Texas Hispanic-Serving Institution Gets $20M to Develop Agricultural Leaders

• The program will give students mentorships, professional and personal development, and bilingual skills opportunities.
• The university is collaborating with other HSIs — Texas State University, New Mexico State University, and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez — to bring more students into the agricultural field.
• The grant is part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's $250 million program under President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

Hispanic students seeking to make a difference in the agricultural field are getting a $20 million opportunity at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and other Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs).

HSI Texas A&M University-Kingsville announced a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a five-year program to develop Hispanic students into agricultural leaders.

According to the press release, the grant will create a pathway from high school through graduate school to put students in food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) careers. Students can access mentorship, professional and personal development, and bilingual skills opportunities.

The university will partner with fellow HSIs Texas State University, New Mexico State University, and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez to bring the program — Leading Hispanics to Federal Agency Employment (LEADING: Leading and Enhancing Agricultural Development in the Next Generation) — to more students.

We are honored by the confidence and trust the USDA places in our faculty at TAMUK and partnering Hispanic Serving Institutions as they have demonstrated how to prepare, train and lead an increasing number of students towards employment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other Agriculture-related careers, Shad Nelson, dean of the agriculture and natural resources college, said in the press release.

This grant is a game changer for South Texas in advancing the Next Generation of students towards graduate degrees that will result in making future great and positive differences in the workforce of higher education and federal agencies.

The grant is part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's $250 million program to allow land-grant institutions, HSIs, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions to enlarge the FANH and USDA workforce under President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

The program seeks to help students through scholarships, fellowships, paid internships, job-opportunity matching, and workforce skills.

Last year, the USDA gave $14 million to HSIs for students pursuing FANH careers.

We are beyond excited for the opportunities we will be able to provide to our students as a result of this funding. LEADING Hispanics will change the lives of our students in extraordinary ways and we can't wait to see the impact it has on their lives and their future successes, Natasha Mast, Texas A&M University-Kingsville associate professor and grant director, said in the press release.