Multi-Departmental Teamwork Enhances the CAES Young Scholars Program Experience

Summary

With faculty increasingly dependent upon grant work and research during summer months, the activities with YSP were difficult to schedule. Dr. Paul Thomas, Professor, and Dr. Ron Walcott, Assistant Dean for Minority and Multicultural Affairs, devised a prototype program based on novel teaching concepts that formed a group of YSP students and assigned them to work with a multi-disciplinary team of faculty over the program.. The overarching goal of the program change was to improve student experiences and expose them to a wider range of science and agricultural topics while reducing the time commitments required of individual faculty.The faculty formulated a cross-commodity, cross discipline team to execute a series of activities that focused on the economic and environmental importance of pollination and breeding in Georgia crops. The program title was: 'The Importance of Pollination and Breeding in Horticulture Crops'. We were able to involve 11 faculty in the department of horticulture, graduate students, technicians, as well as collaborate with faculty in the Entomology Department.. By carefully planning student projects, and outlining a schedule with the students, all program participants were able to complete their individual projects on time. Additionally, Ridwan Mahbub, a member of this student group, won the first place in the first YSP project presentation contest.

Situation

The CAES Young Scholars program has been a tremendously successful activity, focused on providing minority students with unique exposure to science by teaming up faculty to serve as mentors to the students for six weeks during the summer. Traditionally, a single student worked with an individual faculty member for the program term. With faculty increasingly dependent upon grant work and research during summer months, the activities with YSP were difficult to schedule. Dr. Paul Thomas, Professor, and Dr. Ron Walcott, Assistant Dean for Minority and Multicultural Affairs, devised a prototype program based on novel teaching concepts that formed a group of YSP students and assigned them to work with a multi-disciplinary team of faculty over the program.. The overarching goal of the program change was to improve student experiences and expose them to a wider range of science and agricultural topics while reducing the time commitments required of individual faculty. The faculty formulated a cross-commodity, cross discipline team to execute a series of activities that focused on the economic and environmental importance of pollination and breeding in Georgia crops. The program title was: 'The Importance of Pollination and Breeding in Horticulture Crops'.

Response

Faculty from the CAES Department of Horticulture and Entomology teamed up to develop a multi-faculty, multi-department effort to increase the effectiveness of the Young Scholars experience and to involve more CAES faculty in the program. By constructing a team-driven thematic approach, a faculty member need only invest one day to be “impactfully” involved in the program. By having team hosts and supportive faculty work together in short, one-day sessions at multiple locations, the students will experience a broad perspective of agricultural research during the summer session. Locations and topics visited included the UGA Tissue Culture Lab and UGA's SEM/TEM Microscopy Lab. The Griffin Experiment Station, The Griffin Research Garden, Goodness Grows Nursery, The UGA Hort Farm, The UGA Trial Garden, The UGA Bee Lab, The Super Flower Show and Dekalb Farmers Market in Atlanta, The State Botanical Garden, Tifton Georgia, Macon Farmer's Market, Byron Exp. Station, Fort Valley State University Plant Research Lab, The Plant Propagation Program by the Georgia Department of Education Conference, Met with High School Teachers learning to teach Horticulture, Attended the Park Seed Co. Trial Gardens, Davis Floral Greenhouses, Speedling Greenhouses Inc., the Blairsville Research Station and the UGA Entomology Department.

Impact

We were completely successful in implementing our educational theme, and all faculty and scientists were committed to the program, addressed the topics thoroughly, and many made specific efforts to encourage students to consider attending UGA. We were able to involve 11 faculty in the department of horticulture, graduate students, technicians, as well as collaborate with faculty in the Entomology Department. We also engaged Griffin and Tifton campus facilities, the State Botanic Garden, the USDA Research Station at Byron, GA, the Georgia Mountain Station, and several commercial growers, farmers market, and retail outlets. By carefully planning student projects, and outlining a schedule with the students, all program participants were able to complete their individual projects on time. Additionally, Ridwan Mahbub, a member of this student group, won the first place in the first YSP project presentation contest. The design allowed faculty to complete their grant work and keep up with other college duties while still delivering a quality experience for the students.

Details

• Year: 2009
• Geographic Scope: College
• County: Clarke
• Program Areas:
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources