[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                1890 LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS: INVESTING 
                 FOR AGRICULTURAL RESILIENCY, EQUITY,
                           AND GLOBAL IMPACT

=======================================================================

                                 HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                        COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             JUNE 16, 2021

                               __________

                            Serial No. 117-9
                            
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]                            


          Printed for the use of the Committee on Agriculture
                         agriculture.house.gov

                              __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
47-604 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2022                     
          
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                        COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

                     DAVID SCOTT, Georgia, Chairman

JIM COSTA, California                GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania, 
JAMES P. McGOVERN, Massachusetts     Ranking Minority Member
FILEMON VELA, Texas                  AUSTIN SCOTT, Georgia
ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina, Vice  ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD, 
Chair                                Arkansas
ABIGAIL DAVIS SPANBERGER, Virginia   SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee
JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut            VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri
ANTONIO DELGADO, New York            DOUG LaMALFA, California
BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois              RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois
CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine               RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,      DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina
Northern Mariana Islands             TRENT KELLY, Mississippi
ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire         DON BACON, Nebraska
CHERI BUSTOS, Illinois               DUSTY JOHNSON, South Dakota
SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York       JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana
STACEY E. PLASKETT, Virgin Islands   JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota
TOM O'HALLERAN, Arizona              CHRIS JACOBS, New York
SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California        TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
RO KHANNA, California                MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas
AL LAWSON, Jr., Florida              TRACEY MANN, Kansas
J. LUIS CORREA, California           RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa
ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota               MARY E. MILLER, Illinois
JOSH HARDER, California              BARRY MOORE, Alabama
CYNTHIA AXNE, Iowa                   KAT CAMMACK, Florida
KIM SCHRIER, Washington              MICHELLE FISCHBACH, Minnesota
JIMMY PANETTA, California            JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana
ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona
SANFORD D. BISHOP, Jr., Georgia

                                 ______

                      Anne Simmons, Staff Director

                 Parish Braden, Minority Staff Director

                                  (ii)
                                  
                                  
                             C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Adams, Hon. Alma S., a Representative in Congress from North 
  Carolina, submitted letters on behalf of:
    Martin, Sr., Harold L., Chancellor, North Carolina 
      Agricultural and Technical State University................    65
    Adobe Inc., et al............................................    66
Scott, Hon. David, a Representative in Congress from Georgia, 
  opening statement..............................................     1
    Prepared statement...........................................     2
    Submitted letters on behalf of:
        Alexander, J.D., Ph.D., Laurence B., Chancellor, 
          University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff...................    61
        Brown II, Ph.D., M. Christopher, President, Kentucky 
          State University.......................................    64
Thompson, Hon. Glenn, a Representative in Congress from 
  Pennsylvania, opening statement................................     3

                               Witnesses

Abdullah, Ph.D., Makola M., President, Virginia State University; 
  Chair, Council of 1890 Universities, Association of Public and 
  Land-grant Universities, Petersburg, VA........................     7
    Prepared statement...........................................     9
    Submitted questions..........................................    67
Jones, Ph.D., Paul A., President, Fort Valley State University; 
  Vice Chair, Council of 1890 Universities, Association of Public 
  and Land-grant Universities, Fort Valley, GA...................    13
    Prepared statement...........................................    15
Anderson, Ph.D., Heidi M., President, University of Maryland 
  Eastern Shore; Member At-Large, Council of 1890 Universities, 
  Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Princess 
  Anne, MD.......................................................    16
    Prepared statement...........................................    17
    Submitted questions..........................................    68
Allen, Ph.D., Tony, President, Delaware State University, Dover, 
  DE.............................................................    22
    Prepared statement...........................................    23
McMeans, Ph.D., Orlando F., Chancellor, Agricultural Research and 
  Extension Center, Southern University; Dean, College of 
  Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, SU, Baton Rouge, LA    24
    Prepared statement...........................................    26
    Submitted questions..........................................    72

 
 1890 LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS: INVESTING FOR AGRICULTURAL RESILIENCY, 
                                EQUITY,.
                           AND GLOBAL IMPACT

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021

                          House of Representatives,
                                  Committee on Agriculture,
                                                   Washington, D.C.
    The Committee met, pursuant to other business, at 10:00 
a.m., via Zoom, Hon. David Scott of Georgia [Chairman of the 
Subcommittee] presiding.
    Members present: Representatives David Scott of Georgia, 
McGovern, Adams, Spanberger, Hayes, Delgado, Rush, Sablan, 
Kuster, Plaskett, O'Halleran, Lawson, Craig, Harder, Axne, 
Schrier, Panetta, Bishop, Thompson, Austin Scott of Georgia, 
DesJarlais, LaMalfa, Davis, Allen, Rouzer, Kelly, Johnson, 
Baird, Jacobs, Cloud, Mann, Feenstra, Moore, Cammack, 
Fischbach, and Letlow.
    Staff present: Lyron Blum-Evitts, Malikha Daniels, Chu-Yuan 
Hwang, Ashley Smith, Caleb Crosswhite, Josh Maxwell, Ricki 
Schroeder, Jennifer Tiller, Erin Wilson, John Konya, and Dana 
Sandman.

  OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID SCOTT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
                     CONGRESS FROM GEORGIA

    The Chairman. The hearing will come to order. Thank you, 
and welcome everyone, for joining us at today's hearing, and it 
is indeed an historic hearing. 1890s Land-Grant Institutions: 
Investing for Agricultural Resiliency, Equity, and Global 
Impact. After brief opening statements, Members will receive 
testimony from our witnesses today, and then the hearing will 
be open for questions. Members will be recognized in order of 
seniority, alternating between Majority and Minority Members, 
and in order of arrival for those Members who have joined us 
after the hearing was called to order. And when you are 
recognized, you will be asked to unmute your microphones, and 
will have 5 minutes to ask questions or make comments. And if 
you are not speaking, I ask that you remain muted in order to 
minimize any background noise. In order to get to as many 
questions as possible, the timer will stay consistently visible 
on your screen. We have so much to do, and this God-blessed 
opportunity that we have today, and we want to get everybody's 
participation in on this very important hearing.
    And so I just want to welcome everyone, and as Chairman of 
this House Agriculture Committee, I am so proud, and I am so 
thankful, for God blessing me with this opportunity to make 
history as the first African American Congressmember to chair 
this extraordinary Committee. And I am so grateful for having a 
wonderful Committee operating in a very strong bipartisan way, 
and nothing, nothing, illustrates the bipartisanship of this 
Committee like why we are here today. The 1890s African 
American colleges and universities were first brought up by a 
Republican Senator, Morrill, who did it as we were ending 
slavery. The key to the South's survival were 1860 colleges 
that came in, in each of the 19 border states, as well as 
states--it was the key that resurrected the South.
    And then, in 1890, with the passage of Plessy v. Ferguson, 
the Separate But Equal Doctrine, in every state, in every 
border state, where they had put the White institutions, they 
put an African American--which served the same purpose of 
resurrecting the economy, the education, the quality of life of 
African Americans. And so, it is with great honor that we 
welcome back to Congress the African American college 
presidents who came before us 7 years ago to start us on this 
journey of being able to get scholarships for the 1890s African 
American colleges and universities. And I am so thankful for 
that, for I am a graduate of one of those 1890s, Florida A&M 
University, my beloved FAMU, home of the Rattlers.
    But let me tell you, there are so many of our Members in 
Congress who are also graduates, and they join me in saying 
without these 1890 land-grant colleges and universities, it is 
very doubtful that we, as African American Members of Congress, 
would be here. We owe so much to them. So that is why this is 
so important. My wife, Alfredia, is a graduate. My two 
daughters, Dayna and Marcye, are graduates of Florida A&M as 
well, so this is like homecoming to all of us.
    So, again, it is with great pleasure that we do this. And I 
just want to close my opening statement by saying we are not 
stopping here. The fundamental purpose of this hearing is to 
hear from our African American college presidents on the work 
that we are doing in Congress, how it is helping to sustain and 
grow our African American land-grant colleges and universities. 
And it is with this hearing that we will lay the foundation for 
making the scholarship program permanent, and we are working as 
a Committee right now on the legislation to do just that.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. David Scott follows:]

 Prepared Statement of Hon. David Scott, a Representative in Congress 
                              from Georgia
    Good morning, and welcome to our Members, witnesses, and all of the 
people watching along at home.
    Today's hearing is one that is personal for me. As I sit here 
before you--the first African American Chairman of this esteemed 
Committee--I say with great pride that I am the product of an 1890 
Land-Grant institution. Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida 
was seminal in the story of how I went from growing up on a farm in 
Aynor, South Carolina to now being your Chairman.
    But the story of the 1890 Land-Grant institutions is not just mine 
to share. So many other Members of this Committee, the Congressional 
Black Caucus, and leaders across our great nation share this experience 
of taking part in the excellence that is developed at these vital 
institutions. Today, we will hear parts of that story, along with work 
that still needs to be done to level the playing field for our 1890s 
institutions.
    As many of you know, I--along with many other great leaders on this 
Committee--worked very hard to get $80 million in funding for 
scholarships so that students pursuing careers related to food science 
and agriculture can attend our wonderful 1890 institutions.
    This funding is already helping but there is more work to be done. 
I fully intend, and am working on a bill right now, to make these 
scholarships permanent. This is a much needed investment in the future 
of our food production. Furthermore, investing in the 1890 Centers of 
Excellence is essential as they mold talented young minds for our food 
and agricultural sector, to ensure the success and prosperity of our 
smaller farmers and ranchers, and fighting hunger across the globe.
    The American Rescue Plan included many provisions that will help 
make our world of agriculture more equitable, but one provision that I 
want to make everyone aware of is that a portion of the funds are to be 
used at 1890 Institutions to support agricultural research, education, 
and Extension. These Extension services at 1890 institutions serve a 
variety of agricultural needs in rural and socially disadvantaged 
communities.
    The American Rescue Plan funding is also for scholarships and 
programs that provide internships and pathways to Federal employment.
    I have been very clear that I want USDA to better represent Black 
farmers and farmers of color, and these pathways to Federal employment 
will be crucial to making lasting positive impacts on our entire 
agricultural sector.
    Today, we have gathered an expert panel of 1890 Land-Grant 
institution Presidents and one Chancellor-Dean, who I am sure will 
provide detailed testimony on where the House Agriculture Committee and 
our partners at USDA can make improvements, and where we have had 
shortfalls in the past. I welcome that. As I have said time and again, 
we must find the full scope of a problem before we work to solve it.
    It is my hope that through the work we do here today and throughout 
this Congress, we can bring the resources to our 1890 Land-Grant 
institutions that they deserve and greatly need.
    With that, I'd now like to welcome the distinguished Ranking 
Member, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Thompson, for any opening 
remarks he would like to give.

    The Chairman. So God bless all of you for coming, thank 
you, and with that, I will recognize my distinguished, good 
friend, the Ranking Member, Ranking Member Thompson, for your 
opening remarks.

 OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GLENN THOMPSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
                   CONGRESS FROM PENNSYLVANIA

    Mr. Thompson. Well, good morning. Thank you, Chairman 
Scott, for holding this hearing today. And before I begin, just 
a point of personal privilege, if I may. I am very much looking 
forward and appreciate today's hearing, and the topic that we 
will be working on and exploring. But, again, I want to make 
clear that I hope that this Committee will then soon turn its 
attention to the needs of production agriculture, including 
hearing the testimony from our USDA Secretary Vilsack. The next 
farm bill will be here before we know it, and it is imperative 
that we address the 2018 Farm Bill oversight, each of those 
titles, as well as the challenges and successes associated with 
both the Congressional and the Departmental response to COVID-
19.
    Now, I want to thank you for your indulgence, Chairman 
Scott. Now on to the hearing at hand. First, my thanks to our 
witnesses for their time and their attention today. I hope we 
can soon be gathering in person. I have to tell you, it feels 
good to be sitting next to my good friend, colleague, and 
Chairman, Chairman Scott here.
    The Chairman. Yes.
    Mr. Thompson. First time in a while.
    The Chairman. In a while.
    Mr. Thompson. So at the end of last year the Subcommittee 
on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research met to celebrate 
an important milestone, the 130th anniversary of the second 
Morrill Act, and this Act, which was signed into law on August 
30, 1890, led to the creation of these great 1890 land-grant 
universities, a part of that Land-Grant University System. Now, 
that hearing included a distinguished panel of witnesses, 
including two of them joining us here today, and as many of you 
recall, we discussed the current state of the 1890 land-grant 
universities, how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their 
operations, and the status of various 2018 Farm Bill 
provisions, particularly those intended to enable the entire 
Land-Grant University System to focus on socially disadvantaged 
individuals. The programs have focused the entire system, 
1862s, 1890s, 1994s, on the issues affecting socially 
disadvantaged individuals, allow us to implement a national 
response, and I look forward to continuing our discussion 
today. Land-grant universities conduct critical agricultural 
research, they teach our next generation of agriculturalists, 
and they provide outreach to their communities through the 
Cooperative Extension Service. Since their creation, 1890 
institutions have gone above and beyond to achieve these 
objectives, and I am eager to hear more about each of these 
today.
    Congress has long supported and taken action since the 
passage of the second Morrill Act to ensure 1890 institutions 
have access to the resources they need. I would be especially 
remiss if I did not mention the work that we did together in 
the 2018 Farm Bill. First and foremost, I would like to 
highlight the grant program to award scholarships to students 
at 1890 universities who are pursuing a career in agriculture. 
This provision was a priority for several Members of the 
Committee, and we worked hard to include it in both the House-
passed version and the final conference report. Now, I expect 
COVID-19 may have impacted the implementation of these 
scholarships, but I invite our guests to discuss how best to 
move forward. Two other provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill 
address the disparity in the treatment of carryover funds for 
1890 extension, and the establishment of three new Centers of 
Excellence. As we approach the next farm bill, I look forward 
to not only hearing more about the implementation of these 
provisions, but also where we may need additional support for 
these great institutions.
    Today, especially as we look towards a post-pandemic 
economy, any conversation about education must also include the 
issue of connectivity. Now, this is an issue I am working on 
extensively to move the needle and close this gap, especially 
for our rural communities, and I know Chairman Scott, and all 
of our Members, share this priority. Many of you educate our 
next generation of agricultural experts in very rural areas. 
Your students are more likely to end up on the wrong side of 
the digital divide, and I am sure you have seen the frustration 
and the toll that this lack of reliable internet access has on 
your faculty and students. Lack of broadband also negatively 
affects the Land-Grant University System itself, given the 
Cooperative Extension System's need to disseminate the latest 
research, and provide other services. Now, I am a strong 
believer in common sense legislation that will bridge this gap, 
revitalize rural economies and production agriculture, and make 
sure our students are not left behind. I know infrastructure 
needs are top of mind for the entire Land-Grant University 
System, including all of you, and I look forward to hearing 
more about your needs, and how we can best go about addressing 
them. We need the system. We need your institutions. We need 
all students to thrive.
    Mr. Chairman, I think today is an opportunity for us. We 
have before us the very administrators that are molding the 
minds of the next generation of farmers, and ranchers, and 
policymakers. Their expertise, recommendations, and engagement 
will serve as a necessary guide to make our institutions the 
most innovative and the most attractive to future generations 
of students. Now, I thank the outstanding panel of witnesses 
for taking time to be here with us today, and I am confident 
that this will be a very productive discussion, and with that I 
yield back.
    The Chairman. Yes. Thank you very much, Ranking Member. And 
now it is my deep honor to yield to the gentlewoman from North 
Carolina, the distinguished Vice Chair of the Agriculture 
Committee, and she is the co-Chair of the Congressional 
Bipartisan Historically Black College and Universities, HBCU, 
Caucus, Representative Alma Adams, who is also a graduate of an 
1890 institution, North Carolina A&T, and she will provide an 
opening statement, as well as introduce a video from the 
leaders of the 1890s land-grant institutions.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you, Chairman Scott, and Ranking Member 
Thompson, for hosting today's hearing, and thank you to our 
witnesses for their testimony, and let me just greet you all 
with some good old Aggie pride. As you know, 1890 land-grant 
universities are some of our largest and most impactful 
historically Black colleges and universities, and this hearing 
makes that clear. For more than 125 years, 1890s have provided 
essential research, education, public outreach, and economic 
development opportunities across our country, and yet these 
institutions still face major issues regarding state matching 
funds and insufficient infrastructure on campus to conduct 
cutting edge agricultural research. As Vice Chair of this 
Committee, it is a priority of mine to make sure that these 
institutions continue to have the resources to unlock the 
potential of millions of students across the country. And 
moreover, as founder and co-Chair of the HBCU Caucus, I 
recently introduced the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act (H.R. 3294). 
This bill would invest in our HBCU facilities to give them 
state of the art learning environments, and enable HBCUs to 
continue to be a critical source of diversity in the workforce 
for another century and beyond.
    I look forward to hearing the testimony from our esteemed 
panel of witnesses on these issues and others, and I thank them 
in advance for taking the time to be with us this morning, and 
for all that they are doing for students. And so I hope that we 
get to hear your thoughts on the effectiveness of the 
implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill provisions, the additional 
areas for collaboration between Congress and the 1890 System, 
and how your institutions have been impacted by the COVID-19 
pandemic. And before I close, Mr. Chairman, I would like to 
just take a moment to introduce a short video of our 1890 land-
grant university presidents, who would like to say a few words, 
and introduce their universities.* Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and 
I yield back at this time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * Editor's note: the video is retained in Committee file and is 
also available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baoMCrg0Uxo.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    [Video shown.]
    The Chairman. Thank you all for those wonderful statements 
and testimonies. The Chair would--excuse me. The Chair would 
request that other Members submit their opening statements for 
the record so witnesses may begin their testimony, and to 
ensure that there is ample time for questions. And, if there is 
no objection, I would like to enter the letters from the 
President of Kentucky State University, and the Chancellor from 
the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff into the record.
    [The letters referred to are located on p. 61.]
    The Chairman. And now I am pleased to welcome back to the 
Committee our very first witness, Dr. Makola Abdullah, who is 
the 14th President of Virginia State University. Dr. Abdullah 
has served in this role since February 2016, and he is an 
alumnus of Howard University and Northwestern University. And I 
am also pleased to also welcome back to the Committee our 
second witness, Dr. Paul Jones, who is currently serving as the 
10th President of Fort Valley State University. Dr. Jones has 
served in this position since December 2015, and he is a 
graduate of Utah State University and Colorado State 
University. Our third witness today is Dr. Heidi Anderson, and 
she is the President of the University of Maryland Eastern 
Shore. Dr. Anderson has served in this role since 2018. She has 
received her doctorate, Master's, and undergraduate degrees all 
from Purdue University. Our next witness is Dr. Tony Allen, the 
President of Delaware State University. Dr. Allen has served in 
this role since January of 2020, and he is an alumnus of Baruch 
College and University in Delaware.
    To introduce our fifth and final witness, I am pleased to 
yield to our colleague on the Agriculture Committee, the 
distinguished gentlewoman from Louisiana, Ms. Letlow.
    Ms. Letlow. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member 
Thompson, and my fellow Members of the House Agriculture 
Committee. It is an honor and privilege to introduce to you our 
next witness, from my home State of Louisiana, Dr. Orlando 
McMeans. Dr. McMeans is both Chancellor of the Southern 
University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and the 
Dean of the College of Agricultural Family and Consumer 
Sciences at Southern University's main campus in Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana. The Southern University System plays an important 
role in furthering the land-grant mission in Louisiana. The Ag 
Center is critical in conducting important research, along with 
their outreach and leadership benefitting farmers and ranchers 
in 34 parishes. Southern University's College of Agricultural, 
Family, and Consumer Sciences produces outstanding graduates in 
fields such as ag economics, plant and animal sciences, and 
urban forestry.
    Prior to joining Southern University, Dr. McMeans served in 
a number of key roles, including Vice President for Research 
and Public Service at West Virginia State University. His 
expertise and leadership in agricultural education and outreach 
has been recognized by his colleagues across the country, and 
he provides input to so many institutions outside of Louisiana 
through his work with the Association of Public and Land-grant 
Universities. A graduate of an 1890 institution, Dr. McMeans 
earned his Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from Alabama A&M 
University. Additionally, he received both his Master's Degree 
and Ph.D. in Horticulture from the University of Illinois at 
Urbana-Champagne. After graduation, Dr. McMeans went on to do 
post-doctoral studies in the area of genetic engineering at 
Virginia Tech. We are delighted to have him with us today to 
share his perspective with the Committee. Dr. McMeans, thank 
you for joining us. I yield back.
    The Chairman. I thank the gentlewoman. And I am indeed so 
pleased to have such a distinguished panel of witnesses before 
us today. Each of you will have 5 minutes in order to make your 
points. The timer should be visible to you on your screen, and 
will count down to zero, at which point your time will have 
expired. So let us begin. Dr. Abdullah, you are recognized for 
5 minutes. Please begin when you are ready.

