WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) is accepting applications for 2022 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Fellows through the E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program. These fellowships introduce faculty and staff from Hispanic-Serving Institutions to the vast array of USDA resources available to them.
“These fellowships are part of USDA’s commitment to equity and inclusion, ensuring that all of our customers can fully access and participate in programs and services,” said Lisa Ramirez, director of USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. “More than 350 fellows have participated in this program, sharing their knowledge with their institutions and communities.”
The HSI (E. Kika De La Garza) Fellowship Program offers faculty and staff from Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) the opportunity to work collaboratively with USDA to gain insight and understanding of the federal government. Fellows receive access to long-term collaboration opportunities with USDA agencies, and then share what they learned with students and colleagues at their home institutions.
Education Fellowships are for faculty and staff at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. High School Fellowships are for secondary education superintendents, principals, agricultural and/or district level teachers working for a Hispanic-Serving School District. Participants attend a one-week program (July 11-15, 2022) in Washington, D.C.
Science Fellowships are for science faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Science fellows collaborate with leading scientists from either USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) or Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Participants attend a one-week program in Washington, D.C. (July 11-15, 2022), and then depending on their field of interest, spend an additional week at either a USDA ARS research center or with the USDA NRCS Soil Science Lab in Lincoln, Neb. (July 18-22, 2022).
Eligible applicants are faculty or staff at a Hispanic-Serving Institution or Hispanic-Serving School District. HSIs are accredited colleges and universities with at least 25 percent Hispanic student enrollment. Currently, there are more than 500 HSIs in 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, serving more than 3 million students.
The application deadline is March 2, 2022. See the HSI (E. Kika De La Garza) Fellowship Program application (PDF, 804 KB) for details.
Learn more about USDA partnerships with minority-serving higher education institutions.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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