College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Engaging Students
Search for Chronic Disease Risk Factors in
Horses Leads to Clues about Prevention
Bringing New Life to an Eroding Stream
Value-added Soybeans to Save Money and Environment
Expanding the Learning Experience
Crossing Traditional Boundaries of Science
To Find Health Solutions
Hobby-size Planes May Be Future of
Early Warning System
Improving Local Economies Through Agritourism
Incentive Payments May Reduce Phosphorus Pollution
Protecting Milk’s Flavor and Nutritional Value
Finding a Healthful and Environmentally Friendly Use For Peanut Skins
Supporting Virginia’s Expanding Wine Industry
Virginia Tech Reaches Top 10 in Agricultural Research
Entrepreneurship Education Puts Business Owners in the Express Lane
E-learning Option for Place-bound Professionals
Financial Planning – From the Farm to the Household
New Graduate Program to Train Faculty in Agricultural Education Fields
Farmers’ Markets from Diverse Communities Benefit from Sharing
Families, Food, and Fun
Developing Disease-free Mosquitoes
Mites Make Right in Honduras – or Not?
Help for the Hippos of Zambia
Engaging Students
The college’s three-pronged mission of engagement, discovery, and learning is an integral part of Virginia Tech’s land-grant system. Through learning and teaching, we create our key legacy for the future, our students. To ensure our students’ success, it is imperative that we educate the whole person and provide the skill sets that stimulate creative problem-solving and lifelong learning. Core values of the undergraduate learning experience are our students’ education from a broad, interdisciplinary perspective that includes diversity and globalization, disciplinary competence, and citizenship. The college strives to build a community of learners among faculty and students that promotes teaching excellence and scholarship within and beyond the university.
At Virginia Tech we have the opportunity to educate students beyond the classroom by providing them with a variety of opportunities for study at home and abroad; involvement in discovery or research; and engagement activities or service learning, where students put their knowledge to work outside the classroom. We promote and continuously strive for the following four goals:
- Increase student involvement in discovery and engagement by
creating more opportunities for undergraduates to be involved in
research, capstone experiences (during which students integrate
knowledge learned), education abroad, and experiential learning.
- Strengthen and integrate all aspects of the undergraduate academic experience, including the academic experience of transfer students.
- Increase the diversity of the student body and provide educational
experiences that will enhance students’ multicultural competence.
- Invest in departmental and university-level support for undergraduate education.
The college is in the process of involving students in discovery and
engagement by increasing undergraduate participation in the above
activities and has been making great strides toward this goal. Many ofthe research successes in this edition of Innovations involve students who work “shoulder to shoulder” with faculty members.
We also continue to foster inclusiveness in all of our programs. The
number of transfer students has more than doubled in the past three years– a testimony to the success of the articulation agreement with the community college system. Additionally, the ratio of female to male undergraduate students is approximately 60:40, and the ethnic diversity of our faculty, staff, and students is improving.
The quality of the experiences and education we are providing students has been reflected in enrollment increases over the past four years, where undergraduate enrollment has grown from approximately 1,800 to more than 2,400 students. Our faculty members are strong role models and mentors for our students, and we are deeply committed to our students, providing them with the best education and associated activities the college and faculty can provide.
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| Sharron Quisenberry, Dean |