College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences

News & Highlights

SAPLINGS • Project Summary

North Carolina A&T envisions leading the 1890 land-grant universities (LGUs) and the nation in growing the next generation of underrepresented minority (URM) workers, leaders, and innovators for food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) careers. The primary goals are to:

  • Improve the pipeline to FANH careers via early outreach, family engagement, recruitment, and marketing research
  • Establish a program consisting of six modules to enhance student learning, training, and success
  • Build collaborations at local, regional, and national levels
  • Establish mechanisms to enable sustainability.

SAPLINGS will prepare URM students across the educational continuum (4-H youth, Grades 5-12, college) for USDA and other federal/private sector employment. Supported activities include formal & informal outreach and engagement, integrated recruitment, training & retention initiatives, scholarships, experiential learning, and other student support led by North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NC A&T)—the nation’s largest historically black university and host of the 1890 Center for Student Success and Workforce Development (SSWD).

SAPLINGS • Objectives

  • Strengthen the college pipeline by igniting interest and engagement in FANH programs among Grades 5-12 school students, and two educators
  • Use a comprehensive modular approach with multi-layer partnerships to attract, retain, mentor, and graduate more URM college students across the FANH continuum
  • Increase institutional capacity for student success and boost students’ awareness of FANH careers.

Year One • Highlights

  • Identified four "Farmacist" scholars and three Health Disparity scholars, each making significant strides in their respective fields.
  • Three scholars expanded their professional networks at the USDA Spring Summit in Washington D.C. in May.
  • One scholar facilitated a key health disparity webinar with Dr. Seth Berkowitz of UNC-CH, leading an engaging Q&A session in June.
  • A scholar contributed to the Healthy Habits summer camp, delivering interactive nutrition education to local children.
  • A scholar from NCAT excelled in the NCSU Summer Scholars program and represented future food science leaders at the IFT annual meeting in Chicago.
  • Awarded scholarships to four teachers from low-resource communities to attend NCSU's Food Science and Safety CASE Institute program.
  • Over 70 high school students participated in the “Promote Food and Nutritional Sciences to 4-H Youth Development” program, exploring potential careers in food and nutrition.
  • Introduced the Laboratory for Functional Foods and Human Health to approximately 20 George Washington Carver Food Research Institute students.
  • Supervised a scholar in creating an internship poster and presenting at the 13th Annual CAES Student Showcase of Excellence.
  • Planning a three-day workshop on Metabolomics for food and nutrition students and scholars, scheduled for September 11-13.

Module 4

  1. Identified three new “Farmacist” scholars who have made significant contributions in their fields and joined our NextGen Module 4.
  2. Two scholars completed training on conducting human studies, including consent procedures and experimental protocols. They are now actively involved in our Healthy Gut & Healthy Life study, assisting with participant recruitment and stool sample collection.
  3. One scholar participated in the Greensboro Urban Food Pantry and Ministry’s outreach efforts, educating the local community on making healthier nutritional choices.
  4. Another scholar contributed to the Out of the Garden Project, supporting families facing food insecurity through food distribution and community service.
  5. Two scholars joined the Food and Nutritional Sciences (FNS): Engaging with Future Leaders initiative, inspiring underprivileged high school students in North Carolina with hands-on learning and career exploration in food science and nutrition.
  6. One scholar interned with Growing High Point in collaboration with Community Food Strategies, working to strengthen ties between local farmers and the High Point community to enhance access to healthy food.
  7. Two scholars from the previous cohort successfully completed the program and received their Farmacist Scholarship certificates.