  STATEMENT OF MAKOLA M. ABDULLAH, Ph.D., PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA 
           STATE UNIVERSITY; CHAIR, COUNCIL OF 1890 
      UNIVERSITIES, ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC AND LAND-GRANT 
                  UNIVERSITIES, PETERSBURG, VA

    Dr. Abdullah. Good morning. Thank you, Chairman David 
Scott, thank you Vice Chair Alma Adams, and Ranking Member 
Glenn Thompson for convening today's hearing for the 1890 
universities. I also want to thank all the staff on both sides 
who helped put this together, and also my fellow presidents for 
the wonderful videos that they showed earlier. I am Dr. Makola 
Abdullah, President of Virginia State University, and Chair of 
the APLU Council of 1890 University Presidents. On behalf of 
the faculty, the students, the alums, and the communities of 
the universities that we serve, I want to thank all of you for 
the investments to the 1890s in the 2018 Farm Bill and in the 
American Recovery Act (Pub. L. 117-2). They have been critical 
in allowing us to grow our academic programs, conduct important 
agricultural research, and extend our university-based 
knowledge beyond our campus walls so that our communities can 
prosper and grow. I am going to try to share my screen now, see 
how that works. And maybe it doesn't, so I am going to keep 
going.
    In particular, I would like to recognize and applaud the 
support of Congress, and especially you, Representative Scott, 
for your vision and leadership for the new 1890s scholarship 
program. This program has allowed us to recruit and retain the 
next generation of agricultural leaders, who will continue to 
keep our food supply chain safe, affordable, and a positive 
contributor to our country's GDP growth. The scholarship 
program has allowed students like Sherod Archie to complete his 
freshman year at Virginia State University this year as an Ag 
Business and Econ major. Sherod is a first-generation college 
student from a single parent family, where his mother worked 
three jobs to provide for her four sons, her aging parents, and 
a handicapped brother. According to Sherod, the 1890s 
scholarship program, and I am quoting him, ``Is a chance to 
pursue my passions and improve my way of life in ways that I 
never thought possible.''
    Of course, launching this program during a pandemic was not 
easy. Sherod was one of 17 students last year to receive a full 
scholarship at Virginia State University through the program, 
and we hope to significantly increase that number in future 
years, when students can enjoy coming back to campus. We also 
hope that the next farm bill will include language to continue 
this scholarship opportunity for students like Sherod. I also 
want to thank and applaud Vice Chair Alma Adams for her efforts 
to invest in our HBCU facilities and capital infrastructure 
through the introduction of the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act. 
These investments will allow our institutions to provide 
students with state-of-the-art learning environments, and 
enable HBCUs to be a critical source of diversity for the 
workforce. And I would be remiss if I didn't applaud the 
Congresswoman, other Members of the Education and Labor 
Committee, and really all Members of Congress, for the work 
that you did on the loan forgiveness for the Capital Financing 
Program last session. Thank you very much.
    1890 land-grant universities like my own, Virginia State 
University, serve as our state's leader in supporting socially 
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Earlier this month we were 
honored to host Congresswoman Spanberger, and our very own 
former College of Agriculture Dean, Jewel Bronaugh, in her new 
role as USDA Deputy Secretary. She addressed the details of the 
$4 billion program for redressing the decades of USDA loan 
discrimination against Black and other socially disadvantaged 
farmers. This listening session and town hall represents the 
partnerships that the 1890s have with the USDA, and is just one 
of the many ways we work together to assist Black and socially 
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and we are at a critical 
moment to do more, with your help.
    I encourage Congress to support robust funding increases 
for the 1890 Land-Grant Program so that we can make even more 
positive impacts for our country's citizens through our 
academic, research, and cooperative extension programs. For 
example, by increasing the number of 1890s Centers of 
Excellence from our current six, we will better be able to 
increase rural prosperity for underserved farming communities, 
address critical needs for enhanced international training and 
development, and increase the diversity of students in STEM 
fields. Additionally, we encourage your support to address the 
healthcare infrastructure that COVID-19 has demonstrated that 
we don't have in place for our students on our campus, as well 
as the digital infrastructure we need to deliver systems to 
individuals, families, and communities during and after the 
pandemic.
    In closing, I ask that you continue to invest in America's 
future by investing in 1890 land-grant universities. We have a 
131 year track record of providing a strong return on 
investment for every Federal dollar that has supported our 
programs, and I can assure you that trend will only continue. I 
look forward to covering many other areas in our question-and-
answer session today, like our ongoing challenges with state 
matching grants, and what Congress can do to help. Thank you 
all so much.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Abdullah follows:]

 Prepared Statement of Makola M. Abdullah, Ph.D., President, Virginia 
 State University; Chair, Council of 1890 Universities, Association of 
           Public and Land-grant Universities, Petersburg, VA
    Good morning. Thank you, Chairman David Scott, Vice Chair Alma 
Adams, and Ranking Member Glenn Thompson, for convening today's hearing 
with the 1890 Universities. I am Dr. Makola M. Abdullah, 14th President 
of Virginia State University and current Chair of the APLU Council of 
1890 Universities. On behalf of the faculty, students, alumni and 
communities our universities serve, I want to thank you for the 
investments to the 1890s in the 2018 Farm Bill and in the American 
Recovery Plan. They have been critical in allowing us to grow our 
academic programs, conduct important agricultural research, and extend 
our university-based knowledge beyond our campus walls so communities 
can prosper and grow.
    In particular, I would like to recognize and applaud the support of 
Congress, and especially you, Representative Scott, for your vision and 
leadership for the new 1890 Scholarship Program. This program has 
allowed us to recruit and retain the next generation of agriculture 
leaders, who will continue to keep our food supply chain safe, 
affordable and a positive contributor to our country's GDP growth. The 
scholarship program has allowed students like Sherod Archie to complete 
his Freshman year at Virginia State University this year as an 
agriculture business and economics major. Sherod is a first-generation 
college student from a single parent family, where his mother worked 
three jobs to provide for her four sons, her aging parents and a 
handicapped brother. According to Sherod, the 1890 Scholarship 
Program--and I'm quoting him here--``. . . is a chance to pursue my 
passions and improve my way of life in ways I never thought possible.''
    Of course, launching this program during a pandemic was not easy. 
Sherod was one of 17 students last year to receive a full scholarship 
at VSU through the program. And we hope to significantly increase that 
number in future years, when students can enjoy coming back to campus. 
We also hope the next Farm Bill will include language to continue this 
scholarship opportunity for future students like Sherod.
    I would also like to thank and applaud Vice Chair Alma Adams for 
her efforts to invest in our HBCU facilities and capital infrastructure 
through the introduction of the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act. These 
investments will allow for our institutions to provide students with 
state-of-the-art learning environments and enable HBCUs to continue to 
be a critical source of diversity in the workforce.
    I'd be remiss if I didn't applaud the Congresswoman and Members of 
the Education and Labor Committee--and really all Members of Congress--
for the work you did on the loan forgiveness of the Capital Financing 
Program last session. Thank you.
    1890 land-grant universities, like my own, VSU, serve as our 
states' leader in supporting socially disadvantaged farmers and 
ranchers. Earlier this month, we were honored to host Congresswoman 
Spanberger and our own former College of Agriculture Dean, Jewel 
Bronaugh, in her new role as USDA Deputy Secretary, as she addressed 
the details of the $4 billion program for redressing the decades of 
USDA loan discrimination against Black and other socially disadvantaged 
farmers. This listening session and town hall represents the 
partnership the 1890s have with the USDA and is just one of the many 
ways we work together to assist Black and socially disadvantaged 
farmers and ranchers. And, we are at a critical moment to do more, with 
your help.
    I encourage Congress to support robust funding increases for the 
1890 land-grant programs so we can make even more positive impacts for 
our country's citizens through our academic, research and Cooperative 
Extension programs. For example, by increasing the number of 1890s 
Centers of Excellence from our current six, we will be better able to 
increase the rural prosperity of underserved farming communities; 
address critical needs for enhanced international training and 
development; and increase the diversity of students in STEM fields.
    Additionally, we encourage your support to address the healthcare 
infrastructure COVID-19 has demonstrated we don't have in place to care 
for our students on campus, as well as the digital infrastructure we 
need to deliver assistance to individuals, families and communities 
during and after the pandemic.
    In closing, I ask you to invest in America's future *by investing 
in the 1890s land-grant universities. We have a 131 year track record 
of providing a strong return on investment for every Federal dollar 
that has supported our programs, and I can assure you that trend will 
only continue. I look forward to covering many other areas in our 
question-and-answer session today like our ongoing challenges with 
state matching grants and what Congress can do to help. Thank you.
                              [Attachment]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    The Chairman. And thank you, Dr. Abdullah, for your 
excellent presentation. Dr. Jones, you are now recognized. 
Please begin when you are ready.

      STATEMENT OF PAUL A. JONES, Ph.D., PRESIDENT, FORT 
     VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY; VICE CHAIR, COUNCIL OF 1890 
      UNIVERSITIES, ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC AND LAND-GRANT 
                 UNIVERSITIES, FORT VALLEY, GA

    Dr. Jones. Thank you, Chairman Scott, Ranking Member 
Thompson, and Members of the House Committee on Agriculture. My 
name is Paul Jones, and I have the privilege of serving as the 
10th President of Fort Valley State University. First, I want 
to thank you for your leadership during these unprecedented 
times. The support that Congress has provided for higher 
education, including 1890 land-grant institutions, minority 
serving institutions, and historically Black colleges and 
universities, which has been instrumental in undergirding our 
students financially, and ensuring our faculty and staff, and 
our students, have remained safe.
    We all know that COVID-19 has presented many challenges 
over these past 15 months, but we also have discovered several 
opportunities for investment and innovation that will enhance 
the experience of our students, and change our approach to 
higher education for what we believe is the better. It is an 
honor to be here along with my colleagues to testify in 
continued support for funding of the scholarship program for 
men and women who aspire to serve our country by pursuing 
careers in the agricultural field. Along with USDA, the 1890 
Land-Grant System has monumental responsibilities of addressing 
global food security through rigorous research, extension, and 
educational programs. Technological advances applicable in 
agricultural, natural resource utilization, and conservation, 
and food production, will enable us to meet this daunting 
challenge, provided there is an appropriate workforce.
    This new 1890s Scholarship Program created in the 2018 Farm 
Bill helps us to develop a highly skilled workforce, and I am 
pleased to report that we have seen significant enrollment 
increases during this past year. Fort Valley State University 
awarded 76 scholarships this past year, which resulted in a 22 
percent increase in our undergraduate enrollment in the College 
of Agriculture. We firmly believe that had it not been for the 
COVID-19 pandemic, and perhaps our students' reluctance to 
being on campus, we would have seen even larger enrollment in 
these agricultural fields. Given our success, and the report 
released by NIFA and Purdue, I believe the future is bright.
    I also believe that this scholarship program will continue 
to bear fruit by consistently producing 1890 graduates who are 
well prepared to tackle some of the pressing challenges in 
agriculture and food production facing our world today. 
Furthermore, this program will allow students not to be saddled 
with student loan debt, which is a major crisis today, 
particularly among students of color. I have no doubt that the 
number of graduates that 1890 institutions produce in 
agricultural related disciplines will tremendously increase 
with an increasing number of scholarships awarded.
    A major issue of concern to all public institutions 
receiving support for food, agriculture, and natural resource 
research is aging infrastructure, and the lack of funding for 
maintaining facilities. We are so thankful, in the President's 
budget, to see the funding for infrastructure, as well as the 
IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, which was introduced by 
Congresswoman Alma Adams, Senator Tim Scott, Senator Chris 
Coons (S. 1945), and Representative French Hill. This 
bipartisan piece of legislation would be transformational in 
modernizing our campus and state of the art learning 
environments.
    I am so grateful for this opportunity to address you today, 
and on behalf of all of our faculty, our staff, our students, 
our alumni, and throughout our 1890 system, I thank you for 
your continuous support for our institution and your advocacy. 
Thank you so much.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Jones follows:]

  Prepared Statement of Paul A. Jones, Ph.D., President, Fort Valley 
State University; Vice Chair, Council of 1890 Universities, Association 
         of Public and Land-grant Universities, Fort Valley, GA
    Summary of testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture 
regarding H.R. 6020, Funding for Student Scholarships for the 1890s 
Land-Grant African American Colleges and Universities Act before the 
Committee on June 16, 2021.
    Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the House 
Committee on Agriculture, I am Paul Jones, and I have the privilege of 
serving as the tenth President of Fort Valley State University located 
in the heart of Middle Georgia.
    First, I would like to thank you for your leadership during these 
unprecedented times. The support the U.S. Congress has provided for 
higher education, including 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, Minority 
Serving Institutions, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 
has been instrumental in undergirding our students financially, keeping 
our doors open, and ensuring our faculty, staff, and students remain 
safe. Although COVID-19 has presented many challenges over these last 
15 months since March 2020, we have also discovered several 
opportunities for investment and innovation that will enhance the 
experience of our students and change our approach to higher education 
for the better. We have seen our enrollment increase despite budget 
challenges; we have developed partnerships with Georgia Power/Southern 
Company, Central State Hospital Local Redevelopment Authority, and Ford 
Motor Company, as well as expanded our use of technology in our 
operations, teaching, and outreach.
    It is an honor to be here along with my colleagues to testify in 
continued support of funding for scholarships for young men and women 
who aspire to serve our country by pursuing careers in the food and 
agricultural sciences, including agribusiness, food production, and 
food distribution. Along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the 
land-grant system has a monumental responsibility of addressing global 
food security through rigorous research, extension, and educational 
programs. Technological advances applicable in agriculture, natural 
resource utilization and conservation, and food production will enable 
us to meet this daunting challenge, provided there is an appropriate 
workforce. The new 1890 scholarship program created in the 2018 Farm 
Bill helps us develop a highly skilled workforce, and I am happy to 
report we have seen significant success. Fort Valley State University 
awarded 76 scholarships last year, resulting in a 22% increase in 
undergraduate student enrollment within the College of Agriculture, 
Family Sciences, and Technology. All eight majors offered in the 
College recorded an increase in student enrollment, with the largest 
increase in the Animal Science Program. We believe that had it not been 
for the COVID-19 Pandemic and students' reluctance to being on campus, 
we would have seen larger enrollments in these agricultural fields.
    Given our success and the report released by the National Institute 
of Food and Agriculture and Purdue University, I believe the future is 
bright. I also believe that this scholarship program will continue to 
bear fruit by consistently producing 1890 graduates who are well 
prepared to tackle some of the pressing challenges in agriculture and 
food production facing the world today. Furthermore, this program will 
allow students not to be saddled with student loan debt, which is a 
major crisis today, particularly for students of color. I have no doubt 
that the number of graduates that 1890 institutions produce in 
agriculture-related disciplines will tremendously increase with an 
increasing number of scholarships awarded.
    A major issue of concern to all public institutions receiving 
support for food, agriculture, and natural resource research is aging 
infrastructure and the lack of funding for maintaining facilities. A 
recent APLU-sponsored Gordian study revealed some alarming data, 
indicating a severe backlog of deferred maintenance, and the report 
estimated the cost to be more than $11.5 billion. For example, the cost 
for updating Fort Valley State University's agriculture facilities, 
including classrooms, farm buildings, greenhouses, research 
laboratories, and support facilities, is estimated to be $40 million. 
While the USDA 1890 Facilities Grant Program helps us address this 
issue to some extent, allocating funds for a project over a period of 5 
years considerably slows down the progress. A timely and appropriate 
level of funding for improving infrastructure suitable for 21st-century 
science that addresses emerging issues in agriculture and food 
production is absolutely essential.
    Emerging technologies warrant institutions to establish suitable 
research infrastructure and adjust their outreach and educational 
programming to enable them to effectively train the present and future 
generation of agriculture workforce and the farming community. There is 
an imperative and urgent need for institutions to build the capacity to 
handle huge volumes of data and at the speed and frequency with which 
they are being collected. This is particularly critical for smaller 
land-grant institutions charged with a unique mission of addressing the 
needs of underrepresented communities and producers and landowners with 
limited access to technology and resources. In this context, rural 
broadband access will have to be our top priority to revitalize rural 
and economically depressed communities throughout the nation. To this 
end, Fort Valley State University recently signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding with the Georgia College and State University's Rural 
Studies Institute to collaboratively work toward three distinct 
objectives: to enhance broadband access to rural agriculture 
communities, to enhance economic development in underrepresented 
communities, and train future leaders to bring economic transformation 
in rural Georgia.
    This is why I was thrilled to see the President's budget include 
additional funding for HBCUs for infrastructure as well as the 
Institutional Grants for New Infrastructure, Technology, and Education 
at HBCUs Act (IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act) be introduced by 
Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC), Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Senator 
Chris Coons (D-DE), and Representative French Hill (R-AR). This 
bipartisan piece of legislation would be transformational in 
modernizing our campuses with state-of-the-art learning environments. 
Furthermore, this will support our unique mission of conducting applied 
and basic research and outreach to empower small, limited-resource, and 
underrepresented farmers with the knowledge and skills needed to 
sustain successful agricultural enterprises.
    As you may be aware, FVSU had the honor of hosting Secretary Tom 
Vilsack, Members of the Georgia delegation, including Congressman 
Sanford Bishop, a Member of this Committee to meet with African 
American farmers from across the state of Georgia. The U.S. Department 
of Agriculture's new farmer relief program announced by Secretary 
Vilsack will make a significant difference in keeping Black-owned farms 
operational and eventually fiscally strong. As the USDA, with your 
support and leadership, strives to make it a level playing field for 
all American farmers by implementing amended lending and subsidy 
policies to address food insecurity and rural inequality, 1890 
Institutions can be valuable partners to help achieve these goals.
    When examining ways to promote economic growth and lessen the 
wealth gap in rural and minority communities, access to technology and 
workforce development become our top priorities. It is essential that 
policymakers provide resources for programs that will directly flow 
into our communities. Increased funding will allow 1890 institutions to 
deploy resources and programs focused on the needs we see on the ground 
in our communities. The new initiatives created in the 2018 Farm Bill 
and the subsequent funding that this Congress has given for our new 
Centers of Excellence and the 1890 scholarships to increase the number 
of graduates in agriculture disciplines and the USDA initiative to 
improve the lives of minority farmers are significant steps that our 
nation can build upon.
    I am grateful for this opportunity to address the House Agriculture 
Committee today. On behalf of the dedicated faculty, staff, and 
students at FVSU and throughout the 1890 System, I thank you for your 
continuous support of our institutions and agriculture.

    The Chairman. And thank you, Dr. Jones. And now we will 
hear from Dr. Anderson. Please begin when you are ready, 
Doctor.

       STATEMENT OF HEIDI M. ANDERSON, Ph.D., PRESIDENT, 
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE; MEMBER AT-LARGE, COUNCIL 
  OF 1890 UNIVERSITIES, ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC AND LAND-GRANT 
                UNIVERSITIES, PRINCESS ANNE, MD

    Dr. Anderson. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Scott, Vice 
Chair Adams, and Ranking Member Thompson. Again, I am Heidi 
Anderson, the 16th President of the University of Maryland 
Eastern Shore, UMES, and I am proud and honored to bring you 
greetings, but also to bring you thanks--many thanks from our 
faculty, staff, students, alumni, and individuals at our 
university. We want to thank you for your unwavering support 
for higher education. We appreciate all of the Federal funding 
that we have received throughout the years through the stimulus 
plans and the stimulus bills, but also the 2018 Farm Bill, the 
1890 scholarships, and the 1890 Centers of Excellence. And, of 
course, Representative Alma Adams, we appreciate the IGNITE Act 
that you have proposed. This proposed infrastructure 
legislative bill is a game changer for all of our HBCUs and for 
the students who are coming to our schools in the future.
    Our university relentlessly continues to embrace and 
advance our land-grant mission as a Carnegie two Doctoral 
Research University. In addition to providing programs and 
academic programs in science and STEM, we also have extension 
education to our community, and it cannot be overemphasized 
that the 1890 universities, like UMES, have a pivotal role that 
we have to uphold. Chairman Scott, and Members of the 
Committee, I extend gratitude for all of the support you gave 
us for the 1890 scholarships, and we are also grateful for 
the--excuse me, for the 2018 Farm Bill.
    In the spring of 2020, like everyone else in the country, 
we had to pivot, as you know, because of the pandemic. But our 
university, we were fortunate in August of 2020 to bring 
students back to the campus early, and we were able to complete 
a full academic year very safely, under safe conditions. And at 
the same time we adapted our research and our extension 
programming to continue serving our clientele, the farmers in 
our state and in our region. Our extension team continued to 
work, and they also worked with our local community to build 
trust in COVID vaccines. As part of our community outreach, we 
worked with our Somerset County Public Health Department, 
also--excuse me, getting vaccinations to the community. We have 
eight health profession programs here on the campus that work 
with our School of Agriculture, and our students in those 
programs gave vaccines to the community. In many rural 
settings, and especially in minority settings, as you know, 
there is also health provider--a shortage of healthcare 
providers. UMES is currently working hand in hand with our 
School of Agriculture, and our students in all of these health 
profession programs, to extend the healthcare in these critical 
areas.
    In closing, UMES, and indeed all of the 1890 universities, 
are highly committed to finding more innovative ways to 
continue serving the promise of the land-grant mission. And we 
also are looking for ways to serve the needs of our 
disadvantaged citizens who are in all of our states and all of 
our rural areas. I strongly believe that the continued 
strategic investment that you have given so far in the 1890s, 
and if--and, of course, increasing that, it will ensure that 
our universities can make meaningful impacts across the nation. 
I urge you to continue giving us the support for our students, 
but also for our infrastructure, and I appreciate the 
opportunity to provide this testimony to you today, and also to 
be here to answer any questions. Thank you again for all of 
your support.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Anderson follows:]

 Prepared Statement of Heidi M. Anderson, Ph.D., President, University 
      of Maryland Eastern Shore; Member At-Large, Council of 1890 
   Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, 
                           Princess Anne, MD
Introduction
    Good morning, Chairman Scott, Vice Chair Adams, and Ranking Member 
Thompson. I am Dr. Heidi M. Anderson, and I am honored to bring you 
greetings . . . not only as President of the University of Maryland 
Eastern Shore but also as an Executive Committee member of the Council 
of 1890 Universities of the Association of Public and Land-Grant 
Universities (APLU).
About the 1890s
    UMES, like the other 1890 land-grant institutions, maintains a 
steady focus on teaching agriculture, science, and other disciplines 
that are highly relevant to the nation's workforce needs. In addition, 
we conduct critical research and provide non-traditional extension 
education programs to the community.
    Today, more than 130 years since the signing of the second Morrill 
Act of 1890, these universities continue to deliver on the important 
mission of providing access and opportunities to improve and uplift the 
lives of those who otherwise would not have received an education.
    These universities are highly innovative and generate new knowledge 
through research and provide solutions to everyday problems through 
outreach to our communities at a time when the nation is facing serious 
societal challenges that are affecting the lives of many--especially 
minorities.
About UMES
    Let me tell you a little about UMES. It was founded on September 
13, 1886, as the Delaware Conference Academy. With a mission focused on 
providing educational opportunities for former slaves and freedmen, the 
fledgling academy housed two educators and nine students.
    It's been 135 years since its founding, and UMES relentlessly 
continues to embrace and advance the land-grant mission as a Carnegie 
II Doctoral research university offering strong programs in 
agriculture, health care, and STEM areas. Some of our undergraduate 
majors include: Agriculture, Agribusiness, Environmental Science and 
Human Ecology; and graduate programs at the masters and doctorate level 
in Food and Agricultural Sciences, Food Science and Technology, Marine 
and Estuarine Sciences, and Natural Resource Sciences.
    In addition, the COVID pandemic has brought into sharp focus the 
critical need to ensure that we tackle the health care disparities and 
social inequities that impact rural communities. UMES is primed to 
resolve these challenges operating eight health profession programs in 
the areas of pharmacy, physician assistant, physical therapy, 
kinesiology, rehabilitative counseling, rehabilitative services, 
rehabilitative psychology, and dietetics. Graduates from these health 
programs have entered the local, state and regional workforce and are 
meeting the critical health care needs of citizens. In fact, 62% of our 
graduates remain in the Delmarva region, or in the State of Maryland.
    It cannot be over emphasized that 1890 universities play a pivotal 
role in conducting research and delivering solutions, which are 
relevant to many societal problems; and UMES is poised as a leader in 
this regard.
Funding Support
    Chairman Scott and Members of the Committee . . .

