Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World (2009) / Chapter Skim
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4 Breaking Down Silos in the University
4 Breaking Down Silos in the University
Pages 65-76
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From page 65... ...
Some parts of traditional agriculture colleges have had only minor roles in undergraduate education beyond their own majors and little engagement in general education. It would be useful for all departments of agriculture colleges to be involved in undergraduate instruction more broadly.
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From page 66... ...
All students • should acquire habits of disciplined learning, intellectual curiosity, and independence of mind; • should think critically, follow trains of reasoning, engage in evidencebased reasoning, detect fallacies in arguments, discern unstated assumptions, interpret data, understand scientific approaches and recognize nonscientific arguments, and know how to construct, in speech or in writing, a sequence of logically connected and complex ideas; • should develop essential competencies such as writing, interpersonal skills, quantitative and qualitative reasoning, and analytical and computational skills; • should understand their own personal experiences more deeply and develop their capacity to empathize with others, especially those of different heritage, race, sex, or culture; • should develop a sense of civic responsibility and ethical reflection and be prepared for responsible citizenship with an understanding of and strategies for dealing with such social issues as technology and society, the environment and the need for sustainability, multiculturalism, and the international dimensions of contemporary life; • should recognize and anticipate the implications of actions, appreciating the societal impact of advances and activities; • should become aware of some of the many ways in which contemporary life has been shaped and influenced by the intellectual and aesthetic traditions, moral and religious values, and economic and political structures
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From page 67... ...
Agriculture faculties usually recognize all three missions; in contrast, many departments outside these colleges give much less, if any, official credit for activities beyond the university. Agriculture colleges often partition faculty efforts into two categories: research and teaching or research and extension.
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From page 68... ...
For example, a genetics course could include examples about plant breeding, an engineering course could examine the development of agricultural technology, and a chemistry course could use examples from food sciences. Because of the importance of agriculture and its firm grounding in the natural and social sciences, the committee encourages universities, professional societies, government agencies, and others to include both agricultural and nonagricultural disciplines in discussions about curriculum at the institutional and national levels. Connecting with the Rest of the University In general, colleges of agriculture have faculty whose interests overlap with faculty outside of agriculture -- throughout the life sciences, environment, and applied social sciences.
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From page 69... ...
Many research universities have found mechanisms for including faculty of different colleges in a single graduate program, but far fewer encourage or even allow this sort of collaboration for undergraduate instruction. To facilitate enduring cross-college undergraduate teaching activities, college and university administrators need to find means of rewarding and supporting faculty who provide instruction to students from outside of their home colleges.
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From page 70... ...
An even less dramatic strategy would be to include faculty from diverse departments in several colleges on search committees to encourage the recruitment of faculty with diverse interests that cross departmental lines. University and college leaders should be open to searches aimed at recruiting faculty who would serve students from beyond their own home departments.
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From page 71... ...
Similar collections of cross-cutting faculty interests can be found in planto riented and animal-oriented departments, food-science and nutritions cience departments, and departments derived from traditional agricultural studies, such as agronomy and dairy science. Those departments have nurtured, possibly more than departments in many other colleges, the currently fashionable concept of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research, often established to tackle specific, clearly stated problems.
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From page 72... ...
Agricultural economics departments have always had strengths in applied economics with emphasis on empirical methods and risk management. There may be opportunities to join existing units beyond the agriculture college to contribute to other business-degree programs.
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From page 73... ...
1920s The departments merge to form the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management and adds faculty in land economics, farm finance, marketing and cooperatives, and local government. 1940s World War II increases the demand for research and outreach related to food production.
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From page 74... ...
Graduates of colleges of agriculture will need to be prepared to live in a rapidly changing world characterized by proliferating knowledge, an exploding capacity to create and transmit information, increasing global interdependence, and growing diversity in the nation's social and cultural life. Colleges of agriculture -- because of their multiple roles in the creation, transformation, and transmission of knowledge; their history of addressing issues and concerns of diverse constituencies; and their commitment to addressing both domestic and international issues -- are ideally situated to model new approaches to interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teaching and learning in our universities.
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From page 75... ...
No other human activity has a longer history or greater social consequences than the pursuit of food, shelter, and natural resources and is at the center of human well-being. • The humanities and the arts help to orient us to an extremely complex and elusive world by showing us the most compelling, expressive, and innovative forms and arguments through which people have tried to examine, symbolize, and discuss the human condition.
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