VSU Highlights

  1. 6 VSU students and 2 faculty were trained and certified in artificial insemination in late summer 2024 as part of an animal welfare and wellness summer program
  2. Supported 14 students and accompanying faculty to travel to the MANRRS regional meeting (fall 2024) – all students competed in MANRRS competitions. Two students won first and second place in the elevator pitch and one student won second place in the impromptu competition and will be competing at the National MANRRS meeting
  3. Will support six students and faculty to the National MANRRS meeting in early April, 2025. All students will be competing in various competitions
  4. Supported 10 students and faculty to travel to the 2024 Society for Hospitality and Food Service Management (SHFM). VSU is the first HBCU to establish and hold an SHFM student chapter on campus.
  5. Will support 8 students and faculty to the Women in Hospitality Leadership Conference in late March 2025
  6. Will host a one-day workshop in March 2025 for middle and high school teachers on the VSU campus focused on applying drones, virtual reality and other technologies in agriculture and the opportunities to enhance student engagement.
  7. Will host a grazing workshop in April 2025 for students in collaboration with representatives from American Farmland Trust
  8. Provided stipend support for students in a fall and spring semester pilot internship experience focused on agrivoltaics
  9. Provided needs based support for 3 students to supplement financial aid

The Pipeline (M1) presented an oral presentation “Bridging the Gap”: Ag and STEM Connect: Strengthening the STEAgM Pipeline through Professional Development for Middle and High School Educators. Bridging the Gap is an annual conference aimed at strengthening K–16 STEM education throughout North Carolina. The event brings together educators, business leaders, government officials, and others who play a role in STEM education to share ideas and resources, ultimately fortifying and diversifying the state of North Carolina’s and the nation’s STEM workforce pipelines. Since 2012, more than 4,180 STEM stakeholders from North Carolina and beyond have attended.

Agripreneurship (M2) (Experiential Training in Agricultural Entrepreneurship) This Module implemented the “Careers in Agriculture and Food Exploration (CAFE)” Workshop held May 18 & 19, 2026. A transformative program designed to provide undergraduate students from 1890 land-grant institutions with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the food and agricultural sector. The workshop aimed to introduce participants to the diverse career opportunities in agriculture and equip them with the tools and skills necessary for personal and professional development. Over the course of 2 days, students engaged in interactive sessions, networking opportunities, and hands-on activities. Participating students included 9 from North Carolina A&T State University, South Carolina State University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Tuskegee University, Virginia State University, Fort Valley University, and Tennessee State University, who participated in the Cultivator program, a collaboration and partnership with the Farm Foundation.

TICAS (M3) (Training Integrated Climate-Smart Agriculture Stewards) During year 3, students received Internship support - In summer 2025, 2 students participated in an internship, each with USDA ARS. TICAS plans to have 4 or 5 internships this summer 2026, 2 going to the USDA. TICAS surveyed outgoing scholars about their experience & perception. Graduate student interns were recruited, engaged, and trained in research over the summer. Students participated in webinars that exposed them to climate-smart agriculture and resilience. 6–7 webinars were conducted.

The Farmacy (M4) (Using Team Science to Train the Next Generation of “Farmacists”). The module was very instrumental in Weekly Instruction by holding weekly training sessions on Metabolomics, Nutritional biochemistry, and Precision nutrition. These weekly training sessions taught students about: LC–MS workflows, Metabolite detection, and Dietary biomarkers. Through literature review and research, students examined scientific papers on Flavonoid metabolism, Precision nutrition, study design evaluation, & research methods. Additionally, students helped develop research ideas and hypotheses.

ARISE (5) (Artificial Intelligence and Data Science for Precision Agriculture). Enhanced college students’ AI literacy, knowledge, and skills to develop AI solutions for precision agriculture and biomanufacturing. Students developed AI-enabled educational labs, data analytics modules at three levels, and implemented experiential and collaborative learning of precision Ag, AI, and data analytics. Students at NCAT began using these three lab units to conduct AI-related labs, course projects, and research projects.

M6) Student Success (FANH Student Success: Enhanced Faculty Development & Student Learning.) 45 Faculty participants enrolled in the ACUE Effective Online Teaching Practices program. ACUE: Association of Colleges and University Educators. Currently, 61% of those enrolled have completed the program. The online ACUE EOTP Program was held from 08/15/2025 to 06/30/2026.