03/30/1999

Leadership Development Grant Awarded to Alabama's Colleges of Agriculture

AUBURN, Ala. - An Undergraduate Agricultural Student Leadership Development Project will soon benefit students and faculty in the Colleges of Agriculture at Auburn, Alabama A&M and Tuskegee universities.

The project, which is funded through the USDA CSREES Higher Education Grant Program, will forge a long-lasting partnership among faculty and students at Alabama's1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions to advance core competencies in leadership skills. Don Mulvaney, AU animal scientist, will direct the project working in conjunction with faculty at Alabama A&M and Tuskegee.

"Although universities prepare students for employment, many students don't understand how to adapt to the many changes that will occur in the workplace," noted Mulvaney. "What students need is the opportunity to learn leadership skills."

"Agriculture is presently, and will continue to be, faced with substantial change and issues," continued Mulvaney. "Our students need a more complete understanding of these issues and the inevitable change they will face, and we need students to become emerging leaders -- people with leadership attitudes and the skills to work with others effectively and civilly."

One reason Alabama received this grant is that a series of leadership classes has already been established at Auburn. Mulvaney and others at Auburn recognized several years ago the need for leadership development courses. They organized pilot classes and began teaching them in1993. AU's College of Agriculture now has three bonafide leadership courses that are included in the university's curriculum. Mulvaney hopes to develop more in the future.

The USDA grant will use these courses as a springboard for further leadership development. Through the grant, the universities will develop a comprehensive leadership development program for undergraduates that responds specifically to the needs of the agricultural industry and the state. Students will participate in workshops, classes and summer training conferences that will help them become more effective leadership practitioners and advocates for improving the quality of life for their communities and state.

"This project is closely aligned with stated missions of our college and university as described in strategic planning documents and is congruent with the 21st Century Commission's institutional goals for teaching, research and outreach," said Luther Waters, dean of AU's College of Agriculture. "It is uniquely designed to be a model for other states having 1862 and 1890 agriculture programs and will strengthen relationships between agricultural institutions and the private sector."

"On an institutional level," said Mulvaney, "we hope the program will advance relations among all of Alabama's agricultural institutions, thus leading to significant future benefits from collaborative work."

"Students who would otherwise never have contact with each other will become partners in change, and the three institutions of higher learning will become collaborators in shaping the future of Alabama," said Caula Beyl, horticultural scientist and project collaborator at Alabama A&M. Other project collaborators are P.K. Biswas, head of Tuskegee's Department of Agriculture, and Audrey Trotman, an environmental scientist at Tuskegee.

"We have recognized a need for such a program for some time," said Walter Hill, dean and research director at Tuskegee University. "However, with limited resources, we have not been able to develop a leadership program in our college. Certainly, because of the difficulties in obtaining funding from our state legislature, the success of this joint program will enhance the likelihood of obtaining additional funding for our respective agricultural programs from industry sources."

"I believe our program will be a model for any state that has a desire for leadership development of students," Mulvaney added. "The final phase involves a dissemination phase to showcase the early outcomes at a national professional meeting. Friends at Texas A&M have told us we are ahead of the game here and will be the role model for colleges of agriculture around the country."

For additional information on the Undergraduate Agricultural Student Leadership Development Project contact Mulvaney on e-mail at dmulvane@acesag.auburn.edu or by telephone at 334-844-1514.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Katie Jackson, 334-844-5886 or smithcl@auburn.edu

03/30/99