    None of what we do would be possible without the Federal and state 
funding that we receive. In FY 2021, UMES received just over $4.7 
million in Federal capacity funds for research, extension, facilities, 
and forestry.
    The support is indispensable, and it ensures that the university 
can implement effective educational programs in core areas of science 
and agriculture. The support also allows UMES to deliver innovative 
research and extension programs that address vexing problems in the 
agriculture, food, and natural resource areas. Even more, it is 
critical to the ability of our faculty and students to innovate and 
help solve major issues such as food security and climate change.
About 2018 Farm Bill and Especially Chairman Scott's Advocacy for 
        Scholarships
    Chairman Scott, to date we have received just over $1.7 million to 
support scholarships for our students. I cannot emphasize enough our 
deep gratitude to you and the Committee for supporting the 1890 
Scholarship Program. I am also extremely grateful that UMES is the 
coordinating university for the 1890 Center of Excellence for Global 
Food Security and Defense, which is one of the Centers of Excellence 
established in the 2018 Farm Bill. These initiatives are making a 
tremendous difference to our students and to our ability to 
exponentially change lives. We implore you to continue supporting these 
important initiatives.
    Allow me to say, that because we launched this program during the 
COVID pandemic, our efforts were not as robust or as smooth as it 
otherwise might have been. However, we are undeterred and hopeful for 
the incoming class of students.
Examples of UMES Meeting its Mission
    Please allow me to give a few examples of how UMES is fulfilling 
its mission as an 1890 land-grant university and to highlight how 
critical the support provided by Congress is to help us in doing all 
that we do.
Workforce Development
    The nation's social and economic well-being is heavily dependent on 
the availability of a diverse and highly skilled workforce. UMES 
strives to educate and train the next generation of educators, 
researchers, and scientists within the areas of food, agriculture, and 
related sciences.
    As you are aware, UMES and the other 1890 institutions play a major 
role in providing access and opportunities for many who would otherwise 
not be able to take advantage of a college education. I am happy to 
report that UMES is one of the most diverse campuses in the University 
System of Maryland, as we continue to focus on our core mission, while 
ensuring access to all. The Chronicle of Higher Education also 
recognized UMES as having the second most diverse faculty (2019) which 
allows us to lead by example.
    Chairman Scott, the investment of resources to provide scholarships 
to students is a game-changer. Not only do the resources allow us to 
recruit and retain highly competitive students, but also they ensure 
that recipients can graduate with minimal or non-existent loan burden.
    Under this program, we accepted our first cohort of 15 freshmen in 
the fall 2020 semester and have since accepted an additional ten 
sophomore and junior students who will be funded beginning in the fall 
semester of 2021. With these groups of students, we have encumbered 
$697,805 of the funds allocated in the first year. During the 2021 
recruitment season, we increased our outreach efforts and expect to 
accept a much larger second cohort of students into the program for 
2022.
    The students accepted into the program join a special community of 
land-grant scholars who receive intrusive advising, support, and 
professional development to ensure their success inside the university 
and beyond. At the end of the first year, only one student was 
dismissed from the program for non-performance.
    Recruitment for the first cohort was a little challenging because 
it was a new program, and the COVID pandemic was so very disruptive. In 
response, UMES developed effective strategies, communications, and 
procedures to ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency in our 
efforts to reach as many students as feasible. Those efforts included 
strengthening existing linkages with high schools and community 
colleges.
    I know that the 1890 Scholarship Program will have a tremendous 
impact on enrollment in relevant majors (Agriculture, Agribusiness 
Management, Environmental Science, and Human Ecology). For us, the rate 
of recruitment for students in the agriculture major has been on the 
rise when with some other programs, that has not been the case.
    We thank you for the foresight in establishing the 1890 Scholarship 
Program. As you are aware, we attract a lot of students with financial 
need; and therefore, the ability to provide this support is helpful in 
ensuring we retain, as well as graduate our students, on time and in a 
way that they leave college with minimal or no debt.
    Given the uniqueness and value of the program, we kindly implore 
you to consider making the program permanent when you develop the next 
farm bill.
Research and Extension
    While UMES' research and extension programs address the needs of 
all Marylanders, the university places a special emphasis on serving 
diverse and historically underserved populations. To ensure that we 
remain focused on our work, we deliver programs around four integrated 
strategic themes:

   agriculture and food, with a focus on food security;

   natural resources and environmental sustainability;

   human health and development; and

   products to market.

    I'd like to provide a summary of our research and extension 
emphasis under each of the four strategic areas:
    Agriculture and food with a focus on food security: Agriculture 
plays an important role in Maryland's economy and will continue to do 
so for the foreseeable future. We conduct targeted research and 
extension that includes work in the following areas: food safety and 
food quality; agribusiness and economic development; alternative 
agriculture; small-scale production; family farms and urban 
agriculture; specialty crops; honey bees; poultry; small ruminants; and 
elements of large-scale agriculture, especially in the area of 
precision agriculture.
    Natural resources and environmental sustainability: Maryland's 
natural resources underpin a range of economic activities such as 
forestry-based industries, tourism, fisheries, etc., and provide the 
basis for supporting quality living for citizens. UMES' work in this 
area focuses on the establishment of a strong and sustainable 
foundation to guide the use and protection of these resources. 
Specifically, we conduct research and education activities focusing on 
water resources and watershed management, with an emphasis on both the 
Chesapeake Bay and the Maryland Coastal Bays.
    Human health and development: The health, social, and economic 
well-being and the resilience of its communities are important concerns 
for Maryland. The youth are our future as a nation, and support for the 
robust development of young people is essential. With this said, UMES' 
youth development efforts are conducted under the banner of 4-H 
programming with a special emphasis on the science, technology, 
engineering, agriculture/arts, and mathematics (STEAM) disciplines.
    At the same time, the nation is facing a growing health challenge 
with a large proportion of the population suffering from obesity or a 
body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. Therefore, UMES' extension 
programs are focused on developing resilient communities and families 
in Maryland through educational efforts in nutrition and health, 
especially for diverse families with limited resources. The goal of 
these efforts is to empower the communities and families with knowledge 
and skills in nutrition, meal planning, physical fitness, and food 
buying to ensure adequate nutrition for healthy living.
    Products to market: We strongly believe in harnessing the 
intellectual property and knowledge of our faculty, students, and 
staff; and to this end, we place a strong emphasis on creating linkages 
with industry. Thus, we conduct food processing projects in 
collaboration with local entrepreneurs and food companies and develop 
materials such as polymers and nanomaterials for food and non-food use.
    I would now like to speak on several important cross-cutting issues 
that we are addressing at the research and extension level that have 
direct relevance to agriculture and minority farmers.
COVID Response and Recovery
    The challenges we have faced over the past year have been 
unprecedented. We were required to adapt quickly to be able to continue 
delivering our programs and services seamlessly. In that regard, UMES 
has been at the forefront. In the spring of 2020, we had to pivot like 
everyone else. In the fall of 2020, however, we brought back our 
students earlier than other state schools in Maryland all while 
implementing rigorous safety measures. Because of this, we were able to 
complete the semester safely. We concluded the spring semester with a 
modified face-to-face commencement. Kudos to our students, faculty, and 
staff.
    At the same time, we adapted our research and extension programming 
to continue serving our clientele. Our Extension team is linking with 
national partners to advance community health, education, and economic 
outcomes. In addition, the team has been active in implementing 
specific educational efforts to build trust and confidence in the 
COVID-19 vaccination project. UMES Extension is also an active 
participant in an 1890-wide project focused on reducing the impact of 
SARS-CoV-2 and related disruptions on the local food supply chain in 
minority communities as part of the 1890 Land-Grant Regional Network.
    Furthermore, we are proud that as part of our community outreach, 
our campus serves as a vaccination station for the local Somerset 
County Health Department. And our health professions students are 
acting as part of the team, giving these vaccinations to the community 
at large.
Climate Change
    One of the important issues we face as a nation and world are the 
challenges brought about by climate change. In response, we are 
implementing several initiatives focused on understanding and 
mitigating or adapting to the impacts of climate change. We have 
specific projects focused on the drought response of soil; 
understanding forest resilience, carbon sequestration, and climate 
change on Delmarva's upland forests; carbon dioxide sequestration; and 
understanding the impact of climate change on microbial dynamics, food 
safety and security, and on farming in the Delmarva region.
    For instance, in terrestrial environments, we plan to conduct 
climate change impact studies to understand critical soil processes and 
the effects on carbon sequestration and coastal forests. In aquatic 
environments, we plan to conduct impact studies to understand the 
effects on food web dynamics, phenology, life history, and predator-
prey relationships, and to model and forecast changes in mean sea 
level, soil salinity, and coastal vegetation.
Agriculture Infrastructure
    The UMES School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences provides a 
pivotal linkage between research, teaching, and extension. We use 
research and extension to provide experiential training leading to 
highly skilled graduates. We also address some of the most pressing 
challenges in the food and agriculture system. Please know that UMES is 
a leader in conducting innovative agricultural research and in 
educating students for the workforce of the future.
    The school, however, has an urgent need for funds to support the 
renovation or replacement of its most outdated research facilities 
dating back to the 1950s. We are also contemplating the establishment 
of the second School of Veterinary Medicine at an 1890 university. We 
remain grateful for the appropriations that are specified to support 
facilities development at 1890 schools. We support the $11.5 billion 
request made by APLU to improve agricultural research infrastructure 
across the U.S. We see this as an avenue for us to make 
transformational improvements in our research infrastructure to conduct 
21st-century science and to produce the highly trained, diverse 
workforce that this nation deserves. We also fully support the HBCU 
IGNITE efforts led by Representatives Alma Adams and French Hill here 
in the House, and Senators Coons and Scott in the Senate.
Serving Farmers
    According to the 2017 Agricultural Census, there are a little over 
200 Black or African American farmers in Maryland. Southern Maryland 
and the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland contain the highest 
concentration (about 85%) of minority farmers. The UMES Small Farm 
Program has provided outreach and educational programs targeting these 
audiences. Over the past 2 years, approximately seventy-five (75) 
minority farmers have participated in the UMES Small Farm Program.
    The Program is committed to helping minority farmers diversify 
their crop offerings to capitalize on regional economic opportunities 
such as the increasing demand in the metro region for locally grown 
ethnic crops. Consequently, farmers are provided educational support; 
on-farm training and demonstrations; ethnic crop production best 
practices; and harvesting, and marketing as well as planting materials. 
This year, the UMES Small Farm Program is working with 15 minority 
farmers who will be working together and diversifying their crop 
offerings and increasing their production.
    The Program is collaborating with Future Harvest (a nonprofit 
organization) to identify farm entrepreneurs and/or agricultural 
experts `of color' who are willing to provide consultations to farmers 
looking for advice on how to strengthen their farm businesses. Future 
Harvest has received limited grant funds to pay for in-depth, one-on-
one consultations for farmers with a consultant of their choosing. The 
goal, then, is to attract as many participants as possible.
    In a related initiative, the UMES Small Farm Program is 
facilitating an exchange of knowledge between farmers by creating safe 
spaces where farmers can meet monthly to share their ideas, express 
their concerns, and get solutions to their problems. Major topics 
include plans for upcoming growing seasons; establishing new markets; 
tool and equipment sharing; and crop diversification. So far, 20 
minority farmers are participating in this program.
    More recently, there has also been a noticeable and increasing 
interest by first-time minority farmers. The increase has resulted from 
either younger urban audiences or new retirees who desire to use their 
land for some form of agricultural production to secure supplementary 
income. UMES appeals to both audiences throughout the year.
    The UMES Small Farm Program is also spearheading a community 
outreach project focused on ``Increasing Awareness and Participation in 
USDA's NRCS programs among African American Landowners and Underserved 
Farmer Populations.'' Special emphasis is being placed on targeting 
inherited property and absentee rural land owned by African Americans 
and socially disadvantaged farmers as defined by the USDA. Over the 
next year, the program will conduct needs assessments that include 
listening sessions within communities of color to identify knowledge 
gaps, challenges, and natural resource concerns among target audiences. 
The goal is to reach 100+ minority farmers and/or landowners.
Future Outlook
    UMES, and indeed all of the 1890 universities, are highly committed 
to finding more innovative ways to continue delivering on the promise 
of the land-grant mission. At the campus level, we are bringing 
interdisciplinary teams together to address pressing issues like food 
security, climate change, and health equity. Serving the needs of 
socially disadvantaged minority populations remains at the heart of 
what we do. I strongly believe that continued and strategic investment 
in the 1890s will ensure that these universities can continue making 
meaningful impacts across the nation.
    I appreciate the opportunity to provide this testimony to you 
today. Thank you and I look forward to your questions.

    The Chairman. Thank you for your testimony, Dr. Anderson. 
And now, Dr. Allen, please begin when you are ready.

   STATEMENT OF TONY ALLEN, Ph.D., PRESIDENT, DELAWARE STATE 
                     UNIVERSITY, DOVER, DE

    Dr. Allen. Good morning. I am Tony Allen, President of 
Delaware State University, and I would like to thank Chairman 
Scott, Vice Chair Adams, Ranking Member Thompson, and all of 
the Members of the House Agriculture Committee, and the 
Committee staff for inviting us here today. There is literally 
no doubt that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, especially 
the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the 1890 
Land-Grant Program, are the strong foundation upon which our 
institutions thrive. It is because of our long running 
partnership that we continue to have the impact on our 
students, our communities, and our nation. At Delaware State 
University, where we aspire to become one of the nation's first 
HBCUs to reach R1 research status, we know we can't do it 
without you. I further acknowledge the tremendous support, both 
past and proposed, from other Federal programs and legislation 
upon which so many of you on both sides of the aisle have 
worked. The farm bill, the FLIGHT Act,* the CARES Act (Pub. L. 
116-136), the American Recovery Plan (Pub. L. 117-2), and 
Representative Adams's proposed IGNITE Act are all exceptional 
examples of your commitment. Thank you for your continued 
support.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * Editor's note: H.R. 7157, Fostering Leadership and Inclusion by 
Growing HBCU Training Act of 2020 (FLIGHT Act) was introduced June 11, 
2020 in the 116th Congress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Delaware State University and the other 1890 land-grant 
institutions have successfully weathered the storm of COVID-19. 
In our case, we were able to collaborate with Testing for 
America last summer to perform over 75,000 COVID tests, 
allowing us to bring our student body back to campus safely 
during the last school year, with a positivity rate of less 
than \1/2\ percent. Among these students were our first 43 
recipients of the 1890s scholarships that you authorized in the 
2018 Farm Bill. We were also able to avoid pausing our 
aggressive research agenda by applying more thorough safety 
protocols. As a result, instead of retrenching, our overall 
research portfolio actually grew by 17 percent in Fiscal 2021, 
including the construction of the first in-state COVID testing 
laboratory in Delaware. I should note our gratitude for 
receiving a USDA/AFRI COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant here. My 
extended remarks will cover more thoroughly the ways in which 
we and the other 1890 land-grant institutions apply and 
leverage the resources you have provided, but I want to 
emphasize our continuing work of economically sustainable 
agriculture in a changing climate.
    In Delaware we live with this reality every day, from the 
impacts of Atlantic storms, to the increase in soil 
acidification, we are deeply involved not only in the research 
on crop and livestock diversification, but also in pioneering 
new business models and workforce development. Thanks in no 
small measure to your support, a biomass research team led by 
Delaware State University researchers has submitted a patent 
for developing the novel enzyme which releases more than 200 
percent more fermentable sugars during pre-treatment of 
bioenergy feedstock. Other 1890 institutions are doing 
similarly groundbreaking work of preparing our nation's farmers 
and food producers to keep meeting America's food requirements 
in changing times. I remain constantly aware, as my 1890 
colleagues do, that strong bipartisan leadership in 
agriculture, and especially on this Committee, is critical to 
our continued success in educating new professionals, training 
our workforce, conducting the research necessary for long-term 
sustainability, and maintaining the primacy of American 
agriculture in the marketplace of an increasingly smaller, 
interconnected world. We simply could not do it without you, 
and we remain grateful for your continued support.
    As we often say, our students don't just come here for a 
quality educational experience. They are trying to change the 
economic trajectory for themselves, their families, and their 
communities. That is why we need your support, and are honored 
to be with you today. Thank you very much.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Allen follows:]

  Prepared Statement of Tony Allen, Ph.D., President, Delaware State 
                         University, Dover, DE
Introductory Remarks
    Good morning! I'm Tony Allen, President of Delaware State 
University, and I'd like to thank Chairman Scott, Vice Chair Adams, 
Ranking Member Thompson and all of the Members of the House Agriculture 
Committee, and the Committee staff for inviting us here today.
    There is literally no doubt that the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
(especially the National Institute of Food and Agriculture--NIFA) and 
the 1890 Land-Grant program are the strong foundation upon which our 
institutions thrive. It's because of our long-running partnership that 
we continue to have an impact on our students, our communities, and our 
nation. At Delaware State University, where we aspire to becoming one 
of the nation's first HBCUs to reach R1 research status, we know that 
we can't do it without you.
    I'd further acknowledge the tremendous support--both past and 
proposed--from other Federal programs and legislation upon which so 
many of you on both sides of the aisle have worked: the farm bill, the 
FLIGHT Act, the CARES Act, the American Recovery Plan, and 
Representative Adams' proposed IGNITE Act.
    Thanks to your continued support, Delaware State University and the 
other 1890 Land-Grant institutions have successfully weathered the 
storm of COVID-19. In our case, we were able to collaborate with 
Testing for America last summer to perform over 75,000 COVID tests, 
allowing us to bring our student body back to campus safely during the 
last school year, with a virus positive rate consistently less that 
0.5%. Among these students were our first 43 recipients of the 1890 
Scholarships that you authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill. We were also 
able to avoid pausing our aggressive research agenda by applying more 
thorough safety protocols. As a result, instead of retrenching, our 
overall research portfolio actually grew by 17% in FY 21, including the 
construction of the first in-state COVID testing laboratory in 
Delaware. I should note our gratitude for receiving a USDA AFRI 
[COVID]-19 Rapid Response grant here.
    My extended remarks will cover more thoroughly the ways in which we 
and the other 1890 Land-Grant institutions apply and leverage the 
resources you have provided, but I want to emphasize our continuing 
work of economically sustainable agriculture in a changing climate. In 
Delaware, we live this reality every day, from the impacts of Atlantic 
storms to the increasing soil acidification. We are deeply involved not 
only in research on crop and livestock diversification but also in 
pioneering new business models, and workforce development.
    Thanks in no small measure to your support, a biomass research team 
led by Delaware State University researchers has submitted a patent for 
developing the novel designer lignin peroxidase, an enzyme which 
releases 200% more fermentable sugars during pre-treatment of 
bioenergy feedstock. Other 1890 institutions are doing similarly 
groundbreaking work at preparing our nation's farmers and food 
producers to keep meeting America's food requirements in changing 
times.
    I remain constantly aware, as do my 1890 colleagues, that strong 
bipartisan leadership in agriculture--and especially in this 
Committee--is critical to our continued success in educating new 
professionals, training our workforce, conducting the research 
necessary for long-term sustainability, and maintaining the primacy of 
American agriculture in the marketplace of an increasingly smaller, 
interconnected world. We could not do it without you, and we remain 
forever grateful for your support.

    The Chairman. And thank you, Dr. Allen, for your excellent 
report. Now, Dr. McMeans, your 5 minutes are to start whenever 
you are ready.

      STATEMENT OF ORLANDO F. McMEANS, Ph.D., CHANCELLOR, 
     AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER, SOUTHERN 
                 UNIVERSITY; DEAN, COLLEGE OF 
AGRICULTURAL, FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES, SU, BATON ROUGE, LA

    Dr. McMeans. Thank you, Chairman Scott, and good morning to 
Chairman Scott, Vice Chair Alma Adams, Ranking Member Thompson, 
as well as Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research 
Subcommittee Chair Stacey Plaskett, and Members of the 
Committee, as well as the Council of 1890 presidents and 
chancellors, and the entire 1890 land-grant community. I would 
like to thank you for this opportunity to testify before you, 
the House Agriculture Committee, and also share my thoughts on 
the topic 1890 Land-Grant Institutions: Investing for 
Agricultural Resiliency, Equity, and Global Impact. I am 
Orlando McMeans, and I am the Chancellor of the Southern 
University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and Dean 
of the College of Agricultural, Family, and Consumer Sciences 
here at the Southern University.
    The second Morrill Act, I always like to say, was one of 
necessity. That is, the establishment, or in some cases, 
designation of these historically Black land-grant institutions 
was done because Black Americans at that time did not have 
access to the majority institutions then of higher education 
who focused primarily on food, agriculture, the mechanical arts 
and sciences, and military tactics. The Morrill Act of 1890 
gave rise to these historically Black land-grant institutions, 
and they are collectively and commonly referred to as 1890 
institutions, or the 1890s. Let me just say from the first that 
I am a proud product of an 1890 land-grant institution, Alabama 
A&M University in Normal, Alabama, or as we called it, and I 
heard it earlier, the Hill. As a Horticulture major at Alabama 
A&M in the College of Agriculture, I gained a solid educational 
foundation. That degree catapulted me to obtain my M.S. and 
Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, a post-doc at Virginia 
Tech, and a 21 year career at West Virginia State University, 
also an 1890 land-grant institution. I owe Alabama A&M a debt 
of gratitude for providing me with a foundation which yielded 
these outstanding experiences.
    All the universities that I have been affiliated with have 
all been land-grant institutions, so it has given me an unique 
perspective on the topic at hand. First, I had a chance to sit 
in several seats, from a student to a chancellor, including 
Experiment Station Director, Extension Director, and everything 
in between. Also a faculty member. I saw all facets of the 1890 
academy, but I also saw the challenges of the 1890s. At the 
same time, I always observed our resiliency. The 1890s 
collectively have been well documented as it relates to our 
priority, but in most cases they stem from issues associated 
with inequity of funding, and funding disparity relevant to our 
1862 counterparts.
    One major issue that is been spoken about is the inadequate 
facilities and infrastructure due to insufficient funding and 
years of not addressing those infrastructural needs. In 
particular, many of our research facilities are outdated and in 
disrepair. I want to acknowledge Congresswoman Alma Adams for 
her leadership in seeking to address some of these 
infrastructure issues on the campuses of historic Black 
colleges and universities. Also, the Association of Public and 
Land-grant Universities, or APLU, is proposing to establish an 
Agriculture and Food Infrastructure Grant Program, which was 
proposed to be funded by at least $11.5 billion. This number 
did not come out of the sky. It was one that was done in a 
research study that assessed all of the research infrastructure 
and research facilities at all of the land-grant institutions. 
And so we are hoping that this gains some ground, hopefully in 
some bill coming up. Also, another vehicle to address 
infrastructure and facility issues is to target the 2023 Farm 
Bill, specifically proposing to increase the authorization 
level for USDA's 1890s facilities program. In order to continue 
and develop--and implement cutting edge applied research 
programs, and deliver impactful cooperative extension programs, 
we must continue to prioritize the 1890 extension and Evan-
Allen's research funding line. These capacity funds for the 
1890s are core base funding, and thus we continue to seek 
increases in these lines, and also reauthorization under the 
next farm bill.
    HBCUs have historically developed and implemented research, 
outreach, and education programs to serve underserved and 
disadvantaged communities and citizens. What the pandemic has 
elucidated and exacerbated are those issues, and the 
disparities as it relates to infrastructure, and access, and 
health, actually disproportionately affected those communities 
that we serve. What this means is that 1890s are more relevant 
than ever. The 1890s have, as a consequence of the pandemic, 
developed comprehensive, multi-disciplinary educational 
outreach and research programs to address health and 
infrastructural disparities in the underserved communities, and 
states, and regions that the 1890s serve.
    All 1890s, and this was stated earlier, receive Federal 
farm bill funds, but accompanying that is the one-to-one match, 
or 100 percent match of our Federal funds with state funds. 
Unfortunately, many of the 1890s continue to struggle with the 
one-to-one match, and have fallen short, while all states are 
meeting those one-to-one match requirements where 1862s are 
represented. The majority of the 1890s still have that 
challenge, and thus we, in many cases, have to seek a waiver. I 
would like to pause and thank the Louisiana legislature, just a 
week ago, who actually stepped up and actually gave us that 
one-to-one match, so I want to applaud them, and thank them, 
and the Governor for that fact.
    The plight of Black farmers has been well documented, and 
many of you have read these articles over and over again. Over 
the last century many Black farmers lost their land by tax 
sales, eminent domain, and voluntary sales. The number of Black 
farmers in America had peaked in 1920, and, as a matter of 
fact, it was 950,000 in 1920, and approximately right now it is 
45,500. And so we definitely, as 1890s, will work with 
President Biden and the American Rescue Plan to definitely try 
to address some of those issues. It has been historically our 
area to outreach and support--technically support those 
disadvantaged farmers. I also want to let you know that climate 
change is a priority also for the 1890s, and we will continue 
to seek to address those things related to climate change.
    The 1890 community--and I want to take time on this, and 
I--hopefully I won't go over my time, but I want to thank 
Congressman David Scott, whose vision was to establish 
scholarships for 1890s for students wanting to pursue 
Baccalaureate degrees in Food and Agricultural Sciences. And as 
a result of this, and you have heard this earlier, we have 
received numerous amounts of scholarships. This new scholarship 
rolled out in 2020, and the 1890s are receiving $752,000 
apiece. We were awarded almost up to 800 scholarships, totaling 
$11.5 million, and we are happy to say that a number of these 
were given to Southern students, who will benefit from this. 
And the most amazing thing about this, this is a scholarship 
that would not have been available if it was not for the 2018 
Farm Bill. So we are looking for your support in reauthorizing 
this vital and essential educational, academic program.
    As I close, I would like to say it is projected that the 
world will reach a population of ten billion by 2050, and we 
have to feed these people, and I think that an investment in 
all of the aforementioned agricultural programs that are being 
served or delivered at 1890 institutions via Congress and USDA 
will not only be an investment in 1890s, but an investment in 
the food security and sustainability of the U.S., as well as 
globally. Again, thank you to the House Agriculture Committee, 
specifically the Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research 
Subcommittee, for the opportunity to testify here today. We 
look forward to working with you as we move forward to the 
reauthorization of the 2023 Farm Bill. We urge you to use this 
moment, this opportunity, to invest in our 1890 universities, 
to invest in the future of our communities, and to invest in 
the people we serve. Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. McMeans follows:]

