NRCS-A&T Partnership Yields New Scholarships

For Immediate Release
April 20, 2001

Greensboro, NC: The relationship between North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture has expanded to include a new scholarship program and travel funding for A&T students enrolled in the university's Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Program.

According to Dr. Godfrey Gayle, director of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Program and chairperson of A&T's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, the scholarships will enhance erosion and water quality models developed through collaboration among USDA, other federal agencies and universities, and reinforce the strong relationship between the organizations.

"For many years, we have worked with USDA, through the efforts of Dr. Manuel Reyes and others, to evaluate models which the agency uses to analyze and predict soil erosion," said Gayle. "The addition of these scholarships will help us expose more students to this cutting-edge research, and it will lead to greater numbers of professionals prepared to work in such areas with NRCS and USDA's Agricultural Research Service."

Scholarship support ranges from $1000-$5000 annually, and renewal over a recipient's four years at A&T is dependent on academic performance.

The travel support from NRCS will allow A&T students to travel to regional and national conferences, where they will be able to interact with their peers, said Gayle.

"The NRCS program, along with other recent programs, has increased our pool of scholarship money for students in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering to over $500,000," said Gayle. "These investments directly relate to the importance of this field and its need for qualified professionals."

For more information, please contact Dr. Manuel Reyes or Dr. Godfrey Gayle, North Carolina A&T School of Agriculture and Environmental and Allied Sciences, (336) 334-7787.

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