UTSA researchers awarded a grant to support graduate students in the science fields.
(Oct. 18, 2018) -- Promoting and strengthening the ability of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to develop programs that attract, retain and graduate outstanding students capable of enhancing the nation’s food, agriculture, natural resources and human (FANH) science workforce is the goal of a four-year, $275,000 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture award to The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
This interdisciplinary project, led by Janis Bush, a UTSA professor of environmental science and ecology, is funded by USDA’s Hispanic Serving Institutions Program. Through Project ASSIST (Advancing and Strengthening Science Identity through Systematic Training), Bush and her team will design an innovative education model that can be transferred to other minority-serving institutions with student populations similar to those at UTSA.
Building an effective model first means understanding the barriers to, and the support mechanisms for, enabling underrepresented minority student success. Targeting high school, undergraduate and graduate students, Project ASSIST develops and tests a unique model that cultivates students’ science identity – combining holistic mentoring, writing-to-learn and public science communication – to enhance the quality of undergraduate agriculture education at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). It also aims to increase persistence and graduation rates of underrepresented minority (URM) students pursuing bachelor’s and advanced degrees in agricultural fields at HSIs.
An interdisciplinary team of UTSA faculty from the College of Education and Human Development, College of Sciences, and College of Liberal and Fine Arts will work collaboratively to develop the comprehensive program, which will address the personal, cultural, social and institutional barriers faced by underrepresented minority students.
The program will focus on two skills for future leadership: (1) writing-to-learn activities designed to improve content learning and bridge the gap among lower and upper division courses and encourage graduation; and (2) public science communication training, a value-added skill that responds to the demand for scientists as engaged leaders of public deliberation. These skills will be integrated across specific writing intensive classes for the Environmental Sciences at UTSA.
“We want to create a pipeline from area high schools to UTSA to increase the numbers of students pursuing majors in food, agriculture, natural resources and human science. These students will develop rigorous skills in science that will make them attractive future employees of natural resource and conservation organizations,” said Bush.
The UTSA team includes Janis Bush, principal investigator (PI) and professor and chair of Department of Environmental Science and Ecology, Amaury Nora, professor and associate dean for research in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Sue Hum, associate professor in the Department of English, Kenneth Walker, assistant professor in the Department of English, Jeffrey Hutchinson, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Ecology, Gwen Young, lecturer in the Department of Environmental Science and Ecology and Juliet Ray, director of Grant Services at Johns Hopkins University.
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The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusJoin the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event is to achnowlege the graduating seniors and induct the new cohart of scholars to our program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140,) Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
