Alcorn's Department of Agriculture host teachers and students from the U.S. Virgin Islands
Alcorn State, Miss. (July 11, 2013) – The Alcorn State University Department of Agriculture is hosting high school students and teachers from the United States Virgin Islands in collaboration with the U. S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture. The Virgin Island Agriculture Experience Camp is being held June 30-July 27, 2013, at Alcorn State University, Lorman Campus, according to Dr. Daniel J. Collins, department chair and professor of plant pathology.
Faculty, staff and students attended opening and welcoming session for the camp participants held July 1, 2013, in the Ray Johnson Assembly Center, Research and Extension Complex.
The camp sponsored by Dr. Louis Petersen Jr., commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, U.S. Virgin Islands, includes 13 participants: 11 youth ages 16-17 and two teachers from Charlotte Amalie High School, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and Future Farmers of America, Inc., from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
The group of students and teachers is accompanied by Deputy Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture Errol Chichester who delivered opening remarks during the opening and welcoming session.
“The goal of the Virgin Island Agriculture Camp is to encourage youth to get involved in agriculture and pursue academic study and careers in the food and agricultural sciences,” Dr. Collins said. “Alcorn hosted a group of students from the U.S. Virgin Islands during the summer of 2004. As a result of this partnership, students received valuable experience and exposure to careers in the food and agricultural sciences. Upon completion of the program, one student from the group decided to enroll at Alcorn. She eventually completed her bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics.”
This year’s program will provide students with a variety of experiential learning opportunities in global food security via classroom instruction, hands on demonstrations, field trips, and oral and written reports.
Dr. Collins and with Clifton Peters, USDA liaison manager, serve as camp co-project directors. For additional information, contact Dr. Collins at 601.877.627 or [email protected] and Clifton Peters at 601.877.6820 or [email protected] .
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Alcorn State University is a premier comprehensive land-grant university that develops diverse students into globally-competitive leaders, and applies scientific research through collaborative partnerships that benefit the surrounding communities, state, nation, and world.
