Grants to Build the Capacity of NC A&T School of Agriculture

September 23, 1997

Greensboro, NC: Three members of the North Carolina A&T School of Agriculture faculty have been notified that their projects will receive funding from USDA's 1890 Institution Teaching and Research Capacity Building Grants Program.

Projects led by Drs. Aubrey Mendonca, Anthony Yeboah and Geraldine Ray will receive funding totalling $637,267. Yeboah's and Ray's grants will be used for instructional enhancement, while Mendonca's grant will be targeted for research.

The USDA 1890 Institution Teaching and Research Capacity Building Grants Program provides grants for teaching and research projects in high-priority areas. Project coordinators are encouraged to seek matching support from non federal sources, and cooperation with one or more USDA agencies is required.

Funded projects include:

* Impact of Emerging Technologies on Thermal Inactivation of Foodborne Pathogens, a project directed by Dr. Aubrey Mendonca, a microbial food safety research scientist with the A&T Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, is directed toward studying the effect of multiple variables on the heat destruction of four pathogenic bacteria in foods.

Under the project, foods, such as ground beef patties, pork sausages and sous vide chicken inoculated with E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni or Listeria monocytogenes, will be heat processed, and the rate of heat inactivation will be determined.

Studies will also be done to clarify the potential mechanisms of heat resistance in pathogens, and to develop sensitive methods to detect low numbers of heat-injured pathogens in foods.

This project received $247,177 in funding from Capacity Building Grants Program.

* Enhancing the Information Technology Capabilities of the School of Agriculture, a project directed by Dr. Anthony Yeboah, a professor of Department of Agricultural Education, Economics and Rural Sociology, will target the information technology needs of students and faculty in the School of Agriculture.

Of particular emphasis in this project is upgrading technology tools to ensure that all students and faculty have access to the resources of the Internet. To improve outreach efforts and better integrate technology in instruction, the grant will also provide training opportunities for A&T faculty members interested in using the Internet to teach classes.

Yeboah's project received $190,000.

* Instructional Interactive Laboratories: Food and Nutrition, Textile Science, and Multimedia, a project directed by Dr. Geraldine Ray, associate professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, will help A&T students enrolled in science-oriented courses gain experience with modern equipment commonly used in their fields.

Using grant funds, A&T will create a food and nutrition sensory testing laboratory, a textile science testing laboratory and a multi-media distance learning laboratory. Following completion of the laboratories, faculty and students will receive training in using the equipment.

This project received $200,000.

The 1890 Institution Teaching and Research Capacity Building Grants Program is designed to strengthen collaboration among the 1890 institutions, and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and private industry. Other goals include advancing cultural diversity in the food and agricultural fields, and
enhancing the quality of teaching and research programs at historically black land grant institutions.

The Capacity Building Grants Program is competitive, and is administered by the Higher Education Programs office in the Science and Education Resources Development division of the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.

- 30 -

For more information, contact the Dean's Office, NC A&T School of Agriculture, (336) 334-7979.