrepresented racially and ethnically minoritized (URM[1]) students with regenerative agriculture[2], community engagement, technical communication and transcultural literacy skills important for food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environmental (FARNE) careers; (2) generate a scalable, sustainable model of transnational, community-engaged regenerative agricultural education and partnership network; (3) develop pathways and institutional partnerships for students to attain employment in FARNE careers; and (4) establish long-term institutional partnerships focused on water security, biodiversity restoration and sustainable livestock management, via collaboration with indigenous[3] communities in veracruz, M & eacute; xico. Through classroom instruction, a fellow's program, and field-based community-focused learning, this proposed program will: (1) provide students with coursework, fieldwork and internship experience, cultivating essential qualifications for career positions with the U.S. Department of agriculture (USDA) and related agencies, companies and organizations, and (2) provide a framework for understanding impact of experiential, community-engaged learning on URM students' interest in FARNE professions. This collaboration between the university of texas at SAN antonio (UTSA) and ST. Philip's college (SPC) will establish a transnational, community-engaged regenerative agricultural (RA) program which combines natural resource management with community-based engagement and communication skills. This collaborative network is supported on the mexican side with a scientific research grant managed by the national autonomous university of M & eacute; xico (UNAM) focused on sustainable livestock management in the tropical rainforest of the tuxtlas biosphere reserve. The program begins with UTSA and SPC students enrolling in two courses through which students are introduced to basic concepts in RA, including timely topics in climate-smart solutions for pollution mitigation, soil and water phytoremediation, water security, carbon sequestration and biodiversity restoration. From these courses, 20 fellows will be recruited each year to participate in additional community-based fieldwork, including monthly community-located conversations to share content learning with peers and engage with local leaders in RA and livestock management. The coursework and fellow's program is followed by a three-week study abroad in veracruz, M & eacute; xico, and competitive selection for internships with the U.S. Foreign agricultural service (FAS) and other U.S.-and M & eacute; xico-based non-profit organizations.each of these components will generate interest in the RA sector through local, national, and international partnerships. Additionally, the project will strengthen SPC undergraduate students' familiarity with UTSA by establishing peer networks and introducing SPC students to UTSA's P, rograms in environmental science/studies, ecology, and interdisciplinary humanities. Cumulatively, the program will develop students' global resource management, community-engaged research and cultural literacy skills to make them competitive candidates for a wide range of leadership-track FARNE careers.cumulatively, the program seeks to achieve four distinct outcomes: (1) increase the number of underrepresented UTSA and SPC students interested in USDA and related FARNE professions; (2) establish agency-organization-university pathway for students to gain applied disciplinary and professionalization skills, (3) enhance long-term relationships among non-profit organizations, government agencies and higher education institutions, and (4) develop a transferable model of community-engaged hybrid study abroad programming. We will achieve program objectives by building on existing UTSA/SPC programs to support student transfer, graduation and professional success. Our institutions are well positioned to collaborate for several reasons: (1) UTSA – a research intensive, hispanic serving institution (HSI)--and SPC – an HSI and historically black college or university (HBCU) community college – both serve communities with many students who are racially or ethnically marginalized and/or first generation, (2) both institutions have long-term commitments to provide students with affordable, high impact, learning opportunities, (3) both aim to develop students into globally minded, ethical professionals, and (4) both seek to prepare students to adapt to a rapidly changing world through innovation.community-engaged and experiential learning provides students opportunities to apply skills in real-world contexts while learning alongside experts. The program's emphasis on community-engaged learning supports the acquisition of climate-smart agricultural management skills through a deep contextual understanding of RA practices in different countries and communities. Further, the community-based learning will require students to engage with pressing global ecological challenges such as environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change, and propose adaptable, nature-based solutions supporting pollution mitigation, carbon sequestration, biodiversity restoration and more. The program will also advance strategic goals for both UTSA and SPC by developing key workforce skills in global resource management, particularly scaling up climate-smart solutions in agricultural supply chains systems, while also establishing long-term partnerships with agriculture research centers in M & eacute; xico.[1] URM refers to individuals who identify as black/african american, hispanic/latinx, native american/american indian and/or pacific islander.[2] regenerative agriculture is a land management system which, in contrast to industrial farming, uses ecosystem- conscious practices to improve soil health, sequester carbon, improve waterways & protect biodiversity[3] the TER, M indigenous is utilized to reference persons who may identify as: native american, american indian, first peoples, native peoples – including federally and non-federally recognized tribes – as well as specific communities in veracruz and oaxaca, many of whom continue to follow traditional agricultural and agroforestry practices.