The primary purpose of this scholarship is to recognize the academic and research excellence of Penn State Extension employees (full or part-time) who are advised by CAS faculty and are pursuing a graduate degree.
Eligibility
This scholarship is open to all graduate students, advised by CAS faculty who are in good academic standing, regardless of enrollment status (full- or part-time) with first preference given to Penn State Extension employees.
The area of research should focus on traditional agronomic or horticultural crop production, livestock production, soil and water conservation, bioenergy, ag energy conservation, marketing, financial management and nutritional aspects as they related directly to crops and/or livestock. This could also include Extension personnel working with 4-H, family and consumer sciences or community development and evaluate educational methodology or related aspects of production agriculture. Examples could be an evaluation of social media methods for roadside marketing of produce, the value of crop yield contests with criteria for carbon capture or similar studies publishable in the Journal of Extension.
A previous recipient can apply for subsequent years, but awards may not exceed two academic years.
Scholarship Amount
A scholarship of up to $5,000 will be deposited into student's bursar account.
Selection Process
- An award committee will be appointed by the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education to select the recipient(s).
- Awarding of this scholarship will be based on academic excellence and thus, the nominee's academic credentials may be reviewed as criteria for selection.
Guidelines
- Complete the nomination and upload nominee CV via InfoReady by Monday, November 18, 2024. Submissions that are received by the deadline will be considered; late submissions will not be accepted.
- Nominating faculty must complete the Statement of Support in the nomination submission to highlight the relevance and importance of the contributions made by the nominee on Penn State extension programs related to production agriculture or applied agricultural research field. Consider impact, effectiveness, innovation, and/or significance of contribution. Please be sure to relate your comments to the award criteria and highlight specific examples.
- The nomination may include the optional Additional Support field in the nomination submission should describe any other reason(s) why this student is deserving of this recognition not noted above.
- Faculty Advisor Certification must be completed, regardless of the nominator, by Friday, November 22, 2024, for nomination to be considered by the award committee.
