Update from the Office of Academic Programs

The CAFNR Academic Programs Office handles some of the most important aspects of the College including recruitment of future students, student advisement coordination, career planning, financial assistance and providing international learning experiences through the Study Abroad Program.

It also oversees the McNair Scholars Program and John E. Brown and Dickinson scholars programs that provide real-world experience to students.

The Executive-in-Residence program, endowed by the generosity of the Reich family, allows students to interact and learn from a successful business person.

Research internships are also available in CAFNR to provide opportunities for undergraduate students to gain research experience both on-campus or at one of the College's farms or centers.

The CAFNR Honors Program, handled by the office, is designed for high-ability students who are motivated to seek an individualized learning experience. One of the most distinct advantages of the Honors Program is that, for some degrees in the College, it allows a more flexible program of study, in addition to increased contact with faculty and the opportunity to conduct research.

Each incoming student is assigned a faculty member who serves as the student's academic adviser. This one-on-one advisement and guidance helps the student design the course of study best suited to meet career objectives. Advisers work closely with the CAFNR Career Services office to assist the student in choosing career options and in preparation for internships and permanent employment.

The College's Study Abroad Program offers a variety of programs from Asia to Central America to Europe. Students get a fresh perspective on their education and place in the world, explore ideas with new friends, and learn new languages and cultures.

Each year, CAFNR awards more than $850,000 in scholarships; more than half of which is offered to incoming freshmen. CAFNR scholarships also are available to transfer and continuing students; and many departments have scholarships specifically for their students.

A record-setting 77 companies attended the Fall 2008 CAFNR Career Fair.  Employers were impressed by the students.  "The career fair at Mizzou was one of the best in the region.  The Mizzou students were all professional and prepared," one employer commented.

CAFNR's faculty advisors continue to prove their teaching and advising are second to none.  During the 2007-2008 academic year, CAFNR faculty claimed three of the top six campus awards for teaching and advising.  Jan Dauve in Agricultural Economics was awarded the 2008 MU Outstanding Advisor Award.  Rob Terry in Agricultural Education and Tony Lupo in Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences were both recipients of the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence.  Only five Kemper Fellowships are given on the MU campus each year.

CAFNR faculty can now share ideas, utilize resources, and receive professional development for teaching through CAFNR's new Teaching Enhancement Program. One of the program's highlights will be a Teaching Symposium on transforming undergraduate education in the sciences. Also, new faculty members across CAFNR will be able to join the first Teachers College, a series of seminars and learning activities to help faculty improve their teaching effectiveness, and ultimately student learning.

The Golden Apple Award has been revitalized. The award recognizes faculty in the College who excel and go "above and beyond" in teaching and/or advising.

Golden Apple Winners

• Trista Strauch, teaching assistant professor in Captive Wild Animal Management
• Reid Smeda, associate professor of plant sciences
• Stephanie Chipman, CAFNR's career services director
• Bruce Cutter, professor of forestry and associate director
• Matthew C. Lucy, animal sciences professor

Jim Groves, associate professor and chair of CAFNR's hotel and restaurant management program, received the University's 2008 excellence in teaching with technology award in the undergraduate teaching category. The award is designed to recognize excellence in the efforts of faculty, staff and teaching assistants using educational technologies to meaningfully improve teaching and learning at MU.

A campus-wide Advising Assessment Task Force was established to assess the quality of student advising and determine how to better meet students' needs.  Charlie Nutt, executive director for the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), will lead this task force. Robert Torres, professor of agricultural education, is representing CAFNR on the task force.

CAFNR graduates are getting jobs. The College's most recent Destination Survey shows a placement rate of 90 percent with 92 percent of those employed in a field related to their major. How about salaries of our graduates? CAFNR's "Caps & Gowns" from May 2008 revealed an average salary across all majors of $41,350.  For a report of salary data by specific majors, please see: Salary Results (PDF).