     Prepared Statement of Orlando F. McMeans, Ph.D., Chancellor, 
Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Southern University; Dean, 
College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, SU, Baton Rouge, 
                                   LA
    Good morning, to Chairman Scott, Vice Chair Alma Adams, Research 
Subcommittee Chair Stacey Plaskett, Members of the Committee, Council 
of 1890 Presidents and Chancellors, and the entire 1890 Land-Grant 
Community, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to testify 
before you and share my thoughts on the topic 1890 Land-Grant 
Institutions: Investing for Agricultural Resiliency, Equity, and Global 
Impact. I am the Chancellor of the Southern University Agricultural 
Research and Extension Center and Dean of the College of Agricultural, 
Family and Consumer Sciences.
    To put things in context we have to understand that the Second 
Morrill Act was one of necessity. That is, the establishment of these 
historically black land-grant institutions was done so because Black 
Americans at that time didn't have access to majority institutions of 
higher education who focused on food, agriculture, the mechanical arts 
and military tactics. The Morrill Act of 1890 gave rise to these HBCU 
Land-Grant Universities. They are collectively and commonly referred to 
as 1890s, named for the year the Act was passed and signed into law.
    Let me just say, I am a proud product of an 1890 Institution, 
Alabama A&M University in Normal, Alabama. We commonly refer to it as 
The Hill. As a horticulture major at Alabama A&M in the College of 
Agriculture, I gained a solid educational foundation. That degree 
catapulted me to attain my MS and Ph.D. from the University of 
Illinois, and a Post Doc at Virginia Tech. I spent 21 years at West 
Virginia State University, an 1890 Land-Grant University and I am now 
in my second year as the Chancellor of the Southern University 
Agricultural Research and Extension Center and Dean of the Southern 
University College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences. I owe 
all those experiences to A&M. By the way, all five universities that I 
have been affiliated with are land-grant institutions.
    I made the statement about my experiences at the various 
institutions. It gives me a unique perspective on the topic at hand. 
First, I had a chance to sit in several seats. Seats you say? One of my 
favorite books is Where You Stand is Where You Sit, by Robert Smith. It 
simply states the position at a specific phase in your life depicts how 
you see others and your attitudes towards others in different 
capacities or seats. The three 1890s I have been affiliated with I have 
been a student, staff member, faculty, Experiment Station Director, 
Extension Director, Executive Director, Dean, Vice President, and now a 
Chancellor. I saw all facets of the 1890 academy and its community. 
Mainly at all levels, I observed the challenges associated with the 
1890s. At the same time, I also observed our resiliency.
    As aforementioned, I also attended two 1862 Land-Grant 
Institutions, the University of Illinois and Virginia Tech. One of the 
glaring differences I observed was the amount of financial support for 
academic, research and outreach programs, new and modern facilities and 
research equipment, technologically advanced classrooms and quality 
infrastructure. Many of our 1890s cannot boast of these institutional 
conditions. Let me just say, I want these two institutions to continue 
to thrive and yield great educational, scientific and public service 
outcomes. All I'm saying is that we as 1890s are just requesting equity 
as land-grant institutions.
    The 1890s collectively have well documented priorities and in most 
cases, they stem from issues associated with the inequity of funding 
and funding disparity relevant to our 1862 counterparts. One major 
issue is that of inadequate facilities due to insufficient funding and 
years of not addressing deferred maintenance. Specifically, many of our 
research facilities are outdated and in disrepair, and thus these 
institutions are in need of new facilities or at the least renovations 
to get facilities up to today's technological standards. I want to 
acknowledge Congresswoman Alma Adams and her colleagues for seeking to 
address some of these facilities issues on the campuses of Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities.
    Also, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities is 
proposing an agriculture and food infrastructure grant program to be 
funded at the level of at least $11.5 Billion. This number came out of 
a study on the deferred maintenance of research facilities at land-
grant institutions. We are requesting that these funds be administered 
by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National 
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Another vehicle to address 
this infrastructure/facilities issue is to target the 2023 Farm Bill. 
Specifically, increase the authorization level for the USDA's 1890 
Facilities Program.
    The 1890s are unique, in that we have a mission mandate of 
research, teaching and Extension. In order to continue to develop and 
implement cutting-edge applied research programs and deliver impactful 
and intentional cooperative extension programs, we must continue to 
prioritize 1890 Extension and Evans-Allen research funding lines. These 
capacity funds are the 1890s core and base funding and thus we continue 
to seek increases in these lines and also reauthorization under the 
next Farm Bill.
    HBCUs have historically developed and implemented research, 
outreach and educational programs to serve underserved and 
disadvantaged communities and citizens. What this pandemic has done is 
elucidate and exacerbate the issues around health disparities, 
infrastructure, and access plaguing those communities. What that means 
is that we are more relevant than ever. The 1890s, via its extension 
services and experiment stations, have developed comprehensive, 
multidisciplinary educational outreach and research program to address 
health and infrastructural disparities in underserved communities in 
the states and regions where 1890s are located. Some of these focuses 
are in the areas of healthy lifestyles, access to healthy foods, 
broadband, home and community horticulture/gardens, and access to 
healthcare, to name a few.
    The 1890 Land-Grant Institutions who receive Federal formula funds 
from the USDA have a congressional mandate requiring a 100 percent or 
one-to-one match of state or non-Federal funds. Section 1449 of ARRERA 
specifically defines matching funds as follows, ``Matching funds means 
cash contributions from non-Federal sources made available by the state 
to the eligible institutions.'' Unfortunately, many 1890s continue to 
struggle with this Federal match requirement. In fact, less than half 
actually receive the one-to-one match.
    The one-to-one matching inequity that is being experienced by 1890 
land-grant institutions is not in any way caused by the Federal 
Government or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In fact, Congress 
established the matching requirement so that all land-grant 
institutions would receive one-to-one matching funds from their 
respective states. This inequity in funding to 1890s by states has been 
well documented since the founding of these institutions, and funding 
at these schools was very poor and not equitable compared to white 
institutions. While all states are meeting the one-to-one matching 
requirement for their 1862 institutions, the majority of states do not 
meet this obligation for 1890 land-grant universities requiring these 
institutions to apply for a waiver of the one-to-one match requirement 
or forfeit their funding.
    The plight of Black Farmers has been well documented. Over the last 
century, many black farmers lost their land by tax sales, eminent 
domain, and voluntary sales. The USDA has admitted to having 
discriminated against black farmers. The number of black farmers in 
America peaked in 1920, when there were nearly 950,000. Today, of the 
country's 3.4 million total farmers, only 1.3%, or 45,508, are black, 
according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released 
this month. They own a mere 0.52% of America's farmland. By comparison, 
95% of U.S. farmers are white. These farmers and producers live 
primarily in southeastern and mid-Atlantic states.
    As part of President Biden's American Rescue Plan, about $4 Billion 
was set aside for Black, Hispanic and Indigenous farmers to address 
years of systemic racism and provide legal assistance to farmers of 
color. In preparation of this rollout, on May 24, Cedric Richmond, 
Senior advisor to President Biden and Director of the Office of Public 
Engagement and USDA representatives met in St. James, Louisiana to 
announce the beginning of the debt relief plan associate with the 
American Rescue Plan. Farmers and representatives from Southern 
University were also in attendance for this event. While implementation 
of this debt relief plan has temporarily been halted, the 1890s, as we 
have historically, will continue to provide technical support and 
outreach to our socially disadvantaged farmers.
    Climate change has the potential to adversely impact agricultural 
productivity at local and regional scales through alterations in 
rainfall patterns, more frequent occurrences of climate extremes 
(including high temperatures or drought), altered patterns of pest 
pressure, and changes in seasonal and diurnal temperature. Climate 
change can disrupt food availability, reduce access to food, and affect 
food quality. For example, projected increases in temperatures, changes 
in precipitation patterns, changes in extreme weather events, and 
reductions in water availability may all result in reduced agricultural 
productivity.
    Science also makes it clear that to avert the worst impacts of 
climate change, we must address the greenhouse gas emissions from the 
food and agriculture sectors. This includes capturing and storing 
carbon in soils, wasting less food, phasing out agricultural chemicals 
like pesticides and fertilizers, and reducing meat consumption from 
confined factory farms. With so many crises unfolding on our planet--
pandemics, loss of biodiversity, hunger, and poverty--our food system 
must shift toward practices that increase health, sustainability, 
equity and resiliency. The 1890s are poised to be players in addressing 
these issues associated with climate change. Whether that is producing 
new, stress-resistant and tolerant crops to mitigating the land loss 
due to erosion and rising waters.
    The 1890 community is forever thankful to Congressman David Scott 
whose vision was to establish scholarships at 1890s for those students 
wanting to pursue a baccalaureate degree in Food and Agricultural 
Sciences (FAS) and related fields. Recruiting significant numbers of 
quality students for the university's academic programs in FAS is our 
top priority. The USDA/NIFA 1890 Scholarship Program has and will 
continue to assist us in increasing our undergraduate enrollment, 
retention, graduation or near graduation of more baccalaureate degrees, 
and enhance employment in the USDA and strategic partners' workforce. 
This new scholarship rolled out in the fall of 2022, with each 1890 
receiving $752,632. To date, 797 scholarships, totaling $11,485,288, 
have been awarded. Which represents 80% of the total dollars awarded. 
We are seeking your support in reauthorizing this vital and essential 
educational program.
    Over 95% of all students enrolled in Southern University and A&M 
College, Baton Rouge campus, are supported by some type of financial 
assistance. The 1890 Scholarship provides apprenticeship opportunities 
for youth enrolled in college FAS scientific experimentation and 
extension programming. The project's success will give a long-term 
presence of stimulating research and extension interest in students. 
The project provides a means to recruit academically talented youth on 
a more sustainable basis for research and extension careers in FAS. 
Scholars will be well-trained and equipped to become a part of the USDA 
and strategic partners' workforce.
    As I close, I want to say with confidence the 1890s are an 
indispensable resource. In fact, it is projected that the world's 
population will continue to grow and will reach nearly ten Billion by 
2050. The new 1890 scholarship program, is an investment in human 
capital for the food and agriculture industries. Supporting Federal 
USDA capacity funding is an investment within an investment in 
addressing COVID-19 related issues, climate change and socially 
disadvantaged farmers. The 1890s is an investment in not only the food 
security and sustainability of the U.S., but globally as well.
    Again, I would like to thank the House Agriculture Committee, 
specifically the Research Subcommittee, for the opportunity to testify 
here today. We look forward to working with you and our colleagues in 
the university community as we move toward the reauthorizing of the 
Farm Bill. We urge you to use this moment, this opportunity, to invest 
in our 1890 universities. To invest in the future of our communities. 
And to invest in the people we serve. Thank you.

