Academic Summit
An Academic Summit for Colleges of Agricultural, Life, and
Related Sciences: A
National Workshop was held on October 3-5,
2006, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington,
DC, to redesign America's approach to postsecondary education
in the agricultural sciences.
History and Background: The event was sponsored by CSREES,
in cooperation with the Academic Programs Section (APS) of
the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant
Colleges (NASULGC). CSREES and others have determined a critical
need for a national initiative to address U.S. academic institutions'
capacity to prepare society-ready graduates in agricultural,
life, and related sciences.
In addition, the system must be sure that its baccalaureate
programs are adequately preparing graduates for graduate
study so that the nation has a capable pool of scientists
to solve the scientific problems of the next several decades.
The summit will develop avenues for advancing a national
dialogue to redesign academic programs in agricultural, life,
and related sciences.
The Academic Summit goals are:
-
Enhance excellence in higher education in colleges of
agricultural and life sciences.
-
Increase collaborative efforts and integrative activities.
-
Increase communication within the profession and with
appropriate internal and external audiences.
-
Foster integration of teaching, research, extension,
and international programs.
-
Set the national agenda for higher education academic
programs in agricultural and life sciences.
The Academic Summit objectives are:
-
Use input from prospective employers to determine adjustments
needed in agricultural, life, and related sciences curricula
to assure an adequate supply of competent society-ready
graduates for the next decade.
-
Devise the best system for delivering a modern agricultural,
life, and related sciences curriculum.
-
Design a system to adequately develop the competencies
of agricultural and life sciences faculties to best prepare
society-ready graduates for the next decade.
-
Assess the need for and the competencies need by undergraduates
to prepare them for graduate and professional schools.
The Summit is the beginning of a continuing conversation. Speaker presentations have been posted to the agenda; links to background reading, participant list, poster abstracts, speaker biographies, and more information may be found on the meeting materials page. The website and presentations will remain available if you wish to refer to them or use them for presentations at your own institution.
Additional background
on the Education Summit
Back to Education Home Page |