The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that most influence African Americans to enroll in agricultural science programs at 1890 and 1862 Land Grant universities. This study used a quantitative approach in researching the problem of identifying the factors that led minorities to enroll in agricultural science programs at 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions. A survey instrument was designed which collected the factors, demographics, and attitudes that influenced minority enrollment in agricultural sciences at 1890 and 1862 universities. The setting for the data collection in this study is 1890 and 1862 land grant universities in the southern states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. These states were chosen because their close proximity to Mississippi State University and their willingness to participate in this study. The population in this study consists of African American undergraduate students at 1890 and 1862 Land Grant universities. The students were selected from colleges within the university where the agriculture component is taught. The findings were based on the data collected from the 172 undergraduate African American students enrolled in agriculture majors at 1890 and 1862 land grant universities.

This dissertation examines the establishment and influence of the International Livestock Exposition, an annual show that began in Chicago in 1900 and that served as the central hub of the national livestock improvement movement. Industrial meatpacking firms and land-grant university professors worked together to transform the genetic composition and physiology of American meat-producing animals. Packers hosted the Exposition at the Union Stockyards to address market irregularities in quality and supply. University researchers intended to solve a larger set of problems that included rural population decline, the need for more food output to feed a growing population, and diminishing soil fertility. These unlikely partners created the International to eliminate inferior, or “scrub,” livestock. The International played a pivotal role in remaking livestock genotypes and phenotypes. Its organizers and participants favored “improved” animals descended from purebred, British livestock with recorded ancestries—a preference rooted in the reformers’ pseudo-scientific belief in eugenics. Purebred animals had standard bodies with a narrow set of physiological outcomes, which amounted to biotic technology. But genetic homogeneity was only a building block for improvement. The International also employed contests, demonstrations, and advocacy to reconfigure American livestock by making them smaller, more compact, and early-maturing. This study also analyzes the larger shift in American agriculture toward the Corn Belt model of grain feeding. Treating animals as dynamic historical agents, it suggests that machinery, tractors, seeds, and implements did not alone accomplish the industrialization of agriculture. Meat-producing cattle, sheep, and pigs were a requisite component in an emerging industrial sequence. These grain-fed modern livestock and their farmer caretakers fit into a developing web of mutually dependent agricultural specialists. The International united this movement into a singular body at the end of each year in Chicago, and in the process, shaped American agricultural practices and encouraged farm specialization until the show closed in 1975. Sources consulted include land-grant university research and publications, meatpacker records and propaganda, and newspaper and agricultural journal articles.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Secondary Education / Janice R. Wissman / This study was an investigation of mission, vision, funding strategies, and student services for distance learning as expressed by university administrators in land grant universities and state universities, and those institutions that are designated as both land grant and state universities by the state legislature. Three research questions guided the study The study employed a survey distributed through e-mail. The questionnaire was sent to 261 senior administrators; the chief academic officers, chief business officers, and chief information officers in 37 land grant and state universities and 13 institutions that are both land grant and state universities. The return rate was 30%. The institutional mission and administrator’s vision for offering distance learning survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study also used correlation, confirmed by factor analysis, to determine if there was a relationship among the administrators’ responses regarding mission, vision, and funding. The data were analyzed with ANOVA and fishers least means difference test. These tests determined if there were differences in the administrators’ responses between the type or sizes of higher education institutions on mission, vision of administrators. The data analysis indicated that the type of institution did not yield significant differences. The difference of means test indicated there were differences in the student population size of the institutions. The responses indicated the mission or purpose for offering distance learning was to save money for the institution, and support degree completion for former students. The responses related to administrative vision show initiating a distance learning program and a being leader among higher education institutions were the reasons for a distance learning program. The content analysis method was employed to determine the roles of the administrators in the survey. The administrators’ responses related to distance learning were consistent with their roles in the institution. The study also produced results related to student services institutions provide for distance learning students, how the student services were provided, on or off campus or both locations and the funding sources for the student services.

<p>Racial tension in the United States has moved to the forefront in social discourse with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and elections of far-right wing politicians who provide support and empathy for White supremacist groups. In higher education, colleges and universities often serve as microcosms of the broader society’s racial climate. Experts have revealed that 56% of U.S. university presidents believed that inclusion and diversity had grown in importance between 2015-2017. Additionally, 47% of presidents at 4-year institutions stated that students had organized on their campus amid concerns about racial diversity. In attempts to combat the divisiveness present in American culture, colleges and universities have begun appointing Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) administrative positions to lead their inclusion and diversity missions to better support minoritized and marginalized communities. Experts estimate that nearly 80% of CDO positions were created in the last 20 years. Despite efforts to develop CDOs, higher education institutions sometimes struggle to foster inclusive and diverse environments. Recently, a small body of literature has been developed to better understand the CDO role in higher education. Predominantly White Land-Grant Universities (PWLGUs) have also seen an influx of issues related to diversity and inclusion over the years. The purpose of the current study was to uncover how CDOs see their role and responsibilities in the context of Predominantly White Land-Grant Universities. This study used Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework to examine how CDOs navigate their identities, the presence of racism, and the social climate of their university and the broader United States. This study was guided by five research questions, including one topical question which served to provide demographic information of the CDOs. The other four research questions covered barriers and successes of CDOs, how CDOs navigated their own identity while in the role of CDO, and how they observed the presence of racism at PWLGUs. Two rounds of interviews were conducted with seven CDOs at PWLGUs. Topic and pattern coding were used to analyze data via NVivo qualitative data analysis software. There were four findings for this study. First, racism has had a constant presence on, and at times has been supported by, land-grant universities further complicating the jobs of CDOs. Second, CDOs of color often connected elements of their identity to the responsibilities of the CDO position. Third, CDOs described ways in which inclusion and diversity were part of the purpose of land-grant universities and ways in which race factored into academic achievements of the institution, but then become afterthoughts in other elements of campus life. Finally, PWLGUs often invoke liberal processes and decision-making that further limits the capabilities of the CDO to foster inclusive and diverse campuses. Future study recommendations include comparing and contrasting CDOs of Color and White CDOs, CDOs at Minority-Serving Institutions with CDOs at Non-Minority Serving Institutions, and perception of satisfaction by people of color with the job of the CDO at their institution. </p>

No description available.