    The Chairman. And thank you for your excellent testimony. 
And I want to thank all our witnesses and--for your excellent 
testimony, all of our distinguished Presidents of the 1890 
land-grant African American colleges and universities. Thank 
you very much. Now, at this time Members will be recognized for 
questions in order of seniority, alternating between Majority 
and Minority Members. You will be recognized for 5 minutes each 
in order to allow us to get in everyone that is on our list. 
And I show it so everybody will know we have quite a few people 
that want to participate, so we want to be cognizant of our 5 
minutes. And please keep your microphones muted until you are 
recognized in order to minimize background noise. Now let me 
start, if I may, with my 5 minutes of questions.
    Let me just ask each of you very quickly--it is so 
important that you express, each of you, just how impactful and 
beneficial the scholarship program is. I want to be able to get 
that on the record. We are moving, as I said, to make this 
scholarship program permanent, and in order to do that, we want 
to make sure we have the evidence to present. We have an 
extraordinarily talented Agriculture Committee. All of us are 
working on this, but we have to take it to the full House, and 
then we have to take it to the Senate. And I can tell you this, 
I had a wonderful conversation yesterday with my good friend on 
the Republican side, Senator Grassley, who helped us with the 
other program, Ranking Member, and so we are looking forward to 
that. And, as I mentioned, it is not just me with this 
Agriculture Committee, but all of us worked as a team, and we 
have some talented people who are anxious to help make this 
permanent, so I want to be able to get on the record all of 
what this scholarship program means to each of you.
    We have on our Committee such distinguished persons--excuse 
me for this cold--persons who have worked with us. Our Vice 
Chair, Ms. Alma Adams, has been very helpful. We also have 
folks like Sanford Bishop, who is so key, my good colleague 
from down in Georgia, who is also the Chairman of the 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture. I call Sanford my 
money man. Without him, we can't get the money. So we are all 
working, and we are anxious to move ahead. And I have my good 
buddy Austin Scott here, who is standing up strong, and he has 
asked already, ``Is Fort Valley here?'' I said, ''Yes, they 
are.'' He represents part of that area down there where Fort 
Valley is.
    So let me close my introduction here, where each of you 
could just very quickly--I don't want to take up much time. I 
may have time to come back at the end, but if each of you can 
tell us quickly why this scholarship program is so important to 
you, what it means to you, and why we need to make it 
permanent, and go on? Let me start with--Dr. McMeans, we will 
start backwards, we will work with you first. Very quickly. I 
only have 2 or 3 minutes left. But please, just----
    Dr. McMeans. All right. Thank you, Chairman Scott. And the 
one thing that I always use a statement in saying is that this 
scholarship is a game changer, and your vision of looking at 
how we recruit individuals to go into a food and ag sciences 
career, more people are retiring in that area than we are 
graduating, and so we think it is a game changer here at the 
Southern University. And in my--and I will just simply close 
with this, because I know we don't have much time, to see a 
parent receive a scholarship that was not available or availed 
to their child a year--well, 2 years ago, and to see this 
parent break down in tears and saying, ``My son has received a 
scholarship in which, if he keeps his part, and does what he is 
supposed to do as it relates to the requirements, he will go to 
school for 4 years free.'' That is something I wish was around 
when I was a student at Alabama A&M several years ago. And I 
just think it is so important--that is why I--my remarks--and 
my hat is off to you for being a visionary thinker in 
developing such a program, because it is changing not only 
these institutions, but it is changing our position globally, 
as it relates to sustainability of the food and agricultural 
systems. Thank you very much.
    The Chairman. All right. Thank you. Dr. Jones, Fort Valley?
    Dr. Jones. Thank you, Chairman Scott. Let me just say that, 
in Georgia, the number one industry is agriculture, our ability 
to invest in this way is having a tremendous impact on our 
institution, which will have a tremendous impact on industry. 
As evidenced from our increase in enrollment that I mentioned 
that was more than 22 percent, the students are there. They 
just need opportunities, to help finance their education, and 
this scholarship has enabled that to take place, so we are 
excited about it. We are looking forward to increasing the 
number of partnerships that we have with industry. So as 
Chancellor McMeans said, it is a game changer.
    The Chairman. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Anderson, very 
quickly, please?
    Dr. Anderson. We were able, with the funding, to actually 
bring 15 freshmen on the campus in fall of 2020, in the midst 
of COVID, and we are looking forward to, outside of COVID, 
bringing a lot more students. And we already enrolled ten for 
this particular fall. But the thing I want to really say is 
these scholarships change the social mobility of these students 
for the future, because these students then are able to go 
forward and become working citizens in the country and 
contribute tremendously, going forward. Thank you again for the 
support.
    The Chairman. Okay. Thank you. I have gone a little over my 
time there, but maybe we will get the responses from Dr. Allen 
and Dr. Abdullah as we move on. So, with that, Ranking Member, 
I will turn it over to you for your 5 minutes. Thank you.
    Mr. Thompson. All right, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, first of 
all, to all the members of the panel. Thank you for your 
leadership. Thank you so much for making a difference. 
Obviously not just broader scale for rural America, for 
agriculture, but specifically in the lives of the people that 
you touch, the students.
    Dr. McMeans, as you mentioned in your testimony, you are a 
product of an 1890 institution. You have been affiliated with 
five different universities that are all land-grant 
universities. Can you tell us more about your experience 
attending Alabama A&M University, and how that motivated you to 
spend your career serving in a variety of positions to carry 
out the land-grant mission?
    Dr. McMeans. Thank you very much, Congressman Thompson. 
What was interesting was that, prior to attending Alabama A&M, 
I was just--as a lot of us are as jocks, we were just 
interested in going to college to play football. But I was 
introduced to a book by George Washington Carver which gave me 
interest in looking at plants. But the wonderful thing about 
Alabama A&M, and I know there are 18 other universities on this 
call that will say they gave me that attention, that one on one 
interaction, which gave me a foundation in which I felt not 
only competent and competitive, but able to move on and pursue 
a career. And I understood more so the importance of 
agriculture. And I give so much thanks to Alabama A&M, because 
it did give me the foundation and understanding.
    There are certain things--I was just having a conversation 
last night with some individuals. I said, ``Well, we can do 
without cell phones, you can possibly even do without a car. 
You can do without a lot of luxuries in life, but we cannot do 
without food and agriculture,'' and that was taught to me at 
Alabama A&M. And that sounds so simple, but it is really--as it 
relates to sustainability and the future of the global 
population, it is so imperative. And it made me competitive, 
and also gave me the foundation to go on and be successful. 
Thank you very much.
    Mr. Thompson. No, thank you. I open this up to all of our 
panelists. There has been a lot of talk about the need, and I 
heard in most of your oral, and I read in your written 
testimony the need for funding to address deferred maintenance 
of buildings and facilities at land-grant universities. Can 
each of you talk more about how your campuses would utilize any 
funding to improve infrastructure at your institutions?
    Dr. Allen. Congressman Thompson, I am happy to start. It is 
Tony Allen. Thank you for the question, I think it is an 
important one. At Delaware State---- *
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    * Editor's note: there was an audio malfunction during the hearing 
broadcast in that Dr. Allen's microphone cut out of the received signal 
to the Members of the Committee.
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    Mr. Thompson. Maybe we will start with--there were two 
presidents that you were not able to get to, right, with your 
question?
    The Chairman. Yes. Dr. Abdullah----
    Mr. Thompson. Yes, let us start with Dr. Abdullah, please.
    Dr. Abdullah. Thank you. Thank you very much, sir. When we 
talk about deferred maintenance, that is something that is 
really important here at Virginia State University, and how we 
would use additional dollars is to really make up for the fact 
that for many years our facilities did not receive the kind of 
funding for deferred maintenance that other schools got. And so 
when you talk about our facilities for teaching, for teaching 
of our students, for making sure that our researchers have 
access to the kind of research equipment and the research labs 
that they need, then it is critical that we maintain the 
infrastructure to be able to do the work that we need to do.
    One of the real strong keys is that our 1890 land-grant 
institutions are an incredible investment, and we found, 
especially during this time of COVID, that we are in the 
communities where we can make the biggest kind of difference, 
and our ability to make that difference is directly related to 
our ability to have the equipment, to be able to have the 
deferred maintenance on our buildings, to be able to move our 
initiatives forward. So thank you so much for asking that 
question. And I will--I know Dr. Allen wants to get in, and so 
I will make sure he can have some of this time also.
    Mr. Thompson. Dr. Allen, I am pleased to recognize you for 
a response to that question on infrastructure.
    Dr. Allen. Thank you, Congressman Thompson. It is an 
important question. The one thing I would say to you is that--
and to the entire Committee is just to remember that only three 
percent of all colleges and universities are HBCUs, but we 
represent about 27 percent of all Black graduates in the STEM 
discipline, so we significantly punch above our weight, and I 
think that is important because we do that with resources that 
are disproportionate to many of our other sister institutions. 
So to invest in us is to give you a significantly greater 
return on that investment, particularly as it relates to 
educational access for all.
    Delaware State University, just for context, and this is 
probably similar to my colleagues, we have significant deferred 
maintenance issues, upwards of about $240 million. We have been 
able to retire some of that debt here recently, but it becomes 
very, very important for us to maintain our competitiveness, 
and to make sure that our faculty, staff, and students have the 
facilities that make this not only a great place to work, but a 
great place to do research, and make an impact on the 
communities we serve.
    It is also important to our research interests. So, you all 
know that there are three R&D classifications for research 
status, R1, R2, and R3. There are 11 HBCUs that are R2 status, 
but none are R1, which is the highest you can have. I know 
Congresswoman Adams knows this well, through the IGNITE Act, if 
we are able to build up our infrastructure, particularly as it 
relates to our classrooms and our labs, it gives us significant 
import for one of our institutions, and hopefully more than 
one, to elevate to the R1 status. So there are lots of reasons 
as it relates to systemic inequities, but also the value of the 
return you get by investing in HBCUs and our infrastructure 
capacity.
    Mr. Thompson. Dr. Allen, thank you so much. My time has 
expired, so, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ranking Member. And now 
I recognize the distinguished lady from North Carolina, Ms. 
Adams. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, again, for your 
leadership, and to Ranking Member Thompson for hosting the 
hearing today, and to our witnesses. Throughout the years I 
have visited several 1890s institutions, and noticed the 
deterioration of older buildings and classrooms on campus. I 
mentioned that I served 40 years on a campus in Greensboro, 
North Carolina, at Bennett College, and I think it was the last 
10 years of my tenure that I had air conditioning in my 
building.
    But I know that renovating and securing new buildings and 
equipment is necessary in order to meet the challenges and 
opportunities for the 21st century, and so this is the reason 
that I introduced the bipartisan legislation, the IGNITE HBCU 
Excellence Act, to help build and rebuild the infrastructure of 
our campuses. This legislation would make the sort of 
investments in these institutions to rectify over a century of 
systemic neglect. And, Mr. Chairman, before I continue, I ask 
unanimous consent to insert two letters into the record, a 
letter from a chancellor that could not join us today, my 
chancellor at North Carolina A&T, Chancellor Harold L. Martin, 
Sr., and then also another letter supporting the IGNITE HBCU 
Excellence Act from several prominent companies.
    The Chairman. Without objection.
    [The letters referred to are located on p. 65.]
    Ms. Adams. Thank you. So--thank you very much. So in terms 
of the questions that I would like to ask, Congress is in the 
midst of debating an economic package, Dr. Jones, to rebuild 
our country's infrastructure, and in your testimony you 
mentioned the major issues of concern to all public 
institutions, receiving support for food, agriculture, and 
natural resource research's aging infrastructure, and the lack 
of funding for maintaining facilities. So could you tell us 
what are the top priorities for infrastructure on your campus, 
and what are your deferred maintenance needs?
    Dr. Jones. Thank you, Congresswoman Adams. We have 
significant challenges related to deferred maintenance, 
somewhere upwards--about $40 million that we need to sort of 
get caught up in our aging--some of our aging facilities. We 
are a historic campus. Much of our campus sits in a historic 
quad, and, as you can imagine, those facilities in particular 
probably have much greater challenges it--with infrastructure 
systems and mechanical systems, et cetera. So we have a 
tremendous need in upgrading those systems to preserve these 
incredible assets. In addition, we want to begin to update some 
of our laboratories and classrooms. When you think about the 
significant increase, or significant investment, in the 
scholarship program, we want to make sure we have facilities 
that match these scholars, and at the same time providing 
tremendous facilities for our researchers as well, so they can 
do the important work that they come here for.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. Dr. Anderson, as you know, 
the 2018 Farm Bill authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to 
recognize at least three Centers of Excellence led by 1890 
universities, and in May USDA announced funding for the centers 
at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Southern University, 
Tuskegee, and North Carolina A&T. So would you describe how you 
see these centers of excellence benefitting the entire 1890 
system, and the communities that you serve?
    Dr. Anderson. Congresswoman Adams. Yes, the Centers of 
Excellence--and we will be partnering with the other 18 1890 
institutions, so all of us will work together in a 
collaborative fashion. This will allow us to actually enhance 
the research and the educational needs in all of our particular 
states, but also continue to--with proper funding there. But I 
also want to add to the infrastructure question, because that 
is a critical--with your IGNITE Act. At our university we have 
88 buildings, which actually come--the average age of all of 
them is 44 years, so our deferred maintenance is over $90 
million. At UMES we are poised to be able to add a veterinary 
science program, a veterinary science school, but we need 
funding to make sure we change our buildings for that.
    I will give you one real life example. When I came here in 
September of 2018, our library was closed because the roof had 
leaked so bad, and it was closed for 6 months because of all 
the damage that had happened with the rain. Imagine a 
university with no library for their students for 6 months. 
That is how bad our buildings are, and so I wanted to make sure 
I added that, and say thank you very much for the IGNITE Act.
    Ms. Adams. Well, thank you, and, Mr. Chairman, it looks 
like I am out of time, but I would like to just submit the 
questions that I had. I had one for Dr. McMeans and Dr. 
Abdullah as well, in terms of the one-to-one match. So I am 
going to yield back on that. I know we have a lot of folks that 
have questions, but thank you all so much for your testimony 
and for your answers today.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Adams. And now I recognize my 
distinguished colleague from Georgia, Mr. Austin Scott.
    Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I 
want to specifically apologize to Dr. Jones, who is from my 
area. And I had to slip out a little while ago because of an 
Armed Services Committee, and after the questions I will have 
to slip out again because of an Armed Services Committee 
hearing. But I want to, Dr. Jones, one, say hello, and two, 
bring Dr. Anderson into the conversation. Both of you mentioned 
that the rate of recruitment for students in agriculture has 
been on the rise. While you have not seen the rise in other 
majors, Dr. Jones, you specifically mentioned the scholarships, 
the 1890 Scholarship Program, that my colleague David Scott, 
Chairman Scott, has--and several others worked very hard on, 
but you deserve a little extra credit there, if you will--for 
the scholarships. But could you both speak to the rise in the 
recruitment of people for the agriculture programs?
    Dr. Anderson. I will be happy to start. First of all, the 
scholarship funding was very instrumental in helping us 
increase the student recruitment in that area, but we also had 
other strategic initiatives that we did. But we actually work 
with our students in a--in MANNRS, and we have summer students 
that come on our campus in summer camps. Our agriculture 
students are already here. In fact, this past Sunday I was 
visiting with them. We have 20 students who have joined us from 
various high schools across the state to participate in that 
program, so it is one of the ways it helped us really increase 
the enrollment, and that is why I know that we are going to 
increase it again significantly this particular fall, and 
urging you to continue with that funding. I will yield to 
President Jones.
    Dr. Jones. Great to see you, Representative Scott. I 
appreciate all of the support that you provide. In terms of the 
scholarship, we did an incredible job of bringing together many 
stakeholders at the institution to ensure that we had an 
aggressive plan in place. We looked at how we could, in some 
ways, rebrand ourselves, in terms of helping students to better 
understand the tremendous opportunities available to them in 
these incredible agricultural fields. But that message, and our 
admissions team, and several of our faculty, were part of this 
process, and those efforts--we learned a lot from that process, 
and it is my hope that, as we move forward, and understanding 
the resources that are ahead of us, that we will be in an 
incredible position to continue to strengthen our recruitment 
efforts, and we are already seeing that as we look at the fall. 
Our challenge is going to be having more students than we have 
funding available as we move forward. So exciting effort, and 
we are really blessed with the enrollment results.
    Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia. I look forward to hearing more 
about the deferred maintenance, and other issues that we can 
help you with. You have done a pretty good job of creating 
partnerships with Georgia Power and Ford Motor Company at Fort 
Valley State University. Could you speak to the value of having 
the private sector partnerships, and what that means for your 
graduates, and their ability to literally walk from their 
receiving a diploma straight into a job?
    Dr. Jones. That is absolutely--and thank you for the 
question. That is essential, and, again, an area that we are 
ensuring that we are putting greater efforts in. These 
partnerships with industry are so important. These recent 
partnerships with Ford, and Chevron, and our Air Force base 
here are monumental, and they are yielding great results. And, 
without them--you can't bring these scholars to your campus 
without providing these kinds of opportunities to them. And so 
we are continuing to look at ways to partner--we are beginning 
to work with the poultry industry as well to look at ways where 
we can enhance these kinds of opportunities. So the efforts 
with industry are beginning to pay off tremendously, and those 
are essential as we move forward.
    Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia. Thank you, Dr. Jones. And my 
time has about expired, but those partnerships between industry 
and the HBCUs is very valuable in our country, and it is not 
just about the education, it is about the opportunity that 
comes with the education, so I look forward to seeing those 
partnerships continue to expand, and I yield the remainder of 
my time, and appreciate all of you taking time to testify 
before us.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman Scott. And now I 
recognize the gentlelady from Virginia, Ms. Spanberger, 5 
minutes.
    Ms. Spanberger. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I am 
so pleased to have the chance to join you all today. And I am 
especially excited that we have Dr. Abdullah here from Virginia 
State University. It is important that we are discussing our 
1890 institutions, and the valuable work that they do in 
advancing the next generation of agricultural innovation. I 
would like to begin my question for you, Dr. Abdullah. You 
mentioned in your opening statement the long track record that 
VSU and other 1890 institutions have in providing a strong 
return on Federal investments to the communities that you and 
your fellow Presidents serve. But locally in Virginia, I 
represent the district just next door to where Virginia State 
is located in Virginia's 4th District--in Virginia, and in 
central Virginia, we are well aware of the robust course 
catalogue, and strength of VSU, but I think focused on the 
actual scope of agricultural innovation is something that I 
know central Virginians would love to hear more about. So could 
you expand, specific to Virginia, specific to our community, a 
little bit more on what Federal investments in VSU and other 
1890 institutions mean for our local communities, in particular 
Virginia's agriculture sector?
    Dr. Abdullah. Well, thank you so much, Representative 
Spanberger, and I wanted you to know that I was trying to do a 
PowerPoint presentation earlier, because one of the highlights 
was a picture of us here at Virginia State University, so thank 
you so much for your support of the issue. We are very proud of 
the work that we do in ag research in our cooperative extension 
program, supporting the many socially disadvantaged and small 
farmers and ranchers here in central Virginia. And you are 
absolutely right, there are so many in the Commonwealth of 
Virginia who really understand the quality of work that happens 
here at VSU, and are recipients of the work that happens in and 
around all of our communities.
    And, one of the things that makes me so excited is that we 
have someone like you, who is on the Committee, who really 
understands what we do at VSU. We have Representative David 
Scott, and Representative Al Lawson, who I know are both 
graduates of Florida A&M University, who understand the 1890 
land-grant programs. And then to have Deputy Secretary of USDA 
Jewel Bronaugh at USDA now means that we are going to be able 
to really get the word out now about the great work that we do. 
So I firmly believe that our institutions, our 1890 
institutions, provide some of the best bang for the buck for 
the Federal dollar in terms of helping--whether it is helping 
students here at VSU be able to chase the American dream, to 
come from their backgrounds to become productive citizens, and/
or to help socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to 
become an important part of our food ecosystem.
    So we believe that our network of institutions, our 
infrastructure, is built to be able to do any number of things 
that really support agriculture, and to support this country, 
and we are really proud to be able to be here to share that 
with you. And so thank you so much for your question.
    Ms. Spanberger. And, Dr. Abdullah, for the central 
Virginians who themselves may not be in the agricultural 
sector, which, of course, is a major driver of Virginia's 
economy, could you speak just a little bit more about the 
extension program that VSU has, and the advantage that gives to 
Virginia's farmers in the larger economy?
    Dr. Abdullah. Yes.
    Ms. Spanberger. A bit of a primer, if you would, in our 
time remaining about what those programs do.
    Dr. Abdullah. We work very closely with Virginia Tech, and 
Virginia's Cooperative Extension Program, on initiatives that 
involve 4-H, our Small Farm Outreach Program, again, led by Mr. 
Crutchfield, who is doing incredible work here at Virginia 
State, and other areas to make sure that we can impact young 
people, and young at heart people, who are either interested in 
ag, ag business, and the ag economy, or interested in learning 
more about agriculture. And so we are very excited about those 
programs, and Dr. Ray McKinnie, who is our dean here of our 
College of Agriculture, also serves as extension director, and 
he does wonderful work. And so I am very proud of all of the 
work that all of our faculty and staff do here at VSU.
    Ms. Spanberger. Excellent. Well, thank you so much. 
Certainly, having visited the campus multiple times, and being 
aware of the tremendous work of extension programs, I thank 
you, and the fellow Presidents and witnesses on the line, for 
the work that you all do, certainly ensuring that when 
beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, somebody who 
wants to get back to the land and really begin that small 
business of farming, the work that you all do is so tremendous 
in helping them have success. So, with that, Mr. Chairman, I 
yield back, and I am really grateful for the topic of this 
conversation today.
    The Chairman. And thank you, Ms. Spanberger. And now I 
recognize for 5 minutes the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Baird.
    Mr. Baird. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank the Ranking 
Member, both of you, for holding this meeting, and I really 
want to thank the witnesses for their contribution to the 
discussion here today. And, the contribution that the land-
grant universities have done to improve the quality of life for 
our communities through education, research, and the 
Cooperative Extension Service has just been invaluable, and 
this has been particularly true for the agricultural industry.
    So I guess I want to start my questions with Dr. McMeans. 
Southern University is the home of the 1890 Center of 
Excellence for Nutrition, Health and Wellness, and the Quality 
of Life. So, Dr. McMeans, can you tell or talk more about the 
work that Southern University is doing through the Center to 
help address diet-related health diseases, as well as through 
nutrition research, teaching, and the Extension Service? Dr. 
McMeans?
    Dr. McMeans. Thank you, Congressman. Southern University, 
and in particular Southern University Agricultural Center, was 
fortunate enough to receive one of the Centers of Excellence, 
as it relates to USDA. And the focus of it really came out of 
the pandemic, pretty much, so--but we already knew, as 1890s, 
that the communities we served were disproportionately impacted 
by certain health disparities. And so what we did is we are 
partnering with North Carolina A&T, as well as Tuskegee, to 
look at those issues that are impacting.
    And one of the unique things about this program, some of 
the presenters talked about the fact that we have a tripartite 
[inaudible] mission, and I have been at five different land-
grant universities. Sometimes they are connected, and sometimes 
they are disconnected. But in this instance, we have the 
research, we have the teaching, and we have the extension and 
outreach portion, all working together to address those 
disparities that are impacting African American communities as 
it relates to health. From the research standpoint we are 
looking at metabolomic type of issues, dealing with the 
cellular level, and how these individuals and communities are 
impacted. Also, from the teaching standpoint, to make sure that 
our students are prepared to go out and teach current research-
based information to individuals as it relates to dietetics, 
healthy lifestyles, and what have you. And, of course, from the 
outreach standpoint, we are collectively looking at best case 
practices on how we can address the issues associated with 
diabetes, obesity, and all of these other areas that made us a 
little bit disproportionately susceptible to some of the issues 
associated with this pandemic of COVID-19.
    So I am really excited about that. We are just kicking that 
off, and we just started having our meetings, and my hope is 
that this is not something that is just going to remain between 
Louisiana and North Carolina and Alabama, but this would be 
something that the entire country would benefit from as we 
start to get feedback, information, and data as it relates to 
our plan, so thank you very much for that question.
    Mr. Baird. Well thank you, and I think that is a very 
important aspect, and I like your perspective about the various 
aspects of a university, being the education, the research, as 
well as the cooperative extension, and having them all work 
together to deliver services to constituents and members of the 
community.
    I guess I would like to move on to the idea of the 
importance of the land-grant universities to the state, and so 
with that I would like to go to Dr. Anderson. Would you care to 
address the importance of the land-grant universities, in your 
perspective, to the state?
    Dr. Anderson. Very much so, thank you very much for the 
question. Having come out of a land-grant university, at Purdue 
University, myself, and also having worked at four other land-
grant universities, I can say that the work that we do to help 
the local farmers and the community is very critical. And here 
at UMES, with our center that we have received funding for, the 
Centers of Excellence for Global Food Security and Defense, we 
are working with the other 1890 universities, and actually 
helping the farmers improve their systems. And we are doing 
research in things like pest management to try to help them 
understand how to increase their knowledge in this particular 
area, but also how to minimize the pests that are impacting the 
food that they are eating, and they are growing.
    The other thing that we are doing, as far as land-grant 
institutions, is looking at climate change, and trying to make 
sure we look at what is happening in those particular areas, 
and leveraging in emerging technologies in those so that all of 
us work together in a unified way to help and impact those 
particular issues. Thank you very much for the question.
    Mr. Baird. Thank you very much, and I have gone over my 
time, so I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Congressman Baird. And 
now we will hear from the gentlelady from Connecticut, Mrs. 
Hayes.
    Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you so much 
to our witnesses for being here today. While Connecticut is not 
home to any 1890s land-grant institutions, our 1862 land-grant 
university, the University of Connecticut, works to pursue 
connections with graduates to support a diverse group of new 
and beginning farmers, agricultural educators, and researchers. 
This is extremely important in a state like Connecticut, where 
about \1/3\ of our residents are residents of color, yet there 
are very few minority farmers.
    My question actually could be for anyone on the panel, but 
I will ask Dr. Abdullah, how would you describe the role of the 
1890s land-grant universities in ensuring equity both in access 
to higher education, and for ensuring equitable employment and 
business opportunities within the U.S. agricultural sector?
    Dr. Abdullah. Thank you very much, Representative Hayes. I 
would love to say that, as an 1890 land-grant institution, that 
we have more Connecticut residents at Virginia State than any 
other institution, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my 
colleagues from Delaware and Maryland are going to dispute 
that, so I won't say that out loud. Thank you so much for your 
question. I really firmly believe that our 1890 institutions 
are critical in access. If I can go back to take the question 
about the scholarships, one of the important things about the 
scholarships, which ties into access, is one of the things that 
the scholarship program allows us to do is you have young 
people who are motivated, who are intelligent, who have the 
ability to do the work who might not have the finances to able 
to finance an education. All of our 1890 institutions are 
among, or are possibly the most important institutions in our 
state, and so we try to keep our tuition down as low--and we 
provide a quality level of instruction for our students.
    But the other thing that the scholarship program does is it 
also starts to attract students who come from urban 
environments, who have the wrong understanding of what 
agriculture is so they can understand what it means to have a 
career in the agricultural sciences and ag business. The 
scholarship program allows students to kind of look at ag and 
go, ``Wait a minute, I think I can consider agriculture as a 
