Enhancing Coordination and Collaboration Across the Land-Grant System

______

Committee on Enhancing
Coordination Between Land-Grant
Universities and Colleges

Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources

Division on Earth and Life Studies

Board on Higher Education and Workforce

Policy and Global Affairs

Consensus Study Report

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This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-69107-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-69107-9
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26640

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022.
Enhancing Coordination and Collaboration Across the Land-Grant System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26640.

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COMMITTEE ON ENHANCING COORDINATION BETWEEN LAND-GRANT UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES

KATHRYN J. BOOR (Chair), Dean, Graduate School, and Vice Provost, Graduate Education, Cornell University

OLGA U. BOLDEN-TILLER, Dean, College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences, and 1890 Research Director, Tuskegee University

DINA J. CHACÓN-REITZEL, Executive Director, New Mexico Beef Council

MARTIN A. DRAPER, Associate Dean for Research, College of Agriculture; Director for Research, K-State Research and Extension, Kansas State University

RONNIE D. GREEN, Chancellor, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

MOSES T. KAIRO, Professor, Dean, and Director of Land-Grant Programs, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

JAN E. LEACH, University Distinguished Professor, Agricultural Biology Department; Associate Dean for Research, College of Agricultural Sciences, Colorado State University

KAREN PLAUT, Dean, College of Agriculture, and Professor of Animal Science, Purdue University

WENDY POWERS, Dean, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University

RYAN F. QUARLES, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture

HAROLD H. SCHMITZ, Senior Scholar, Graduate School of Management, University of California, Davis; General Partner, March Capital US, LLC

STEVE YANNI, Land Grant Director, Bay Mills Community College

Study Staff

ROBIN SCHOEN, Director, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources

MARIA ORIA, Senior Program Officer (until December 2021)

SARAH KWON, Senior Program Assistant (until May 2022)

FRANCES E. SHARPLES, Science Writer

PAIGE JACOBS, Program Assistant

SAMANTHA SISANACHANDENG, Program Assistant

Consultant

H. MICHAEL HARRINGTON, Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (Retired)

Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by CUTBERTO GARZA, Cornell University, Emeritus, and NORMAN SCOTT, Cornell University, Emeritus. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

Preface

The land-grant system was created in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the first Morrill Act into law. At the time, the Act committed a total of more than 17 million acres of federally controlled land to support establishment of colleges and universities that promised to provide education in practical subjects (e.g., mechanical arts and agriculture) in the context of a liberal education. Through a series of federal acts, land-grant colleges and universities have a three-part mission in the agricultural sciences: research, education, and extension. Further legislation contributed to the expansion of the system to include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (1890) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (1994). Today, at a time when science and technology are more important than ever, the system is a crucial asset for education and research for the nation's agricultural industries. However, the widespread geographic distribution of the land-grant colleges and universities coupled with their range of sizes and widely differing histories contribute to a system that is not comprehensively cohesive.

Meanwhile, the benefits and importance of multidisciplinary and collaborative research are clearly well recognized. Collaboration among practitioners in the life sciences, engineering, computing and data analytics, and the social sciences among other disciplines is furnishing new pathways to advances and innovations in science and technology. For agriculture, these new capabilities are potential game changers that are becoming essential to counter the impacts of changes in the world’s climate, land use, human population size, plant and livestock pests and diseases, and other factors that threaten the health and welfare of the Earth’s population and its natural resources.

Forward-thinking members of Congress have recognized the importance of these opportunities and have asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to assess the key factors that make for successful collaborative science and what actions might be taken to enhance the impact of inter-institutional activities specifically across the land-grant system. In response, the National Academies established the Blue Ribbon Panel that I have had the pleasure of chairing and that has produced this brief report. This “fast-track study” was on an accelerated schedule that meant that the work of the Panel is only a beginning. A request for a follow-on project has already been received by the National Academies, and it is my hope that congressional interest in improving and promoting greater integration and collaboration among the land-grant colleges and universities with a consequent increase in the impact of agricultural and food science advances will remain high.

The development of this report would not have been possible without the dedicated work of the National Academies’ staff. The team was ably led by Robin Schoen, the director of the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Fran Sharples assisted with the writing of the report. H. Michael Harrington, former Executive Director of the Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors, served as a consultant and lent the Panel his in-depth expertise in agricultural extension. Paige Jacobs and Samantha Sisanachandeng provided crucial administrative support as the program assistants for the project. Maria Oria served as a senior program officer on the project until December 2021, and Sarah Kwon was its senior program assistant until May 2022. The Panel is grateful to all of these individuals.

Kathryn J. Boor, Chair
Committee on Enhancing Coordination Between
Land-Grant Universities and Colleges

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Contents

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

SUMMARY

1INTRODUCTION

Statement of Task

Study Process: How the Panel Conducted Its Work

Organization of the Report

2COLLABORATION IN THE LAND-GRANT SYSTEM

Multistate Projects

Coordinated Agricultural Projects

National and Regional Programs

Historically Black College and University Centers of Excellence

Intrastate Collaboration

Discussion

3FRAMING THE VALUE OF COLLABORATIVE AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

Scientific Convergence

Applications in Agriculture

Creating Successful Collaborative Teams

Capacity Funding of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities

The Larger Funding Picture

4PRINCIPLES FOR ENHANCING THE SUCCESS AND IMPACT OF LAND-GRANT COLLABORATION

Recommendations for Reducing Barriers to Collaboration

Recommendations for Amplifying Impacts Through Effective Communications

5NEXT STEPS

REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

APANEL BIOGRAPHIES

BWEBINAR AND VIRTUAL WORKSHOP AGENDAS

CPRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS OF THE BLUE RIBBON PANEL

DRESPONSES FROM STAKEHOLDERS TO PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS

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Acronyms and Abbreviations

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