Southern Research Station Awards $250,000 in Grants to Five Universities
Asheville, NC
“The Director’s Initiative was born from my desire to expand the cadre of people who seek a career in the Forest Service, in particular, the Southern Research Station,” said Reaves. “If we are going to expand our research relationships beyond traditional forestry institutions in the region, we have to expand our efforts to attract scientists and researchers from other colleges and universities.”
Proposals were submitted by universities from across the South. After a panel review, the Station selected five projects for funding from students and faculty at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida, Florida A&M University, Hampton University in Virginia, Southern University in Louisiana and Tuskegee University in Alabama. The projects will receive funding for two years.
SRS requested proposals from students and faculty of 1890 Land Grant Institutions on short research or training projects. The 1890 Land Grant Institution program was established at historically black universities to strengthen teaching and research programs in the food and agricultural sciences through cooperative linkages with federal and non-federal entities. Proposals were to focus on one of four topics: developing a project to address priority issues in forests in the South; developing a curriculum focused on training students for federal employment in natural resources; developing a curriculum focused on training students to be scientists or technicians; or coordinating research with one of the Station’s 16 research units.
“This initiative is an extension of other efforts to strengthen our relationship with 1890 colleges and universities,” said Reaves. “It is my hope that we will broaden this effort next year and in the years to come.”
SRS, like much of the Forest Service, used to hire a large number of foresters and other traditional natural resource specialists. Today, managing the nation’s forests has become much more complex, and there is now a need to hire people from a wide array of disciplines and from diverse backgrounds.
Station leaders believe The Director’s Initiative will help increase opportunities for minorities in the natural resources field and the pool of candidates interested in federal employment with the Forest Service.
The mission of SRS is to create the science and technology needed to sustain and enhance southern forest ecosystems and the benefits they provide. With administrative offices located in Asheville, NC, SRS conducts cutting-edge research across the 13 southern states on topics ranging from global climate change, to economics, to forest and wildlife ecology, to wood-based bioenergy.
Additional information on SRS can be found at http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/.