career moving forward.'' It is critically important that all of 
our institutions are educating--our Pell eligible rates, all of 
them, are above 60 to 70 percent. We are all proud that our 
institutions are among the nation's leaders in providing access 
to the American Dream for all of our citizens here in the 
United States of America.
    And, your question also points out the one place that we 
can have--partnerships and collaborations are in those states 
that don't have an 1890 land-grant institution. For students 
who are interested in pursuing careers in agriculture, and 
maybe they want to do that in an 1890, but there is not an 1890 
in their state, to be able to work closely with the 1862 in 
that state so that we can provide quality careers and 
opportunities, and students--send young people back--send 
citizens to Connecticut to be able to move the economy of 
Connecticut. And so thank you so much for your question.
    Mrs. Hayes. Well, thank you for that. Here in Connecticut 
we have--we also have many farmers who work in urban 
agriculture. Currently our UConn extension is looking to bring 
on new staff to focus on urban agriculture and work with 4-H 
programs to promote food and agricultural literacy in 
underserved areas. This is an exciting opportunity for our 
state, and I want to work to help support these geographically 
diverse communities in Connecticut District 5. Also, on my 
other Committee of Education and Labor, where we are talking 
about career and technical training, I am really hoping that we 
will find funding to promote agricultural programs at the high 
school level, and in our trade schools. I guess my--with the 
remainder of my time, Dr. Anderson, can you tell us how your 
institution partners and collaborates with organizations like 
4-H, FFA, Minorities in Agriculture and Natural Resources, and 
Related Sciences, or different programs that bridge a 
partnership between institutions and communities?
    Dr. Anderson. Thank you, Representative, for the question. 
Can you hear me all right?
    Mrs. Hayes. Yes.
    Dr. Anderson. I had a slight broadband problem, so they 
came and fixed it. Yes, we have students come into our programs 
from MANNRS. We actually have, annually, students enter the 
campus to actually be on summer programs, but also work with 
them throughout the year. We bring these individuals to our 
campus to meet with our faculty. They work hand in hand with 
them, with their research projects, right there in the lab. In 
addition to that, we have a working farm on the campus, so the 
students are able to learn from the farming, and our 4-H 
students mixed with them at the same time. So it is really a 
nice collaboration because you are bringing middle school, high 
school students to the campus to be here with our students who 
are freshmen, sophomores, seniors, et cetera, and actually 
planning and working together. They actually help them learn 
what the food--better food preparation, and also pesticides, as 
I mentioned earlier, and how to control that.
    Mrs. Hayes. Thank you so much. Mr. Chairman, I apologize 
for going over, but that was music to my ears, to bring these 
programs to middle and high school students. Thank you so much. 
I yield back. I am sorry, did you hear me? I apologize for 
going over, Mr. Chair, but that answer was music to my ears, 
about bringing this programs to middle and high school 
students. I yield back.
    The Chairman. Yes. Isn't it great? It is bringing music to 
my ears as well, the great contribution that the scholarships 
are providing. And now if I may go to the gentleman from 
Georgia, Congressman Rick Allen.
    Mr. Allen of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and again, 
thank you for getting us together. Obviously we have a lot of 
work to do on the Agriculture Committee----
    Mr. Rush. I am ready.
    The Staff. We just wanted to let you know you are next.
    Mr. Rush. All right. Thank you.
    Mr. Allen of Georgia. Okay. So--can you hear me okay? The--
something happened there. Can you all hear me? Mr. Chairman, 
can you hear me okay?
    The Chairman. Yes, I hear you.
    Mr. Allen of Georgia. Okay.
    The Chairman. Let me just remind all Members, mute yourself 
when you are not there. We don't want to interfere with anyone 
speaking. Thank you. Go ahead.
    Mr. Allen of Georgia. All right. Well, thank you so much. 
Well, again, thank you for getting us together today. 
Obviously, education is important. My family was involved in 
education, and--of course, I too serve on the Education and 
Labor Committee, and I am having dual hearings, which is why I 
am virtual. I was trying to get down to the hearing, but then 
got caught in the other hearing. But, anyway, these things 
happen while you are in Congress.
    Obviously, we have a lot of issues we have to solve, and, 
Mr. Chairman, one of the biggest issues, and President Zippy 
Duvall brought this out in a hearing some time ago, President 
of Farm Bureau, it is labor. And, of course, it is very 
critical, as far as education is concerned, but certainly what 
the American Rescue Plan has done is created--we have ten 
million people unemployed, we have 3\1/2\ million people on 
enhanced unemployment. And, of course, we addressed this in the 
last farm bill, but we have 20-25 million trapped on welfare, 
and there are lots of opportunities to educate and retrain 
folks, and give them the respect that they deserve in holding a 
good job. Of course, in Georgia our governor has rescinded the 
Federal unemployment benefits, and I think that ends next week, 
so hopefully this will get folks back to work.
    But there are also supply chain disruptions with prices, we 
have a problem with that, and then, of course, there are other 
things about the tax policy that is coming out that could 
create a tremendous burden on our farmers as far as inheritance 
taxes. And then, of course, the Waters of the U.S. Rule is 
coming back up. And, too, we could address today, in this 
hearing, the cost of higher education. Many people in this 
country now believe that it is unaffordable, and the cost is 
outrageous, and we have students going in debt that they should 
never encounter. But--because the worst thing--the worst burden 
is debt.
    But--and I don't know who to direct my questions to, so I 
will just ask first, in this current employment picture, what 
the Presidents--and, of course, we have Paine College in my 
district, and--very proud of Paine College, and we have done a 
lot to help Paine get to where it is today. But what 
opportunities are you seeing for your students out there today 
in this post-COVID economy? Are you seeing a lot of 
opportunities for your students? Is it creating a lot of 
interest? And who would like to address that question?
    Dr. Allen. Congressman Allen, I am happy to----
    Dr. McMeans. I can address it, you can go ahead, you can go 
ahead. Yes.
    Dr. Allen. Congressman Allen, I am happy to answer the 
question from our perspective. At Delaware State University, we 
have seen significant increases in interests in health and 
behavioral sciences. You may know that, as of July 1, we will 
acquire a small private liberal college down the road, Wesley 
College, and build our new College of Health and Behavioral 
Sciences there, which will add significant increases of 
healthcare practitioners, nurses, and medical professionals and 
the like. That is been a significant boost for us. We also know 
that, relative to the job market, there is significant need and 
shortages in those fields, and because of the pandemic we have 
seen a significant increase there.
    Secondarily, I would say on average we have also seen a 
significant increase in our graduate profile overall, and 
specific to agriculture. So a lot of our students, at the 
graduate level, are choosing to continue to pursue their 
education in ag and ag-related sciences. We think that bodes 
well for research and practitioner training overall, 
particularly in our extension programs. And then overall we are 
very happy to say that 86 percent of our graduating students 
find themselves employment in their discipline or in grad 
school, 6 months after they graduate. So I think we are all 
headed in the right direction. I think that is why 1890 land-
grant institutions are so important, because----
    Mr. Allen of Georgia. Good. That is what I wanted to hear. 
That is fine.
    Well, I tell our educators, it is your responsibility is to 
get our folks employed. The other thing I want to do, and I 
will leave you with this, and I am out of time, but we have to 
address the cost of higher education, and I want to know what 
this Congress can do. Is it a regulatory issue, or what is it 
causing all of this increased cost? And hopefully that can be 
addressed at this hearing. With that, Mr. Chairman, I will 
yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Congressman Allen. And 
now we will turn to the gentleman from Illinois, my good friend 
Bobby Rush.
    Mr. Rush. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it 
is very heartening to hear today about the research happening 
at the 1890 land-grant institutions. Today it strengthened my 
belief that when it comes to agricultural innovation in our 
workforce, America is not only competitive in the global 
economy, but it is indeed the best in the world. Earlier this 
month, Mr. Chairman, I saw firsthand what our students are 
accomplishing when I toured the Chicago High School for 
Agricultural Sciences, which is located in my district. These 
high school students are competing annually at the national 
level at the Annual Agriscience Fair, and their talents truly 
blew me away.
    Dr. Allen, are there ways that we can provide opportunities 
for our students at the 1890 land-grant institutions, or even 
earlier, at the high school level, to compete and collaborate 
globally, given how this world that we live in is so 
interconnected and interrelated?
    Dr. Allen. Congressman Rush, thank you for the question. It 
is an important one. I should say at Delaware State we actually 
operate a high school. We call it the Early College High 
School. There are about 425 students in that school from ninth 
to 12th grade, and while they are in that high school, they are 
able to accumulate upwards of 60 college credits before they 
are ever admitted into any university. So think of those 
students coming out of that institution into a university as 
either a second semester sophomore or a first semester junior. 
And we are really proud of that, and built that program because 
we wanted to build a pipeline even earlier than when they 
started college.
    I could also say that many of those students have gone into 
our College of Agriculture, Science, and Technology, and have 
been intrigued not just by what they would think of as the 
typical agricultural discipline, but also by ag business, and 
the opportunities that lie ahead there. We also have very good 
relations in about 23 different countries, where we are able to 
expose our students with student and faculty exchanges that 
give them a sense of the global community and global 
experiences.
    Mr. Rush. Thank you. Now, I am running out of time, so I 
want to move on, if I might be able to, all right? I recently 
introduced the Farm Subsidy Transparency Act (H.R. 3794/S. 
1980), along with Senator Booker, which will require USDA to 
track and publicly disclose the race and gender of all 
individuals who receive or who are denied farm assistance. This 
bill is in response to the decades of discriminatory lending 
practices which, intentionally or otherwise, put Black farmers 
at a serious disadvantage compared to their White counterparts. 
Dr. Abdullah and Dr. McMeans, will increased transparency help 
you better assist minority farmers in receiving financial aid, 
and how can this Committee be of assistance to you and to 
others?
    Dr. Abdullah. Thank you very much, sir, Makola Abdullah. It 
definitely would. Understanding and knowing what is happening 
in the world so that we can begin to make a difference--and so 
without capturing the right data--the whole reason that we know 
that there have been discriminatory practices in lending is 
because we have that data in lending, and so that is important.
    Dr. McMeans. This is Orlando McMeans. And, this is 
something that is close to me. Recently, President Biden 
actually sent a representative down to actually talk to us 
about the importance of this very issue, and Congressman Cedric 
Richmond, by the way. And we had an opportunity to have 
dialogue, and talk with farmers, and that is--was one of the 
questions that they were asking. And I think that our 
relationship with USDA--it is imperative that we have open and 
frank conversations, that we demand on behalf of our socially 
disadvantaged farmers, that there be transparency.
    And, like President Abdullah said, it is obvious what was 
going on for the last 100 years or so, and we have to get down 
to what is causing these issues, where we are getting our loans 
at a lower rate than counterparts. It is my hope that the 1890s 
will be working closer not only with USDA in D.C., but our 
local USDA and state agencies to work to make sure that there 
is transparency, and we are an asset and an advocate to them 
being more successful, and their success rate, as it relates to 
loans and other support for farms. And so we will be looking at 
that heavily, and also pursuing other endeavors, as it relates 
to the 2023 Farm Bill.
    Mr. Rush. Well, I thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Rush, for those comments. Now 
we will recognize the gentleman from California----
    Mr. LaMalfa. Is that me, Mr. Chairman?
    The Chairman. I am sorry, Mr. Moore from Alabama. My 
mistake.
    Mr. Moore. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to the 
panelists for speaking today before the Committee, and for 
describing the good work that each of you guys are doing for 
your students, and for the larger agriculture community. I am 
proud to represent a state that has two of the 1890 land-grant 
universities, obviously Alabama A&M, and Tuskegee University. 
And in my hometown we have a monument to the boll weevil, and 
that is because of the work that George Washington Carver did 
at Tuskegee University to help us figure out all the uses for 
peanuts, we were glad to get away from cotton and get to 
peanuts, so we have a debt of gratitude in our state to, 
obviously, Tuskegee University.
    And, Dr. McMeans, first, it is great to see an alumni from 
Alabama A&M in such position of influence, and testifying 
before this Committee on these issues today. I will ask this to 
you, Dr. McMeans, and then some of the others may want to chime 
in, but how do each of your institutions collaborate with the 
other land-grant universities in your state to best meet the 
needs of your state and its students, and to avoid the 
duplication in efforts on research and extension?
    Dr. McMeans. Thank you for that question. I have been very 
fortunate, because my LSU counterpart, Dr. Bill Richardson, and 
I knew each other while I was at West Virginia State, and one 
of the things that you have to understand is that--I tell 
people all the time, Alabama is very unique because we have 
three land-grants, because most of us at the most have two, and 
we have so much work that has to be done, even if we had three 
or four land-grant institutions, can we really get all the work 
done?
    But the thing about it is that--one of the things that we 
are doing is we are working on a joint plan of work. We are 
working on a joint strategic plan, and we are looking at those 
areas where we are strong at, and our strengths are working 
with disadvantaged and minority farmers, and LSU advantages are 
working with big commodity groups, and big farms, and what have 
you. And we look at those niches where we fit, they fit, but 
there is a lot of overlap when it comes to youth development.
    And there was a question earlier about what are we going to 
do about the workforce for agriculture in the future? Well, we 
are both working in that area, because we have to do what we 
can to recruit and graduate individuals who will be working in 
the food and agricultural sciences, and related fields. It is 
imperative that we work together, that we support one another. 
Some areas we are going to duplicate and overlap because the 
need is so grand, but those other ones are niches. And the 
other thing is that we go to the legislature together. We 
support one another. And we have to do that. And I know once it 
becomes--when you start dealing with extension, and things of 
that nature, sometimes--yes, territorial--may jump into it or 
what have you, but in the best interests of the collective 
communities and clientele that we serve, it is in the best 
interest that we work collectively and collaboratively in those 
areas.
    Dr. Anderson. Representative, I would like to answer the 
question as well, please? Thank you. Thank you for the 
question. Here at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore we 
are part of a system of 12 institutions, and the University of 
Maryland College Park is our flagship institution, so we have 
the luxury of being able to work very collaboratively with one 
of our sister institutions, who is also the flagship. We do 
that in a number of ways. Because we are located on the Eastern 
Shore, 85 percent of the farmers are here in our particular 
area, and so our extension groups from both of the institutions 
work extremely well, going out, helping educate the socially 
disadvantaged farmers. And because we also are surrounded by 
the coastal bay areas and the peninsula, we actually help do 
work with our local farmers not just with--many people think of 
us as poultry, but also with what is happening in the aquatic 
area.
    And so our two institutions have annual meetings together, 
our faculty have collaborative research and teaching that they 
do, using some technology like this. We do have broadband 
issues here on our part, you probably noticed that from me 
today, but those are the kind of things that we merge and work 
together on, and continue to try to have those kind of 
partnerships. So thank you again for the question.
    Mr. Moore. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If Mr. Abdullah, 
would you like to answer? Yes, please go ahead. Please do. I 
have time, so go ahead.
    Dr. Abdullah. Thank you, sir. Here in Virginia, Virginia 
State University and Virginia Tech, my colleague from Virginia 
Tech, Tim Sands, and their agricultural staff, along with ours, 
led by Dr. McKinnie, I work very closely together to make sure 
that, again, as Dr. McMeans mentioned, that we don't duplicate 
programs, and that we use the investments from the state, and 
the investments from the Federal dollars, to help farmers and 
ranchers here in Virginia, that we use those together in a 
collaborative manner. Just in the past couple of months we all 
met with the entire extension staff across Virginia to kind of 
share with them the kind of collective vision for the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, and to learn from them. And so we 
work, whether it is at the President level or at the staff 
level, there is a lot of collaboration to make sure that things 
work well.
    Mr. Moore. Thanks to our panelists. Mr. Chairman, with 
that, I am out of time, so I will yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Congressman Moore. Now, 
if I may, the lady from New Hampshire, my friend, Ms. Annie 
Kuster. You are recognized.
    Ms. Kuster. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate 
your leadership in elevating racial justice issues on our 
Agriculture Committee this year. And much like our discussion 
on the state of Black farmers back in March, this hearing is 
timely, and long overdue. Through the American Rescue Plan, and 
other measures, we have been working to address systemic 
inequity facing farmers of color, and in the face of historic 
discrimination, the number of Black farmers in our country, and 
the amount of land they own, has shrunken dramatically, and is 
continuing to decline. It is incumbent upon Congress and the 
USDA to reverse this trend. It is not only a question of 
fairness, but also an important investment in the future of our 
agricultural economy.
    In order to strengthen our food supply for decades to come, 
it is imperative that all farmers and producers, regardless of 
color, have a truly fair chance to thrive as growers and 
producers. A key piece of this issue is the 1890 institutions, 
as well as other historically Black colleges and universities, 
which help passionate and innovative young people hone their 
skills and develop promising careers in farming. With the 
average age of farmers and foresters climbing, and countless 
acres of ideal farmland needing to be transitioned to a new 
generation in the coming years, the role of 1890 institutions 
has never been more critical.
    On that note, Dr. Abdullah, I would like to ask you about a 
point raised in your testimony. You mentioned that 1890 
institutions have a 131 year track record of providing a strong 
return on investment for every dollar supporting 1890 programs. 
Could you elaborate on the incredible value that 1890 programs 
provide to the country as a whole?
    Dr. Abdullah. Thank you so much. Our programs at our 1890 
institutions, whether they are addressing teaching, research, 
or extension, what you will find is that all of our programs 
are addressing the social needs and the socially disadvantaged 
needs of our communities. When we talk about education, again, 
I wanted to highlight the Congressperson who was talking about 
the high cost of college education, our 1890 institutions are 
among the most affordable institutions in the country, and we 
do that on purpose because we understand how important it is 
that we provide quality access for students. Our research and 
extension programs are concentrated on making sure that we 
provide critical feedback and critical input for socially 
disadvantaged farmers and small farmers. That allows more of 
our farmers, more people, to have access to the food ecosystem, 
and to be ready for the burgeoning economy.
    We want to make sure in every facet of everything that we 
do that we are part of making--people can achieve the American 
Dream, and that is what we have been doing for so many years. 
And we firmly believe that a more--a greater investment would 
then beget a greater return, that we have done incredible work 
with resources that I believe are commensurate with the level 
of expertise that we have on our campuses. We can educate more 
students, we can provide more and better research and extension 
for our small and disadvantaged farmers. We can do that with 
your help. Thank you, ma'am.
    Ms. Kuster. Well, thank you so much. Dr. Allen, we talked a 
bit about the incredible research coming out of 1890 
institutions. In your written testimony you described some of 
the impacts the State of Delaware has experienced as result of 
climate change, including increased frequency of Atlantic 
storms and soil acidification. Can you take a moment to 
describe the climate impacts you are witnessing across your 
state, and how your university is working to adapt to and 
mitigate climate change?
    Dr. Allen. Thank you, Congresswoman, and if I could just 
add on to President Abdullah's commentary about the value of 
1890 land-grants, I will turn your attention to the social 
mobility rankings in U.S. News and World Report. That mobility 
ranking effectively says can you graduate the lowest resourced 
students at the same rate that you can graduate all your other 
students? Most HBCUs in the country scored 100 out of 100 on 
that particular notion. So, again, the notion of social 
mobility for us is paramount to who we are, and clear with our 
mission.
    With respect to your question about climate change in 
specific, since 2001, Delaware has been hit by 31 hurricanes 
and tropical storms. You probably know that a lot of our 
tourism economy relies on our beaches, and there has been 
significant soil degradation as a result. Our College of 
Agriculture, Science, and Technology has been studying that 
issue fairly frequently, has certainly exposed our opportunity 
for research with our two research farms, one for crop dust 
diversification, and one for animal livestock. We are also 
doing a lot of inland fisheries research. We have an 
aquaculture center which really investigates disease along the 
waterways as it relates to some of the impacts we are seeing 
from climate change, and we are able to do that with about 20 
man-made ponds we have on campus that allow us to do that 
research as well. So the land-grant mission of all of us really 
relates to how we impact the states and communities where we 
serve, and it is been particularly important for us to be very 
much involved in this work around climate change in Delaware.
    Ms. Kuster. Great. Well, thank you so much. I am so 
impressed at how you all kept going during COVID-19, and thank 
you for the great work you do. And, with that, I yield back.
    Dr. Allen. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Kuster. And now I recognize 
the gentleman from California, Mr. LaMalfa.
    Mr. LaMalfa. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate 
you. Your calm demeanor in running our Committee is much 
appreciated, and so I thank you for that. Also, forgive me for 
meeting here at the bounce between another committee as well. 
Let me focus on a couple things here with our great panel we 
have here today, and the great heritage and history that you 
all bring.
    Now, I know the 2023 Farm Bill will be just around the 
corner here, and it is not an easy thing to get done, because 
it requires a lot of collaboration, and I am glad we are having 
part of this collaboration right now, leading up to it. I 
wanted to talk about, for your universities, and the effect you 
have. So much of rural America relies on the need for 
technology for better communication, meaning rural broadband. 
And it may have been touched on previously. I am sorry, I was 
out, if this is redundant, but to the panel here, whoever cares 
to comment on that, how is your broadband and your 
communication speeds presently at your facilities, and what 
more do we need to be doing to better have these ties with each 
other, and to broaden that out for your work and research, and 
how that comes back out to the general public? How is our 
communications in that area? Anybody on the panel that wants to 
weigh in.
    Dr. Anderson. Representative LaMalfa, I would love to start 
first, because my colleagues will tell you yesterday I was 
unconnected because of the lack of broadband. But let me tell 
you, during COVID, actually, before COVID, was looking at 
25,000 interactive minutes per month. After COVID, with our 
broadband, and having to shift, two million interactive 
activities per month. And basically when all of that activity 
happens at the same time in our very rural area, you can 
imagine the interconnectivity problems that we had. Not only 
from our teachers, our students, and even with our extension 
people, going out to our farmers, because many of our local 
farmers don't have any connection whatsoever. So it made a big 
difference as far as lack of interconnectivity. It is a huge 
issue here in our area, and we really hope, and really 
encourage, Congress to really try to pay attention and help us 
out in this regard.
    Mr. LaMalfa. Others?
    Dr. McMeans. Yes, this is Orlando. It definitely was an 
issue here in Louisiana. Fortunately, one of the assets that we 
had is that we had a mobile education technology center, where 
we had to actually bring the technology to the individuals, 
where we had ten computers that we had to take to individuals. 
But one of the things--as it relates to the pandemic, the 
governor set up a number of task forces, and there may have 
been about 10 or 15, and the number one priority was broadband, 
in the State of Louisiana, it was the number one priority. And 
I know that is a priority of the state legislature, and I am 
hoping that the USDA and Congress can continue to support the 
1890s, because most of the individuals we serve are located in 
a lot of those rural communities, and we really need to make 
sure that we help to build up their capacity, as it relates to 
technology and broadband. So that is a priority for us as well.
    Mr. LaMalfa. Thank you. Anyone else on the panel, or maybe 
general thoughts on other things we should be looking for in 
the 2023 Farm Bill as a priority, whether we are talking in 
areas of additional research in agriculture, or in 
manufacturing, technology? With my remaining time, are there 
any thoughts on that?
    Dr. Allen. Congressman, it is Tony Allen. Let me just 
comment with my colleagues on broadband issues. We actually 
have my CIO participating in a hearing today on that issue with 
the acting FCC Chairman. In Delaware there are not many 
distinctions between our rural and urban settings, but I can 
tell you that it has been an issue, and it is largely an issue 
because not only is the concern on campus, but in many of the 
communities that those students returned home to, particularly 
during COVID, it became a significant concern. So we see it as 
universal, connecting back to what we are able to accomplish at 
the university, and what they are able to accomplish when they 
go home.
    Relative to some of the other opportunities I think that 
are important for you all to continue to consider, as we think 
about ag business, and building some interdisciplinary 
opportunities for our students, it is very important to them 
that they see it as an opportunity to really understand the 
business of agriculture, and being able to help farmers of all 
different abilities and ethnicities to build their capacity to 
grow as well. So the practitioners around the agricultural 
community are very important, and you can support the--building 
resources for those disciplines is going to be very important 
to the overall industry.
    Mr. LaMalfa. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Allen. I am a farmer in 
my real life, and I know that we need to have a lot broader 
understanding of what it is that we are all doing and we are 
all facing out there in order to keep our country fed, and 
clothed, et cetera, so thank you, panelists. I will yield back, 
Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman LaMalfa. I really 
appreciate that line of questioning. And now I would like to 
recognize the gentleman from Florida, my good friend Mr. Al 
Lawson, who is also a graduate of an 1890 called Florida A&M.
    Mr. Lawson. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and it is a 
real honor to have the distinguished panel here today, and it 
is good to see Dr. Abdullah again. I haven't seen him in a 
while. And I would like to say that to Maryland Eastern Shore, 
my brother-in-law, Dr. Henry M. Brooks, worked there throughout 
his career, and his father was also in agriculture at Florida 
A&M University, and a professor, so I have been around farming 
a great deal, it is just that, when I married his daughter, I 
couldn't hardly take care of a farm so--being a basketball 
person, but my parents' farm on weekends in the country, and he 
worked at the university during the day to help bring in other 
resources.
    So I can't say enough about how the Chairman worked so hard 
on the scholarship program. And I remember one day when I told 
him that the scholarship was not in the budget, he almost went 
crazy--and Sonny Perdue, who was the Secretary, had a lot to do 
with it, Conaway and Collin Peterson, the former Chairmen, in 
working on this, so it was a great accomplishment to have the 
opportunity to serve on that. And, I have a nephew to benefit--
I was telling Dr. Taylor at FAMU, the benefit from the 
scholarship program--that graduated this spring, and will be 
working at Washington, D.C. at the Department of Agriculture, 
which is incredible, in agribusiness.
    My question would be really to the panel: in what way would 
you like to see USDA and our community not only support but 
advance the ways of 1890 land-grants--enable to conduct 
extension service within their communities? What is holding 
your institutions back from doing more in your areas? And I say 
that to say how do we go forward in the next farm bill? 
Scholarships are great, but what do we need to help put you 
more and more on a level playing field? And that is to the 
whole panel.
    Dr. Abdullah. Congressman Lawson, it is so good to see you, 
sir. I think the last time I saw you I was Dean at FAMU. It is 
really good to see you. I will take the question, if it is 
okay? One of the biggest challenges that we have--and we talked 
about funding, and so I am going to move to--just opposite of 
funding, is making sure that those in Congress, and those at 
USDA, really understand the true value of our institutions, and 
the true value of the partnership really that already exists. 
Our infrastructure, and our 19 schools across 18 states, are an 
incredibly valuable resource to tackle any number of problems 
in this country. I believe that, had we really understood the 
true magnitude of the COVID-19 challenge, that the 1890 
institutions, in terms of really addressing health disparities 
in our area, addressing some of the broadband issues in our 
area, addressing some of the challenges with education--because 
now with broadband, education and broadband become a public 
need--that we were really at the ready to begin to help, but I 
am not sure that everyone--maybe we didn't know, but everyone 
didn't know the way that we could all work together.
    I think I mentioned this earlier, but to have two Rattlers 
on this Committee, to have Dr. Jewel H. Bronaugh, who is the 
former Dean of Ag at Virginia State University, be the Deputy 
Secretary of Agriculture, making sure that the 1890s and the 
1890 system is really at the table to begin to help address the 
needs of our country, and the needs of agriculture in our 
country, is critically important. So, I really want to applaud 
the Committee, because I think that this is really a part of 
that work, in making sure that Congress, and that our entire 
nation, understands the value of our 1890 land-grant 
universities.
    Mr. Lawson. Maryland Eastern Shore--have a few seconds.
    Dr. Jones. If I may I would just like to----
    Dr. Anderson. Well, President Abdullah responded very, very 
well, and I agree, the collaborative effort of our 19 
universities really can be powerful. And I think that is the 
message that I want to get across to this particular panel, 
just recognizing that the collaborative work that we could do 