Student clubs and organizations, faculty and staff, employer partners, and alumni are actively involved in student career development.  Every college-wide career workshop is sponsored by an employer, a CAFNR student organization or both. Nearly 200 CAFNR alumni and friends participate in the Connections career mentoring program to answer questions about career fields. To hear the story of one CAFNR student/Connections mentor, visit Career Services

More than 90 percent of students participate in an internship prior to graduation.  The fields and job descriptions are quite diverse; consider Annette Bruch's summer internship with the United States Soybean Export Council.  Annette had the opportunity to install "soy cows" in Guatemala. For the complete story, go to: Summer internships give insight into international commerce.

Three CAFNR students joined peers in the College of Education, School of Journalism, College of Engineering and College of Business to compete in the iPhone 3G Student Developer Contest. Responding to a challenge by Apple Computer and AT&T, students formed interdisciplinary teams to identify and design mobile device software applications. The program helps students learn to innovate through collaboration, bolster entrepreneurship, strengthen ties between the public and the news media, and develop models for interdisciplinary partnerships to improve higher education.

More than 250 students took advantage of CAFNR's new podcasting facility in the Educational Technologies office located in the Agriculture Building. Students utilize the computer lab to create a wide range of media projects from audio podcasts for a verbal communication course to audio and video projects for courses in the Hotel and Restaurant Management program. Multimedia projects are growing in popularity and have been found to enhance learning in many subject areas. The use of media can help students illustrate complex processes, show subtle relationships and compare essential ideas in ways that are impossible through text alone.

The annual Tiger Ag Classic Golf Tournament was a great success as 137 alumni and friends participated in this year's tournament and raised approximately $26,000 for CAFNR student scholarships and classroom enhancements. See the slide show.

CAFNR experienced a record attendance with over 450 students, parents and secondary teachers participating in the fall 2008 Preview Mizzou.

More than 250 CAFNR Students and their families participated in Mizzou's Family Weekend and enjoyed an incredible breakfast made and served by the Hotel and Restaurant Management students.

Many urban students believe that the only reason to obtain a degree from a college of agriculture is to become a traditional farmer.  Many students are unaware of the opportunities linked with the life sciences industry and are not exposed to these opportunities at the high school level. CAFNR created the Sciences of Life Academy, a summer residential academy, to introduce urban students to the changing role of agriculture in our society and to introduce them to career opportunities within the life sciences.  Of the 26 students who attended the Academy in 2007, 24 applied to Mizzou.

 The Life Sciences Quest, a weeklong residential program established in partnership with the Parkway School district in St. Louis, is a collaborative effort to provide college planning workshops for students and parents. It also provides a residential college experience for students involved in Parkway's African-American Acceleration Program. Last summer, 20 students spent a week with CAFNR faculty and students exploring potential career opportunities in research, agriculture and veterinary medicine. The week's activities culminated in a dinner for students and parents hosted by Monsanto.

Study Abroad

During the 2007-08 academic year, 137 CAFNR students studied internationally. During the 2008 summer, 98 students participated in study aboard experiences. CAFNR currently conducts 16 study abroad programs in 11 different countries with new study abroad programs in Food Science in New Zealand being considered. Plans are also in the works for a Hospitality and Restaurant Management Program in New Zealand as well as a Wildlife Management Program in South Africa. Atmospheric Science is looking into a study abroad program in Iceland and Agricultural Economics is working on developing a program to study in Brazil. Each year the Agricultural Systems Management Students study abroad in a different country and this year they are planning their experience in the United Kingdom.

During the break between the fall and spring semester, Bob Sites, professor of plant sciences, took 17 students on his third Bio-Diversity and Conservation Study Abroad Program to Thailand. Students gained first-hand experience on how research is conducted in the field on gibbons, elephants and hornbills. They also met with Rick Passaro, who leads one of the few Clouded Leopard Captive breeding programs, and spent time working on a coral nursery and replanting coral in the Andaman Sea.

Lincoln University in New Zealand hosted 20 CAFNR students during the winter break that included visits to the Antarctic Center in Christchurch, Maori Haka and Queenstown. In addition, during the Spring 2009 semester, five CAFNR students spent an entire semester at Lincoln University studying a range of subjects.

Story by: Randy Mertens
Photo credit: Kyle Spradley and Genevieve Howard
Posted: May 28, 2009