Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the recent successes of the Virginia State University’s College of Agriculture. Thank you also for your continued support of our 1890 land-grant university, specifically for Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Research Station within the College of Agriculture. Extension and the Agricultural Research Station are those arms of our land-grant institution that extend beyond our campus walls to directly provide assistance to Virginians across the Commonwealth.
Below are some of the ways we’re doing that work now. We’re proud of our achievements. But our programs continue to face tremendous challenges—as well as opportunities—as we rebound from the pandemic, and it is important that our recovery efforts also enable us to be better prepared for all future disasters.
Again, on behalf of the Virginia State University community, we thank each of you for your support during these unprecedented and challenging times. And we encourage you to continue engaging with us by:
Leaning on us for information and asking those important questions of us that can support your initiatives.
Partnering with us to find solutions for your constituents’ most pressing needs. And,
Learning more about what will help us respond to the most pressing challenges that confront the people and communities of the Commonwealth.
Thank you.
Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, Dean/1890 Administrator, VSU College of Agriculture
Dr. Wondi Mersie, Associate Dean & Director of Research, Agricultural Research
Dr. Janine Parker Woods, Associate Administrator, Cooperative Extension
We’re continuing to impact lives across the Commonwealth
Virginia Cooperative Extension Impact statements
Agricultural Research Station Impact statements
VSU College of Agriculture Points of Pride
GRANTS/RESEARCH
1. VSU’s Agricultural Research Station was awarded $1.5 million in USDA capacity building grants in 2020. The grants include: $499,644 for “Preparing for the Future: Building Capacity for Food Safety Compliance at Farmers’ Markets;” $435,028 for “Assessments of the Impact of Cryptic E. Coli on Current Water Quality Monitoring and Management;” and $599,905 for “Developing an Integrated Approach to Combat Gray Mold in Strawberries.”
2. Dr. Rafat Siddiqui, VSU Agricultural Research Station food scientist, was awarded $65,000 in 2020 from Abbott Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., to investigate the modulation of vascular function by nutrients.
3. As part of a $53 million funding package from USDA-NIFA, the Virginia Cooperative Extension Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) at VSU was awarded $600,000 to help socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers across the state. This is the second time the SFOP has been awarded this grant. VSU is one of only four of the nation’s 19 Historically Black Colleges and Universities established as 1890 land-grant universities to receive funding, and one of only two HBCUs awarded the maximum amount.
NOTEWORTHY
1. VSU is one of Virginia’s two land-grant institutions.
2. VSU was awarded a Tree Campus USA University designation from the National Arbor Day Foundation for the sixth year in a row for its dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship.
3. Dr. Yixiang Xu, food scientist with the VSU Agricultural Research Station, was named an associate editor for the American Chemical Society’s newest publication, ACS Food Science & Technology.
4. VSU’s College of Agriculture joins North Carolina A&T University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in leading two new USDA NIFA-funded 1890 Centers for Excellence: the Center of Excellence to Motivate and Educate for Achievement and the Center for Excellence for International Engagement and Development, respectively.
5. William Crutchfield, director of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Small Farm Outreach Program at VSU, was appointed to the advisory board of the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFR) Policy Research Center at Alcorn State University. He also signed an agreement with Natural Conservation Resources Service to expand SFOP outreach efforts to North Carolina and Maryland.
6. Dr. Chantel Wilson, Cooperative Extension 4-H STEAM educational specialist, was selected to serve on the leadership team for the Mars Base Camp 4-H STEM Challenge for 4-H National Youth Science Day.
ACADEMICS
1. VSU’s Department of Agriculture has launched a new International Agriculture Certificate program to help students compete globally.
2. VSU’s Department of Hospitality Management in the College of Agriculture was granted reaffirmation of accreditation in 2019 by the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA) after an extensive review of the program, facilities, faculty and support staff.
3. VSU is one of six HBCUs that have both an accredited ACEND Didactic Program in Dietetics & Dietetic Internship Program. It has contributed to the training of .5% of all black registered dieticians in the U.S. over the past five years.
4. VSU is the only HBCU within the state of Virginia with a Family and Consumer Science Major/Degree.
5. The VSU Textiles, Apparel & Merchandising Management Program was featured by Fashionista as 1 of 9 fashion programs at HBCUs.
6. Dr. Shobha Sriharan is a USDA-NIFA-funded fellow for Remote Sensing Systems in Precision Agriculture to address issues in environment and climate change.
Virginia State University Points Of Pride
virginiA STATE UNIVERSITY
POINTS OF PRIDE
VSU High Tech Tunnel Project At Randolph Farm
Mobile Agriculture Education Unit
The new Mobile Agriculture Education Unit will be a dynamic teaching tool for promoting the importance of agriculture in the Commonwealth.
Small Ruminant Mobile Processing Unit
The COA mobile processing unit for small ruminant farmers who do not have access to meat processing facilities needed to market their products. The unit is now being beta tested, and will be available to farmers in early 2021. Read more.
