U.s. Agriculture Department Honors Colorado State's Discovery Program With National Award
Friday, June 13, 1997
FORT COLLINS--An innovative program that brings minority
students from across the nation to study and do research at
Colorado State University was recognized with a 1997 Honor Award
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The award, given to the Discovery Program organized by the
College of Agricultural Sciences, is the agency's most
significant award recognizing outstanding contributions to
agriculture. The awards were presented by Agriculture Secretary
Dan Glickman in a ceremony in Washington, D.C., this week.
"To receive this award is an honor for the Discovery Program
and the coordinators who have worked hard to make it so
successful," said Kirvin Knox, dean of the College of
Agricultural Sciences. "I am proud this program has earned the
national recognition it so truly deserves."
Faculty members in the College of Agricultural Sciences
launched the Discovery Program in 1992 as a way to prepare
undergraduate minority students for graduate school in
agricultural disciplines. The first participants were students
from Lincoln University in Missouri, Jones County Junior College
in Mississippi and Southern University in Louisiana. Selected
students are invited to Colorado State University for eight weeks
in the summer to take courses and conduct research with assigned
faculty mentors.
The program has since grown to include other colleges on
campus, including the College of Veterinary Medicine and
Biomedical Sciences, Applied Human Sciences and Natural
Resources. Student participation has expanded to include a
number of other universities from across the country as well as a
wide range of cultural backgrounds. In addition to working in the
classroom and laboratory, participants attend workshops to
improve communication and computer skills and prepare for the
graduate record examination.
Of the 60 Discovery Program participants who have completed
the program, more than one-third have transferred into
undergraduate or graduate programs at Colorado State, said Elaine
Roberts, a program coordinator.
"The whole aim of this program is to prepare undergraduate
college students who show promise as leaders in their field for
the next level of their academic career," Roberts said. "This
program increases the understanding of our faculty and students,
but also provides an opportunity for minority students from other
parts of the country to learn what Colorado State's graduate
programs have to offer them."
The 1997 program is currently in session and involves 18
students. Financial support has come from a number of sources,
including the USDA's Challenge Grant program and a variety of
private companies in agriculture and other industries.
Program coordinators include professors Roberts and Glen
Rask, and James Heird, associate dean for the College of
Agricultural Sciences.
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