Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** since 1975, oxnard college has…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** since 1975, oxnard college has proudly served the hardworking latinx/e families and learners of ventura county who continually face barriers to education. Oxnard college is a majority minority institution with 84% of students from racial/ethnic minorities (73% latinx/e). With more than 65% of the college's students classified as low-income and more than 44% classified as a first-generation college student, oxnard college serves predominately low-income latinx/e students that have limited exposure to a post-secondary education prior to enrollment at the college.oxnard college sits in the oxnard plain in ventura county, california. The mild climate, long growing season, and excellent soil quality make the oxnard plain home to many of the area's top crops such as strawberries, raspberries, onions, celery, and other vegetables. Surrounding areas of ventura county are also home to substantial citrus and avocado orchards. Despite this year's respite from the ongoing california drought, conversations with the city's agricultural companies have highlighted the need for a sustainable agriculture program to train industry workers as they transition to more sustainable growing methods that better address climate-related challenges.to this end, oxnard college proposes this design project to support the planning and curriculum development for a proposed sustainable agriculture program. The program most closely aligns with the afri priority area of plan health and production and plan products, though IT will also focus on current trends in agricultural systems and technology. The anticipated target students for the program will be recent high school graduates and current agriculture workers looking to advance their careers. An A.S. Degree and/or stackable certificates in sustainable agriculture would allow local farm workers to move up from front-line work to higher paying jobs in agriculture and agronomy. The target objectives for the project are to:1) recruit professional experts in sustainable agriculture to assist in curriculum development.2) recruit agricultural industry partners to serve on the program's advisory committee.3) develop the proposed curriculum for agriculture program, and submit the curriculum for approval through the college, district, regional and state approval bodies.4) develop partnerships with local and regional agricultural employers to implement internship and other earn & learn strategies upon program launch.5) identify additional resources (human, financial, space and other) needed to successfully launch the program and pursue funding through a USDA implementation project grant.