could really solve many of the problems that our citizens have 
in the country, from food insecurity, all the way to healthcare 
disparities, and blending those two. And you can tell that on 
this particular panel today, President Allen, Del State, and I, 
we work together. President Abdullah and I are talking about 
how to work together with healthcare disparities, and that is--
I would agree with the message, making sure that people 
recognize the power in the numbers that we have here.
    Mr. Lawson. And, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman Lawson. And now we 
will go to Ms. Letlow from Louisiana.
    Ms. Letlow. Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson, 
Members of the Committee and witnesses, thank you for taking 
the time to discuss continuing opportunities in investment in 
the success of 1890 land-grant institutions. As discussed here 
today, 1890s play a pivotal role in the mission of agriculture, 
education, research, and extension services. In the past this 
Committee has made great strides to improve capacity and access 
to assistance for these institutions of learning. The critical 
work engineered by land-grant institutions goes a long way in 
ensuring our American farmers remain the safest, most abundant 
food supply in the world. In addition, HBCUs in Louisiana have 
a vested history in providing educational opportunities, and 
contributing to the successful futures of many young men and 
women throughout the 5th District, and across the state.
    When I first joined this Committee, I shared with the 
Ranking Member my sincere concerns with the aging population we 
are experiencing in agriculture today. While there are existing 
programs targeting young, beginning, and small farmers, I am 
eager to get to work with my colleagues in exploring new 
avenues to not only get beginning farmers into agriculture, but 
to keep them there. Agriculture is the backbone of my district, 
accounting for 49 percent of the agriculture output in the 
state. Our hardworking farmers, ranchers, and loggers 
contribute to the overall rural economies, and it is essential 
for our region in Louisiana that agriculture continues on for 
generations to come.
    My question is for Dr. McMeans. Given that Southern 
University's Agriculture Research and Extension Center 
encompasses programs and services set aside for this effort, 
can you share with the Committee how the center contributes to 
and benefits small scale farms with limited resources to help 
them maintain viable farming operations? Dr. McMeans?
    The Chairman. Mr. McMeans? Dr. McMeans, I think that 
question was directed to you. Is his----
    Ms. Letlow. I can repeat it.
    The Chairman. Yes, if you could repeat it, and perhaps Mr. 
McMeans may check his microphone system?
    Dr. McMeans. Okay. Yes, am I good?
    Ms. Letlow. Yes.
    The Chairman. Yes. Go ahead, Doctor.
    Dr. McMeans. Okay.
    Dr. McMeans. Okay. Yes, we have a really--what I call one 
of the--when I came aboard 2 years ago, one of the more 
successful land-grant programs--outreach that I see in the 
nation, and we have, it is called our Enhancing Capacity of 
Louisiana's Small Farms and Businesses Certification Program, 
and it offers certification in small business development, food 
safety, dealing with small ruminants and sustainable urban 
agriculture. And so we have connected with over 400 clientele 
and trained them on virtual platforms, even during the 
pandemic. And so--normally we actually take this to the 
individuals across the entire State of Louisiana.
    And I am happy to say one of the things that we are 
investing in, thanks to USDA, Congress, and also the State of 
Louisiana, we have hired an additional 11 or 12 individuals who 
work in the area of agricultural outreach. And this is so 
important to me--and we are coordinating this, going back to a 
previous question, with LSU Ag Center. So we are working 
together, and we understand and value the importance of small 
farmers. I mean, we could talk about socially disadvantaged 
farmers and minority farmers, but when you look at where--the 
potential for us to grow in the State of Louisiana, it is those 
small farms, and making sure that we give them the resources 
adequate enough for them to become prosperous. Prosperous small 
farms, prosperous Louisiana, so we are excited about that.
    Ms. Letlow. Thank you so much for sharing all of that, Dr. 
McMeans. That is so encouraging to hear, especially Southern 
University's efforts to enhance opportunities for not only 
small farmers, but for the next generation in agriculture 
related professionals. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back 
the remainder of my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congresslady, I appreciate that. 
And now we will recognize the distinguished lady from 
Washington, Ms. Kim Schrier.
    Ms. Schrier. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for 
convening this hearing on a very important topic. I am going to 
focus on an essential issue that a few of our witnesses touched 
on, our nation's agriculture research infrastructure. Modern 
agricultural research and education facilities serve as the 
backbone of our nation's cutting edge agricultural and food 
research enterprise. But according to a 2021 report by the 
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, 69 percent 
of research facilities at U.S. colleges are at the end of their 
useful life. The cost of upgrading deferred maintenance on 
these buildings is estimated at $11.5 billion. Advances in 
agriculture and food innovation are the foundation of the 
U.S.'s rich tradition in food and farm entrepreneurship, and 
our research facilities not only generate solutions, but also 
aid in recruiting a whole new generation of diverse scientists, 
innovators, and agricultural leaders. That is why I support 
addressing our deferred research maintenance backlog and 
increasing investments in the next generation of ag research.
    Now, Dr. Anderson, Dr. Jones, and Dr. McMeans, in your 
testimonies you all mentioned the urgent need for funding to 
replace or renovate outdated research facilities, and I was 
wondering, Dr. Anderson, can you provide a little more detail 
on the status of agricultural research facilities at your 
university, and the kinds of deferred maintenance projects that 
your university needs?
    Dr. Anderson. Thank you very much, Representative, for the 
question. I would be happy to provide some further insights. At 
our university, as I mentioned earlier, we have 88 buildings. 
This is accounting for 1.8\2\ million gross. The average age 
of all of our buildings is 44 years, and our deferred 
maintenance is over $90 million. If you look specifically at 
agriculture, one of our key buildings, Trigg Hall, was built in 
1954, and it sits on what we call our Academic Oval. It is on 
the National Registry. But that particular building has poor 
HVAC system, it has outdated electrical system, there is no 
wireless in that building. And, because it is a historic 
building, you could imagine, just doing something as simple as 
changing the windows becomes very, very problematic because of 
the historic nature of the building.
    Carver Hall is where we have our students first introduced 
to biology, and they come to us, a number of STEM students we 
have on our campus, and yet that building has poor ventilation 
and poor circulation. The building is over 50 years old. So 
those are just the type of examples--just to renovate the one 
building, Trigg Hall, where our Agriculture Research Extension 
Program is at, would be over $25 million. And in addition, we 
had an opportunity here to grow our ag experiment station, but 
we are also short in the funding on that particular resource.
    And, finally, I would like to just say we are working to 
help our poultry farmers, as well as the other farmers that I 
have mentioned here on the lower Eastern Shore, and we have an 
opportunity to look at adding veterinary sciences, but we 
cannot do it in the existing infrastructure that we have.
    Ms. Schrier. It is just astounding. These are the buildings 
where we are doing scientific research, and they are this old, 
and this decrepit. We actually have a facility--we don't have 
any 1890s in Washington State, but we have a facility with no 
indoor plumbing. So I just want to thank you for underscoring 
that urgent need, and making really clear what you need, and 
the real state of our lack of investment. So a multi-year 
investment will reposition the United States for long-term 
success, competitiveness, and leadership in global agriculture 
and food research. It will keep us competitive.
    Now, estimates suggest that strategic Federal investments 
in these facilities at land-grant and non-land-grant schools of 
agriculture would create 200,000 new jobs nationwide, and each 
dollar invested in agricultural research at public land-grant 
institutions provides abundant strong returns to the economy. 
So in the coming weeks I will be joining with my colleagues in 
sending a letter to Congressional leadership urging the 
prioritization of a once in a generation investment to 
reposition the United States for success in food and 
agricultural research. I am hoping others here today will join 
me, and I thank you all again for participating today. Thank 
you very much. I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Schrier. And I am so 
delighted you mentioned that last item, and we all join with 
you. That is a very noble endeavor. And now let me recognize 
Mrs. Fischbach, the gentlelady from Minnesota.
    Mrs. Fischbach. Thank you very much. And I apologize, I had 
to pop out for a very quick Rules Committee meeting, but I did 
catch, I guess at least part of Congresswoman Schrier's 
questions with Dr. Anderson, and maybe this is more for 
everybody. When I was in the State Legislature, we did--and it 
is an 1890, but a land-grant university, University of 
Minnesota, and the state did a lot of the funding for 
buildings, and things like that. So just throwing it out there, 
I am kind of curious about state support that the schools are 
getting, but in addition to that I also was kind of wondering--
I know that funding is a top priority, but also just kind of 
wondering if there was something else that the House 
Agriculture Committee could do to help the universities achieve 
their goals. So kind of those two questions, and I will open it 
up to whichever witness has some input on that.
    Dr. Jones. Congresswoman, let me at least take a part of 
that question, in terms of your comment about state support. 
You are absolutely correct that the states--or at least the 
State of Georgia plays a very pivotal role in supporting our 26 
public institutions, relative to deferring maintenance, but 
there is such a backlog. The state appropriates somewhere 
between $40 and $60 million for those 20-26 institutions 
annually. We might receive anywhere from $\1/2\ to $1 million. 
But when you think about it over time, it is almost impossible 
for the--with the current funding structure to stay on top of 
these challenges that we are facing on our campus, from a 
deferred maintenance perspective. So, we need to sort of do a 
partnership from the Federal and the state level to help us to 
address these deferred maintenance challenges, but you are 
absolutely correct, the states are playing a vital role, but we 
could use that additional support, and that is why this 
infrastructure bill is so critical for the 1890 community, and 
beyond.
    Mrs. Fischbach. Thank you very much. And if anyone would 
love to add anything about what else could, like I said, I know 
that funding is priority, but are there other things that we 
could do at our level that would be helpful for the 
universities?
    Dr. Allen. Congresswoman, the only thing I would add is 
that--public-private partnerships that really help us thrive 
here at Delaware State University. We have a couple in play in 
the ag community, most notably FMC, which is an ag sciences 
company, that does fellowships, faculty, and employee exchange, 
and joint research projects. But if you can continue to 
encourage the private-sector to be connected with 1890s as we 
build capacity for our students to get real world experience, 
really at the start of their educational careers, those things 
are really important and vital to how they come into those 
professions, and the return that the businesses themselves get 
on recruiting those young people. As I said, we have created 
some unique partnerships in the ag community with--in the--
within private companies, but certainly not enough. And to have 
the voices come from a Committee like this around those 
relationships would be very important.
    Dr. Abdullah. That is, actually, my favorite question, 
Congresswoman Fischbach, and I apologize if it sounds like I am 
repeating myself, but I do love that question. I do think that 
we have a unique opportunity, as a group of 19 institutions 
across 18 states, that have been committed to making sure that 
we help socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and students, 
that we are an incredible network that Congress and the USDA 
can really look at to help solve problems--future problems that 
maybe we are not even working on today. And so having us be 
here for you to be able to lean on us to help solve the 
nation's problems is something that we are very interested in, 
and so we really appreciate you asking what else can you do? We 
want to be that valuable resource to help the nation move 
beyond the challenges that we have.
    Dr. Anderson. Only thing that I would like to add, 
Congresswoman, is the fact that, looking at infrastructure 
broadly, not just our aging buildings that we have, like I said 
earlier on the deferred maintenance, abut also this whole issue 
of the broadband, and also the human capital that is important 
as well. I think the--and the strength of our 19 universities 
together. Thank you.
    Mrs. Fischbach. Well, and my time is almost up, but I 
appreciate the responses, and I appreciate that this is just 
the beginning of the conversation. As I ask about what we need 
to do, obviously there is a lot more discussion, a lot of 
things that we can do into the future, so I appreciate it. 
Thank you very much, and I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Congresslady Fischbach, 
for your very pertinent questions. And now I would like to 
recognize the gentleman from California, Mr. Panetta.
    Mr. Panetta. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate this 
opportunity, and thanks to all the witnesses for your time 
today, and of course your service. And also clearly want to 
thank you for all you are doing for leading our nation's 1890 
institutions. Dr. Abdullah and Dr. Jones, welcome back, and as 
you know from our conversation in December, I represent the 
Central Coast of California, and I am sure you know well the 
farmers and farmworkers in my district are a part of the very 
rich agricultural history in the region, including the stories 
and leadership of people like Cesar Chavez, who advocated 
tirelessly for farmworkers, and whose legacy continues to guide 
us as we work to address the systemic inequity in our Federal 
farm programs. Now, I know this inequity has posed significant 
barriers to success for Black farmers nationwide, and although 
no set of circumstances is the same, clearly there are parallel 
challenges that exist for farmers and farmworkers of color in 
the Salinas Valley. And as we look to developing a once in a 
generation infrastructure package, and later, as we look to 
writing the next farm bill, we need to make sure that we are 
listening to these producers, these farmers, and these 
farmworkers.
    Now, building off of the last few questions, and addressing 
our agriculture infrastructure, I think we understand clearly 
as has been expressed by the witnesses, and yes, the 
questioners, deferred maintenance backlog is critical if we 
want to maintain American leadership in agriculture research 
and development. And today the overall share of the R&D 
spending as a percentage of the GDP is at its lowest since the 
1950s. Shockingly, food and agriculture research in this 
country lags even further behind most other Federal areas.
    And at the exact same time, other countries, including, 
yes, that is right, China, are investing heavily in R&D. That 
is why I believe, and I think you will agree, that we in 
Congress must work to develop an infrastructure package, and 
that is why I am making sure, with the letter that Ms. Schrier 
talked about, all of us there on the--most of us on the 
Agriculture Committee are working together for--to call for 
leadership to make sure that there is strong, robust investment 
of at least $40 billion, once again, $40 billion, for 
agricultural research, including at least $11.5 billion for ag 
research facilities that we talked of earlier. I do believe, 
and I think you will agree, that it is that type of level of 
funding which is critical if we want to provide socially 
disadvantaged and beginning farmers and producers, along with 
established producers and farmers, to the tools and knowledge 
they need to be successful in the 21st century.
    And so what I pose to you, Dr. Jones, Dr. Anderson, and Dr. 
McMeans, if that is all right, as we work to develop this huge 
infrastructure package, I think we know, do you think that type 
of level of funding and that type of level of investment is 
necessary?
    Dr. McMeans. This is Orlando. I will go first, and anybody 
who has read my written testimony, that was probably \1/3\ of 
what I wrote about. I think an investment in research is an 
investment in the United States, is an investment in economic 
development. The other thing is that, as we talk about--first 
of all, the answer to your question is yes. I--that was music 
to my ears right there, because I am a part of the APLU's 
initiative on increasing research capacity via this 
infrastructure funding. And so what I say is that--and I hate 
to say this, but we are falling behind as it relates to our 
competitiveness in the area of R&D as it relates to 
agriculture. Agriculture is essential--foundation, fundamental 
to the advancement of the United States, and our standing in 
the global community.
    So I say this to say that this is so important to me that, 
when I was ranking priorities, I said infrastructure number 
one, agriculture number two, but infrastructure as it relates 
to agriculture means a more prosperous America. And so I want 
to thank you, first of all, for what you are proposing, and I 
hope that--and encourage others to jump on board, because I 
just think that is a game changer. That will make us more 
prosperous, and also when you are talking about food security, 
sustainability, and all of that. So thank you so much for 
proposing that, and I don't think anybody is going to say ``No, 
that is not enough money'', because you said the word B, the 
billion is always good.
    Dr. Anderson. And I would jump in as well, Representative. 
I agree, none of us can say no to that. The answer is yes, and 
it is very simple. The world is growing people. We have more 
people in the country, we have to take care of their food 
needs, and we have to have research infrastructure to help us 
deal with climate needs, going forward. So the answer is yes, 
yes, and the more the better. Thank you.
    Mr. Panetta. Thank you. And Dr. Jones, thumbs up or thumbs 
down? There you go. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. I will take 
that. Thanks to Dr. Abdullah and Dr. Allen. Thank you. I yield 
back.
    The Chairman. And thank you, Congressman Panetta. You 
brought up some excellent points, and we have really got to 
maintain strength, and our strong position. China, as you 
mentioned, along with Russia, there is no way we can let them 
get ahead of us, and I thank you for mentioning that as well.
    And now I would like to recognize the distinguished Member 
from Georgia, my good friend Sanford Bishop. I think I 
mentioned before that Sanford is also our Subcommittee Chairman 
on Appropriations for Agriculture, and Sanford has played a 
critical role in us securing the $80 million for our 
scholarship program, which means he is definitely a very vital 
part of our efforts here to make our scholarship program. And 
so Sanford has played a very important role in that, and we all 
appreciate it, and I just wanted to say that in my introduction 
of him. Sanford, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Bishop. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank 
you for the tremendous leadership that you have given to this 
Committee. Let me welcome all of our Presidents, but let me 
give a special shout-out to my President, Dr. Paul Jones, from 
the Fort Valley State University. Dr. Jones has done such a 
tremendous job, and I have a couple of questions that I want to 
raise which touch on finances. Dr. McMeans referenced it in his 
testimony, talking about the glaring differences in financial 
support for the 1862 institutions versus the 1890 institutions, 
and also the one-to-one funding matches, because it seems to be 
quite frequent that the one-to-one funding match from the 
respective state legislatures that are tasked with funding our 
1890s don't match with the 1862s.
    And a question for anyone who will--and you can start with 
Dr. Jones, how would you describe the working relationship 
between your institutions and the 1862 counterparts within your 
states, specifically in the context of joint education, joint 
research, and joint extension activities? And how can Congress, 
in your opinion, facilitate this relationship, and create 
opportunities for more collaboration between the 1890s and your 
1862 counterparts? What I have done--my 1862 is always beating 
down my door for research projects, and, of course, I have 
tried, to the extent that I could, to insist that they 
collaborate with our 1890s, and that has worked in some 
instances, and in other instances it has not. But let me hear 
from your thoughts with regard to that.
    Dr. Jones. Well, first of all, Congressman Bishop, good 
afternoon, and great to see you again, and we appreciate 
tremendously what you have done for this institution, and for 
this--for the district here. Let me just say that because of 
you, we--particularly during my tenure, we have seen a 
tremendous growth in our partnership with University of 
Georgia, research--joint research opportunities with both the 
University of Georgia and our agricultural research stations. 
And that has proven to have tremendous impact on our 
institution, and on--I believe those institutions, as we are 
forging greater partnerships, and looking for other ways in 
with we--in which we can strengthen those relationships.
    As you know, we are co-located with University of Georgia 
and the 35 counties that we represent from an extension 
perspective, and that allows those agents to work very closely 
together, as they are, I am sure, throughout the 1890s system. 
But I would say that Congress, if we can continue to take that 
kind of approach in pushing the 1862s more towards 
collaboration, you will see tremendous results as we are 
seeing. So, again, I can't thank you enough for setting the 
stage for growth in this regard.
    Mr. Bishop. Anyone else?
    Dr. McMeans. Congressman Bishop, first of all, I know you 
represent Georgia, but it is always nice to see a fellow 
Mobilian, so it is great to see you again.
    Mr. Bishop. Georgia claimed me, but Alabama named me.
    Dr. McMeans. That is right, that is right. So first of all, 
I want to thank you for all the--of the support that you have 
given to the 1890s. I have visited with you, and your door is 
always open to us, and so I thank you for that. We are in 34 of 
the 64 parishes in Louisiana, and for the most part we are co-
located with LSU. We work daily with one another, we have the 
same boards that we answer to, or commissions, and so our--it 
is working well, especially for extension.
    And, as I stated earlier, our strength is in our unity, and 
working collaboratively, and I think that the main thing is 
that we cannot lose focus that our mission is the same, and 
that is for the betterment of the citizens and communities that 
we collectively serve. So in everything that we do, we want to 
work together. It is always good, and I thank you, and I hope 
others will follow, encouraging the 1862s to work with 1890s to 
support efforts. I will go on record, and I don't know whether 
he is on here, but my counterpart at LSU basically conveyed to 
me--he is like, this is some of the things that you guys are 
very strong in, and so we will support you in that endeavor. 
But we are developing academic programs together, we are 
developing research programs together, and so the last couple 
of years at Southern University I have really enjoyed working 
with my 1862 counterpart, and I see the value, going forward, 
as that relates to our similar missions, but the main thing is 
Louisianans will benefit more so.
    Mr. Bishop. Thank you. I believe my time has expired, but 
thank you very much. And if someone else asks another question, 
could talk about the inequities between the funding for the 
1890s and the 1862s, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts 
on that.
    The Chairman. All right. Thank you, Congressman Bishop. And 
now I would like to recognize the gentlelady from the Virgin 
Islands, Ms. Plaskett. You are recognized for 5 minutes. Ms. 
Plaskett is also the Subcommittee Chair of the Biotechnology, 
Horticulture, and Research Subcommittee. Does a wonderful job, 
and is our partner in helping our 1890s. Ms. Plaskett, you are 
recognized.
    Ms. Plaskett. Thank you so much to Chairman Scott, and to 
our Ranking Member, and to the witnesses who are with us today. 
Because I am the Subcommittee Chair of Biotech, Horticulture, 
and Research, my first question is related to research.
    Dr. Jones, I would like to start by touching on the 
importance of investing in agricultural research. As you may 
know, the United States' share of overall research and 
development spending as a percentage of GDP is now at its 
lowest point since the 1950s. Food and agriculture lag even 
further behind most other Federal research and development 
areas. Additionally, agricultural research funding at the USDA 
has remained flat over the last 50 years, while funding for 
other Federal research agencies has increased 10, 20-fold 
during that same period. My question is, in your opinion, how 
important is it for the United States to increase our Federal 
investment in agricultural research, especially as other 
countries around the globe heavily invest in those same 
agricultural research and development?
    Dr. Jones. Well, thank you for that question. What I would 
say, real quickly, is that much of the country oftentimes does 
not understand that, when we think of agriculture, agriculture 
is everything. It is so critical that we make these 
investments--it is an economic development question in our 
country, and so--and to invest here will make a significant 
impact across the country. I think that you are hearing that 
theme throughout the testimonies from the various leaders here 
today, is that--the importance of those investments, that 
will--an investment here is growing our economy, and so there 
needs to be even more focus on what we do in this area of 
agriculture, and we support that 100 percent.
    Ms. Plaskett. Thank you very much. Dr. McMeans, we talked 
about the role that extension services at 1890 institutions 
play in addressing historic discrimination, longstanding racial 
disparities in the agricultural sector. The information that 
you have given in your testimony is profound as to the jarring 
statistics. Congress took steps to address these disparities in 
the American Rescue Plan by providing $1 billion to provide 
technical assistance to socially disadvantaged farmers, with at 
least one percent of these funds to be used at 1890 
institutions. What additional steps should Congress, and the 
Biden Administration, take to support farmers of color and 
address these longstanding disparities? Thank you.
    Dr. McMeans. Thank you for the question, and thank you for 
your support. One of the things that we are so thankful and 
appreciative, I know as I am speaking for my other 1890 
leadership, and research director, and experiment station 
directors, in that the $4 billion goes a long way in supporting 
those farmers. However, the fact of the matter is it is 
specific for certain USDA loans. My hope is that we will 
continue to look at ways that we will support financially our 
socially disadvantaged farmers. In particular I am speaking 
about the Black farmers. I have had the opportunity to listen 
to testimonies firsthand about the discrimination, and some of 
it is so deplorable and despicable you can't really talk about 
it on this particular Zoom, but I say this to say that there is 
still a lot more work to be done to make sure that our minority 
and small farmers feel like they are a part of the advancement 
of agriculture for the United States, because they make up the 
larger amount of farmers in the United States.
    I think that one percent that is going to the 1890s, I 
would really hope that the Administration would look to 
increase those resources so that our extension individuals, 
through human capital, will be able to do more outreach to our 
farmers that we have historically served, because it is very 
imperative that we have those individuals work with these 
farmers, whether that is paperwork, whether that is knowing 
about loans, whether that is knowing about crops, and things of 
that nature. There is so much for us to do, but an investment 
in 1890s is an investment in small and minority farmers as 
well.
    Ms. Plaskett. Thank you very much, and I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Plaskett. And now, ladies and 
gentlemen, as we reach the conclusion of this extraordinarily 
impactful hearing, I want to thank all of our witnesses for 
giving some of the most riveting and informative testimonies 
here on behalf of the importance, and significance, and history 
of our great 1890 institutions. And before I give my 
adjournment and my closing statement, I want to recognize my 
friend here, and partner, our Ranking Member, for any closing 
statement he would like to make.
    Mr. Thompson. Mr. Chairman, thank you so much. Thank you 
for your leadership on this hearing. Incredibly important 
topic. Thank you to every member of our panel. I thought their 
information they shared is reflective of their outstanding 
leadership in those institutions of higher learning that they 
help lead.
    The Chairman. Yes.
    Mr. Thompson. I will just close. Also, I think we would be 
remiss if I didn't say thank you to a gentleman that I had the 
privilege in serving under, when we were doing the 2018 Farm 
Bill, when we made much of these enhancements happen, when I 
was serving as Vice Chair of the full Committee, and that is 
Chairman Mike Conaway.
    The Chairman. Yes.
    Mr. Thompson. Whose leadership, just very effectively 
played such a key role of achieving these improvements and 
enhancements, and no less than six specific sections in the 
2018 Farm Bill that was dedicated to our 1890 land-grant 
colleges. I think that is a testament to his leadership, and 
much appreciate that. And I look forward to continuing our work 
together as we support these great agriculture-based 
universities, colleges, that just serve all things rural which 
is so important.
    The Chairman. Yes.
    Mr. Thompson. And with that, I will yield back.
    The Chairman. And let me just echo what you said, my 
friend, about Mike Conaway, because, ladies and gentlemen, you 
might now know this, but Mike Conaway was the Chairman, a 
Republican Chairman, of this Committee when we were able to get 
the $80 million for our scholarship program. Truly bipartisan, 
and Mike Conaway played an important role. And, by the way, his 
Congressional district represents Prairie View, which is an 
1890s land-grant.
    And so, ladies and gentlemen, I think you have seen a great 
display here of the strong bipartisanship from the intense 
interests of both our Democratic Members and our Republican 
Members. And, in closing, let me just say this, that 
agriculture, as I often say, is without question our single 
most important industry. It is the food we eat, the clothes we 
wear, our shelter, our water. It is all of these things that we 
cannot do without. On top of that, in 44 of our 50 states, 
agriculture is the largest, most important part of 44 of our 
states' economies out of 50. And so you see how important 
agriculture is, and the role that African Americans have played 
in establishing agriculture as the premiere agriculture 
industry in the world, and the role that our 1890s institutions 
play now. And so I think you have seen the intense interest and 
support from both sides of the aisle for the continuation of 
our work we are doing, and all of the areas in research, in 
terms of helping with the infrastructure of our institutions, 
it is right here, in Congress. And now we must go forward and 
establish this 1890s Land-Grant Colleges and Universities 
Scholarship Program permanently so that, for generations to 
come, African Americans, and others--our land-grant African 
American colleges and universities have college students from 
all races, all colors. And that is the way America is. And so, 
to say in closing, our agriculture system is for everybody, and 
nobody demonstrates that more than our land-grant 1890s 
colleges and universities.
    So I just want to say thank you, we move forward. Nothing 
is easy. We have a challenge to move ahead, and make sure that 
our 1890s are totally involved in the movement forward of our 
great agriculture system of our great nation, the United States 
of America. Thank you, and--I must read the correct--under the 
Rules of the Committee, the record of today's hearing will 
remain open for 10 calendar days to receive additional material 
and supplementary written responses from the witnesses to any 
questions posed by Members. And I just want to say I thank God 
for this extraordinary hearing, and for this great opportunity 
he has given to each of us. This hearing of the Committee on 
Agriculture is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1:10 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
    [Material submitted for inclusion in the record follows:]
  Submitted Letters by Hon. David Scott, a Representative in Congress 
                              from Georgia
                                Letter 1
on behalf of laurence b. alexander, j.d., ph.d., chancellor, university 
                       of arkansas at pine bluff
June 15, 2021

