HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS

PROGRAM SUMMARY

FY 2000

Higher Education Programs

Science and Education Resources Development

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

September 2000

FY 2000 HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM

The Higher Education Challenge Grants Program, administered by the USDA Office of Higher Education Programs, is designed to stimulate and enable colleges and universities to provide the quality of education necessary to produce graduates capable of strengthening the Nation's food and agricultural scientific and professional work force. It is intended that projects supported by the program will: (1) address a regional, State, national, or international educational need; (2) involve a creative or novel approach toward addressing the need which can serve as a model to others; (3) encourage and facilitate better working relationships in the university science and education community, as well as between universities and the private sector, to enhance program quality and supplement available resources; and (4) result in benefits which will likely transcend the project duration and USDA support.

Proposals may be submitted by all U.S. colleges and universities that have a demonstrable capacity to carry out teaching in the food and agricultural sciences at the baccalaureate and first professional degree levels. Each grantee must have a significant ongoing commitment to the food and agricultural sciences and to the specific subject areas for which such a grant is used. Generally, the food and agricultural sciences consist of agriculture, natural resources, forestry, family and consumer sciences, veterinary medicine, and closely allied disciplines.

In FY 2000, $4,350,000 were available to support projects which addressed the undergraduate or first professional level of study in the following targeted areas: (1) curricula design and materials development; (2) faculty preparation and enhancement for teaching; (3) instruction delivery systems; and (4) student experiential learning.

A total of 57 different institutions from 37 States and one Commonwealth submitted 103 proposals for consideration for funding in the tenth year of the program. In April 2000, the grant applications were evaluated by a 24-member peer review panel. The panel was comprised of faculty members of land-grant and nonland-grant institutions or with a joint appointment at ARS laboratories. Panelists represented various academic areas including business, agriculture, natural resources, forestry, veterinary medicine, family and consumer sciences, and closely allied disciplines. Funds were available to support a total of 35 grants based on the peer review deliberations. The 35 grants were awarded to 28 lead institutions in 22 States. Six of the projects funded in FY 2000 were joint projects involving three or four institutions. When the collaborating institutions are included with the lead institutions, a total of 37 institutions from 25 states are being supported under the FY 2000 Higher Education Challenge Grants Program.

The following chart presents information on the grants awarded under the FY 2000 Higher Education Challenge Grants Program.

FY 2000 Higher Education Challenge Grants Program

Total Funds Awarded to States and Lead Institutions*

State Lead Institution Funds

Alabama Auburn University $ 237,493

Auburn University 89,193

California California State University, Chico 65,865

San Diego State University 84,140

Connecticut University of Connecticut 78,135

Florida Florida State University 250,000

University of Florida 85,686

Indiana Purdue University 99,417

Purdue University 99,503

Iowa Iowa State University 93,239

Iowa State University 249,775

Kansas Kansas State University 99,213

Kentucky University of Kentucky 100,000

Louisiana Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 99,707

Louisiana State University, Shreveport 100,000

Massachusetts Tufts University 95,000

Montana Montana State University 90,000

New York Cornell University 99,999

North Carolina North Carolina State University 38,160

North Carolina State University 99,664

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 95,000

Oklahoma Oklahoma State University 100,000

Oklahoma State University 171,000

Oregon Oregon State University 97,899

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State University 100,000

Pennsylvania State University 100,000

Tennessee University of Tennessee 81,123

University of Tennessee 100,000

Texas Texas Tech University 250,000

Texas A&M University 99,999

Virginia Virginia Polytechnic Institute 99,366

Vermont University of Vermont 94,646

Washington Washington State University 99,534

Wisconsin University of Wisconsin, Madison 237,500

University of Wisconsin, River Falls 99,664

Total $4,079,920

*These amounts represent the total Federal dollars awarded to each lead institution, including the funds that will be subcontracted out to collaborating institutions for joint projects. Excluding the funds that will be subcontracted out to collaborating institutions, no single institution will receive more than $200,000 under this program in FY 2000.

*The awardees which have a total of $200,000 dollars or more represent more than one individual or subcontractors at the following institutions: Alabama A&M University, Tuskegee University, University of Arkansas, University of California, Davis, University of California, Riverside, University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, Alcorn State University, South Carolina State University, Steven Austin University, and Texas Woman's University.