University of Puerto Rico, Ana G. Méndez get $1.7M from USDA
Three Puerto Rico universities will receive a little more than $1.7 million from the US Department of Agriculture to develop student learning experiences in the agricultural and human science sectors.
Two campuses of the University of Puerto Rico and the Ana G. Méndez Carolina campus — formerly known as Universidad del Este — were selected among the Fiscal 2022 awardees who together will receive $14 million in grant funding.
This funding investment is part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSI) Education Grants Program. This grant program aligns the efforts of HSIs to support academic development and career attainment of underrepresented groups, the agency stated.
In its proposal, the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez campus (known as the RUM, in Spanish), stated that its project “is designed to develop and strengthen extension capabilities for animal science and pre-vet students through their involvement in experiential learning and outreach activities using small ruminants.” It will receive a grant of $244,907.
A second proposal from that same campus, which will receive $1 million to develop, aims to establish an interdisciplinary project between the RUM and the University of Puerto Rico’s Aguadilla campus.
“The Program will collaborate with local and federal agencies to address crop growth, stress, and plant health using near and far-field techniques while involving students in experiential learning,” it stated.
At the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, $239,395 in grant funding will be used to give “participants the opportunity to connect with and shadow farm owners and restaurant chefs who are practicing strict food safety protocols and farm-to-table procedures.”
Meanwhile, the Carolina campus of the Ana G. Méndez University System has been awarded a $244,979 grant to recruit high school students into its science and technology programs, while developing retention programs.
