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- 22. Year in Review 2001: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- December 08, 2001
Academic Programs
More graduates, new programs. CALS demonstrated its outstanding commitment to see students through to graduation when it awarded more than 100 graduate and 600 undergraduate degrees last academic year, the highest numbers in recent years. These hard-working graduates are pursuing further education and/or careers in agriculture, natural resources, and family and consumer sciences.
To accommodate additional student interests and expand their career opportunities, the agricultural and resource economics department established two new undergraduate programs in Agricultural Economics Management, and Environmental and Water Resource Economics. And in response to student demand, the following modular graduate courses were offered at the Maricopa Agricultural Center in central Arizona: Soils and Soil Fertility; Agricultural Integrated Pest Management; Diagnosis and Control of Plant Diseases; and Urban Integrated Pest Management. These courses served as introductions to new material for some students, as refresher courses for others and helped them gain personal enrichment and advanced education.
Agricultural Experiment Station
Remote sensing data. CALS researchers have been using geospatial tools for managing natural resources. These tools incorporate satellite imagery and digital maps in a way that complements traditional rangeland management tools such as field-based inventory and monitoring techniques. The system under study, called "Synergy II," offers interactive tools that provide assistance in understanding vegetation dynamics across large areas and over time. Local, state and tribal governments can use this technology, developed through a partnership between CALS and Raytheon, to determine land use.
In one project, CALS scientists have been analyzing elk and cattle interactions on rangelands in north central Arizona. They are combining satellite data on vegetation color and weather patterns with statistical analysis to assess range conditions and elk populations. The technology is designed to help land-use managers and cattle ranchers make more informed decisions regarding the once-endangered species.
Cooperative Extension
Partnerships, accountability, diversity. Cooperative Extension developed a range of new programs in natural resources education for Arizona. A new partnership and grant also will help them work with the U.S. Forest Service on maintaining forest health.
To better serve northwest Arizona, Cooperative Extension began programs with the Hualapai and Havasupai tribes, and will hire new faculty to expand this effort.
Extension adopted a new reporting system, "Annual Performance Reports Online" (APROL), which will go college-wide in 2002, to enable CALS faculty to report information on academic programs, research and cooperative extension work that addresses critical issues throughout the state.
Extension also adopted the "Logic Model" planning system that focuses in particular on impacts, outputs and outcomes, and helps ensure greater accountability for all of its programs.
Participation in an eight-state diversity grant of over $300,000 is helping Cooperative Extension explore the cultural climate in Arizona and increase efforts in diversity for Extension and the college.
- Updated: December 08, 2001
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