    Hon. David Scott,
    Chairman,
    House Agriculture Committee,
    Washington, D.C.;

    Hon. Glenn Thompson,
    Ranking Minority Member,
    House Committee on Agriculture,
    Washington, D.C.

RE: Hearing on 1890 Land-Grant Institutions: Investing for Agricultural 
            Resiliency, Equity, and Global Impact

    Dear Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Thompson:

    On behalf of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) 
community, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to 
you as well as Vice Chair Alma Adams, and Subcommittee Chair Stacey 
Plaskett for convening this hearing to increase awareness of the 
historical and systemic disparities among 1890 land-grant institutions 
and set a course for action to secure permanent funding priorities that 
preserve our unique land-grant mission. We are pleased to work with our 
Arkansas Congressional delegation including Congressman Rick Crawford, 
a Member of the House Agriculture Committee, on all of these important 
issues. Thank you for inviting me and my colleagues to this hearing. 
Your vision for committing additional funding and long-term investments 
to our universities and agriculture programs is historical and 
unprecedented. Specifically, current funding and support included:

   CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds,

   Increased funding for the 1890 Scholarship Program,

   Upgrades/Infrastructure Improvements to 1890 land-grant 
        agricultural/research facilities, and

   Creation of Centers of Excellence in Aquaculture and 
        Fisheries and Agricultural Regulatory Science at UAPB.

    In addition, I am equally appreciative for the most recent $1 
billion appropriation to USDA for the QLA Program for agriculture 
producers and those who have already received WHIP+ payments. Moreover, 
I extend my support to Representative Adams' plan to help our 
institutions secure full state matching funds, for improvements of our 
campus infrastructure, and to foster cutting-edge innovation in 
agriculture research. With these new investments are major steps 
towards ensuring funding equity for UAPB and other 1890 land-grant 
institutions.
    Of equal importance are the provisions under the Farm Bill, which 
are necessary for the survival of our Socially Disadvantaged Farm 
Producers (Black farmers and ranchers) and their farmlands. Again, I am 
in full support of seeking permanent funding for this purpose. 
Furthermore, I applaud Representative Scott's efforts to eliminate 
equity challenges faced by farmers and rancher of color and authorize 
deft forgiveness through the American Rescue Plan relief package.
    In retrospect, I am also providing a snapshot (see below) of how 
the Committee's efforts have impacted UAPB directly and which can be 
enhanced through permanent funding and investments from USDA, 
highlights of current research and extension initiatives to enhance the 
land-grant mission, and critical infrastructure needs for campus 
research facilities that align with moving UAPB's agriculture and 
research agenda forward.

    They are as follows:

    1890 Scholarship Program: Through USDA/NIFA funding from the 1890 
Scholarship Program, UAPB continues to provide a premier education to 
the most underrepresented student population in the agriculture. The 
1890 Scholarship Program has been beneficial to limited resource and 
first-generation college students admitted in our agricultural sciences 
degree programs. UAPB hired a full-time Coordinator position to focus 
only on recruiting scholarship applicants, one-on-one mentoring for 
scholarship recipients, and ensuring the successful management of the 
program. This year, the 1890 scholarship awards have afforded 74 
students the opportunity to pursue a college education without the 
burden of student loan debt and has brought increased awareness to 
agricultural sciences, as well as work experiences at USDA agencies. 
The COVID-19 pandemic caused economic strain on many families and 
students. However, because of USDA/NIFA funding, UAPB was one of two 
universities in Arkansas which experienced an increase in enrollment 
overall and in the agriculture programs, in particular. UAPB remains 
fully committed to the success of the 1890 scholarship program efforts 
to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation rates for students 
enrolled in the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences. We 
believe that with continued funding from USDA/NIFA, UAPB can triple the 
number of minority students pursuing agricultural and food sciences 
degrees, double the number of students who graduate because of the 
scholarship support, and ultimately produce more minority students 
working in the agriculture and food sciences professions, as well as at 
USDA agencies.
    Facilities Improvement and Management. Through potential 
investments from Research Facilities Act administered by USDA/NIFA, 
UAPB can enhance its research infrastructure program and receive 
support for facility construction, acquisition, and renovation. Our 
campus and scientific research have both been severely hampered by 
outdated and inadequate agricultural research facilities, green houses, 
classroom buildings, research labs, and aging physical and mechanical 
infrastructure. Therefore, the lack of up-to-date facilities places the 
university at a competitive disadvantage. This research infrastructure 
development will enhance agriculture innovation for our small farmers 
and farm operators, enhance our capacity as a leader in agricultural 
research in Arkansas and regionally, and allows the university to equip 
its laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment in research areas such 
as aquaculture, biotechnology, nanotechnology and other research 
designed to create economic opportunities for farmers and farm 
businesses, as well as prepare our agriculture students for 21st 
century jobs with in major corporations, national laboratories, and at 
USDA. Specifically, our current agricultural research infrastructure 
advocacy plan focuses on renovations and upgrades for the following 
research facilities at UAPB:

   Poultry Science Building (upgrade)--This facility is used 
        for animal science research. Currently, UAPB (1890 land-grant) 
        collaborates in a joint 3+1 program with the University of 
        Arkansas (1862 land-grant).

   UAPB Research Greenhouse (replacement)--The research 
        greenhouse was used for teaching demonstrations, graduate 
        student research and lab work and to demonstrate plant science 
        and horticulture research and extension activities for 
        greenhouse production, to include hydroponics systems. This new 
        greenhouse will be a commercial structure equipped with 
        computer-controlled heating, cooling, ventilation, back-up 
        generator, and lighting that optimizes the conditions for plant 
        growth. The original greenhouse was destroyed by fire.

   UAPB Value-Added Laboratory (upgrade)--Conducts food science 
        research and service outreach to historically disadvantaged 
        citizens in the Arkansas Delta region.

   Larrison Hall (renovation)--23,000\2\ needed to expand the 
        availability of laboratory space for agriculture faculty and 
        students to conduct cutting-edge research. It also houses the 
        Center for Excellence in Regulatory Science.

    Debt Relief Services for Black Farmers. Congress has approved for 
USDA to begin paying out debt relief payments to under the American 
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). UAPB has assisted approximately 2,750 
Socially Disadvantaged Producers (Black farmers), including farm and 
non-farm businesses with completing applications for USDA loan programs 
designed to off-set losses during the pandemic and restructure farm 
debt. We plan to increase this assistance to Socially Disadvantaged 
Producers (Black farmers) as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act 
(ARPA) of 2021 which will provide debt relief to Socially Disadvantaged 
Producers (SDPs) who had USDA/Farm Service Agency (FSA) Debts. Many of 
the SDPs and other SDPs are still seeking USDA loan funds to continue 
their farming or ranching operations. Some of the services that UAPB 
will provide to SDPs are:

   Assistance to SDPs in developing financial business plans 
        and assistance in completing and submitting USDA Loan 
        applications.

   Assistance to SDPs in using USDA Conservation Program to 
        install land improving conservation practices to their land.

   Assistance to SDPs in developing crop production and 
        livestock production plans based on Cooperative Extension 
        Service recommended production practices.

   Assistance in developing marketing plans for their proposed 
        operations.

    Establishment of Biotechnology and Nanosciences Center at UAPB: 
UAPB has demonstrated extraordinary accomplishment and promise for 
research, teaching, extension, and outreach in the innovative field of 
nano and biotechnology. As part of the University's long-term strategic 
initiative, we envision constructing a state-of-the-art Biotechnology 
and Nanosciences Center to help advance the economic and research 
productivity of the state, region that impacts the nation and global 
community. With investments from the Research Facilities Act 
administered by USDA/NIFA and through other public-private 
contributions, the Center can become a reality on the UAPB campus. 
Currently, several research initiatives in these areas are implemented 
in separate buildings with poor infrastructure and conditions to 
support related research. The School of Agriculture, Fisheries, and 
Human Sciences currently employs researchers and faculty who are 
researching to enhance agriculture sustainability via cutting-edge 
advanced nano, molecular, and biotechnology techniques. Some of the 
research projects include:

   The use of nanomaterials to develop efficient drug delivery 
        methods, immunostimulant diets to benefit aquaculture farmers;

   Removal of organic pollutants in agriculture crop fields;

   Removal of antibiotics in Agriculture environmental 
        wastewater;

   Mobility and transformation of nanoscale particles in 
        agricultural environments to enhance carbon stabilization and 
        possible sequestration in soil which helps mitigate climate 
        change;

   Use of biotechnology and molecular applications like 
        transcriptome analysis of plant and animal disease models;

   Deployment of CRISPR technology to evaluate disease 
        resistance in plants and fish; and

   Use of transgenic yeast and endolysins to develop safe 
        alternatives to antibiotics that prevent antibiotic resistance 
        and gene transfer in aquaculture systems.

    Other biotechnology and nanosciences research applications will 
lead to discoveries in pharmaceuticals, nutrition, cosmetics, and 
agricultural products. The economic impact from the development of nano 
and biotech research and extension center in Arkansas at UAPB will 
promote regional economic development and job creation through 
technology transfer to the Agriculture industry. It will also create 
interest in minority students and new researchers in the field and 
enhance food production. The center will attract the local minority 
students to advance their careers in agriculture. The research, 
extension, and outreach services provided through this center will 
benefit small, socially disadvantaged, underrepresented farmers and 
communities leading to sustained agriculture in the region.
    Digital Transformation: It is our desire that the USDA continues to 
increase funding for the USDA RECONNECT Program, which aims to provide 
broadband resources to rural areas throughout Arkansas. The University 
of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, an 1890 Land-Grant Institution, is also 
working to ``Build Back Better'' our underserved areas with high-speed 
broadband connectivity, impacting our university community, as well as 
schools, families, and communities in our rural service areas. The 
university served as a hotspot for many residents during the pandemic 
and during power outages. However, many rural communities in Arkansas 
and farm families, particularly in the Lower Delta region, still lack 
access to and use of wireless broadband connectivity--thus, hampering 
innovation, food security, and economic development. Specifically, UAPB 
wishes to strengthen its utilization of hotspots, wireless 
technologies, and distance learning capabilities that require stronger 
broadband infrastructure and growing network access for farm families. 
With these technologies, Extension personnel and agricultural 
researchers are able enhance live-stream presentations and training 
sessions on-site at our two rural demonstration farm locations and farm 
households. In addition, agricultural researchers are experimenting 
with drone technology will strengthen our capacity to help students, 
researchers, and farmers to master precision agriculture. With high-
speed broadband access on the farms and drone applications, we can 
assist Socially Disadvantaged Producers (Black farmers) directly on how 
to monitor and gather data on soil health, crop yields, carbon 
sequestration, livestock, fishponds, and pest prevention and 
monitoring.
    Again, thank you for the opportunity to provide input for the 
record. As a result of the efforts of the House Agriculture Committee, 
I am extremely proud of the outlook and future for UAPB and our 1890 
land-grant institutions, in general. We look forward to the success and 
outcomes from this hearing, as well as working with the Committee on 
sustainability of our 1890 land-grant institutions.
            Sincerely,
            
            
Laurence B. Alexander, J.D., Ph.D.,
Chancellor.
                                Letter 2
on behalf of m. christopher brown ii, ph.d., president, kentucky state 
                               university
June 10, 2021

    Hon. David Scott,
    Chairman,
    House Agriculture Committee,
    Washington, D.C.

    Dear Chairman Scott:

    As President of Kentucky State University, I want to thank you for 
convening the hearing entitled ``1890 Land-Grant Institutions: 
Investing for Agricultural Resiliency, Equity, and Global Impact.'' We 
appreciate the Congress' partnership with our 1890 Universities and 
look forward to additional future collaborations. The investments in 
the 2018 Farm Bill and the American Recovery Plan have been critical to 
our campus and maintaining our academic programs. On behalf of our 
faculty, students and alumni, I want to thank you and all of the 
Committee Members, for your commitment to Kentucky State and the other 
1890 Universities. We especially want to thank you for your support of 
the 1890 Scholarships Program, through which 49 students were 
recipients of a scholarship that has allowed these students to pursue 
their dreams of having careers in agriculture.
    There are still additional needs that are important to Kentucky 
State, which includes the following areas:
    Infrastructure needs: Kentucky State, like many other 1890 
Universities/HBCU, has significant infrastructure needs. At Kentucky 
State, a new Nursing Program Building is critical to expand programing 
and address Kentucky's critical health needs. Through strengthening our 
Nursing Program, we will continue to align with food justice issues, 
health disparities, and health access programs to create healthy 
communities and more educational opportunities.
    COVID-19 response and recovery: Continued response is needed to 
expand online learning opportunities and create healthy classroom 
environments. This response will be critical to prevent negative 
impacts from future COVID variants, as well as address the issue of 
vaccine hesitancy in African American communities.
    Climate change and research and Extension efforts: With greater 
weather extremes in temperature and rainfall, and environmental 
challenges to field crops and animal health, research and Extension 
efforts to address environmental challenges will be critical for 
farmers, especially small-scale/minority farmers who have limited 
resources to adjust to these weather fluctuations.
    Black farmers: Black farmers continue to face many challenges, due 
to years of documented discriminatory practices while trying to apply 
for farm loans through USDA. As a result, the number of black farmers 
has declined creating a need to preserve and ensure a pipeline of new 
and beginning black farmers exist in Kentucky and surrounding areas. 
Many hardships still trouble the Black farmers as it relates to 
knowledge gaps between alternative production practices and new 
agritech opportunities. Kentucky State will continue to advocate and 
provide avenues for Black Farmers to compete at local markets and 
decrease the effects of food insecurity, food dessert, and access 
plaguing their communities.
    Broadband expansion: Broadband is critical to the continued 
development of agritech. Therefore making a priority for digital 
literacy education is especially important to small and Black farms 
where market access and information access via broadband internet will 
be critical to compete with larger farms.
    As planning for the 2023 Farm Bill moves forward, we ask that you 
please consider these issues and the importance of USDA/1890 University 
collaborations in addressing these issues. Again, thank you, Chairman 
Scott, for convening the hearing, and thank you to the Committee 
Members for their work on these critically important issues that are 
being addressed by Kentucky State and other 1890 Universities!
            Sincerely,
            
            
M. Christopher Brown II, Ph.D.,
Eighteenth President.
                                 ______
                                 
 Submitted Letters by Hon. Alma S. Adams, a Representative in Congress 
                          from North Carolina
                                Letter 1
    on behalf of harold l. martin, sr., chancellor, north carolina 
              agricultural and technical state university
June 15, 2021

  Hon. David Scott,
  Chairman,
  House Agriculture Committee,
  Washington, D.C.;

  Hon. Alma S. Adams,
  Vice Chair,
  House Agriculture Committee,
  Washington, D.C.

    Dear Chairman Scott and Vice Chair Adams:

    Greetings from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State 
University. On behalf of our faculty, staff, and students, I want to 
thank you, Chairman Scott, Vice Chair Adams, and all Members of the 
House Agriculture Committee, for your commitment to our 1890 Land-Grant 
Universities. North Carolina A&T is the largest of the 1890 land-grants 
and one of the nation's leading land-grant universities, overall.
    We thank you for your investment in providing access and 
opportunity to underrepresented students to pursue baccalaureate 
degrees in the food, agricultural, and environmental sciences. In the 
spring of 2020, we received $2,000,000 in grant funding ($500,000 a 
year for 4 years) and an additional $252,000 in discretionary funding. 
These funds have been used to create the scholarship program, College 
of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences 1890 Scholars Program, which 
provides support for a total of 40 students with 23 full and 17 partial 
scholarships. The first recipients received their awards during the 
2020-2021 academic year. The outstanding students receiving these 
awards represent a broad array of disciplines including, Agricultural 
Education, Agricultural and Environmental Systems, Food and Nutritional 
Science, Biological Engineering (Agricultural Engineering), Landscape 
Architecture, Animal Science, and Laboratory Animal Science.
    For the 2021-2022 academic year, a total of 70 scholarship awards 
have been confirmed for new freshmen and transfer students in addition 
to the 23 full scholarship recipients in 2020-21. Dr. Antoine J. 
Alston, Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Studies, has 
implemented an excellent professional development program entitled the 
CAES 1890 Scholars--Professional Development Program that supports the 
scholars and other students in the college.
    Thank you for all you do for 1890 Land-Grant Universities and North 
Carolina A&T State University!
            Sincerely,
            
            
Harold L. Martin, Sr.,
Chancellor.
                                Letter 2
                    on behalf of adobe inc., et al.*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * Adobe Inc., Autodesk, Inc., Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard 
Enterprise, HP Inc., IBM Corporation, Information Technology Industry 
Council, Mastercard Inc., Nielsen, Oracle Corporation, Siemens USA, 
SoftBank Group, Visa Inc.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 16, 2021

  Hon. Alma S. Adams,
  House of Representatives,
  Washington, D.C.;

  Hon. J. French Hill,
  House of Representatives,
  Washington, D.C.;

  Hon. Christopher A. Coons,
  United States Senate
  Washington, D.C.;

  Hon. Tim Scott,
  United States Senate
  Washington, D.C.

    Dear Representative Adams, Representative Hill, Senator Coons, and 
Senator Scott:

    We write in strong support of the recently-introduced Institutional 
Grants for New Infrastructure, Technology, and Education for HBCU 
Excellence Act, also known as the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act. According 
to research from the United Negro College Fund, Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) contribute nearly $15 billion to 
their communities on an annual basis, produce 134,000 jobs, and create 
$46.8 billion in alumni career earnings that can be directly attributed 
to their degrees.
    While HBCUs have been incredibly successful, they have also been 
significantly underfunded for decades and the IGNITE HBCU Excellence 
Act aims to boost investments to renovate, modernize, and construct new 
campus facilities, including instructional, research, and residential 
spaces. These investments are vital to attracting and retaining 
students and sustaining these institutions in the long-term.
    We believe that diversity is an essential driver of innovation and 
creativity. The valuable partnerships we have had with HBCUs over the 
years have contributed to building the innovative workforce we desire, 
and our country needs, to compete globally. We look forward to 
continuing and expanding on our partnerships with these institutions.
    As Congress works to address the infrastructure needs of the 
country, we hope that the infrastructure investments provided for in 
the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act will be included in the legislative 
efforts.
    We appreciate your long-standing work to invest in HBCUs and we 
look forward to working with you to advance the IGNITE HBCU Excellence 
Act.
            Sincerely,


 
 
 
Adobe Inc.                           Mastercard Inc.
Autodesk, Inc.                       Nielsen
Dell Technologies                    Oracle Corporation
Hewlett Packard Enterprise           Siemens USA
HP Inc.                              SoftBank Group
IBM Corporation                      Visa Inc.
Information Technology Industry
 Council
 

CC:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Majority Leader Charles Schumer
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
U.S. Senator Richard Burr
U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx
                          Submitted Questions
Questions Submitted by Hon. Salud O. Carbajal, a Representative in 
        Congress from California
Response from Makola M. Abdullah, Ph.D., President, Virginia State 
        University; Chair, Council of 1890 Universities, Association of 
        Public and Land-grant Universities
    Question 1. How are 1890's Institutions partnering with Non-Land-
Grant Agriculture and Renewable Resources Universities (NARRU's), 
especially MSI NARRU's?

    Question 2. What can we do to strengthen partnership opportunities 
between 1890's and NARRU's?
    Answer 1-2. Thank you, Congressman Carbajal, and Members of the 
House Agriculture Committee, for the opportunity to follow up with you 
on the recent 1890 Universities hearing. This is a topic that needs to 
be proactively addressed, and I am grateful to share a few thoughts 
with you.
    As I am sure you know, both 1890 land-grants and NARRUs play a 
significant role in providing accessible and affordable education in 
agriculture, food and renewable resources, as well as in agricultural 
research and educational outreach. The 1890 land-grant institutions and 
NARRUs also have many mutual goals, like: conducting more collaborative 
research with partner institutions; identifying and focusing on 
priority issues in teaching, research and outreach; developing student 
leaders; and as your question suggests, developing more multi-
institutional partnerships. Therefore, given that there is usually 
strength in numbers, one may reason that there would be many benefits 
of 1890 land-grant institutions working together with NARRU partners to 
reach these common goals. And I agree.
    Unfortunately, though, our institutions face some roadblocks in 
doing so. From a geographic standpoint, very few 1890 land-grants have 
NARRU institutions in their states. Geography plays an important role 
in who the 1890s can partner with, because collaborations and 
partnerships usually require financial resources and personnel. Since 
most of our 1890 institutions do not have spare financial or human 
resources to devote to additional projects--albeit ones that would most 
likely be of great value--grants would need to be sought to do so. 
However, most grant opportunities available to us restrict our scope of 
work and partnerships to only within our state borders. In order to 
partner across states, specific Federal resources would need to be 
identified to allow us to proceed. Additionally, a solution would need 
to be found to address the fact that if those Federal dollars had a 
state match requirement attached to them, the 1890 universities do not 
enjoy a level of state matching that would support the partnership.
    Another unfortunate roadblock is that there are few grant 
opportunities for two limited-resource institutions to partner. And 
those resources that are made available to us, must also be 
sustainable.
    So, while there is certainly a willingness among our institutions 
to collaborate, without a specific allocation of resources over and 
above what is currently appropriated, there is not much of an 
opportunity to move forward. Our hands are financially tied either by 
limited resources or by our funding sources' in-state mandates.
    On the positive side, I am very glad you posed this question, 
because I am quite sure that 1890 and NARRU Executive Leadership teams 
(Research and Extension), with support from the 1890 and NARRU 
Presidents, could and should begin to address how to carve a path 
forward to overcome these roadblocks. In fact, as the Chair of the APLU 
Council of 1890 Universities, I am committing to you that before the 
end of this year, we will begin to convene meetings to develop some 
partnership ideas and opportunities. I may recommend that our nation's 
food insecurity be a good first topic to explore, in addition to the 
effects of climate change on low wealth communities and/or communities 
of color. Additionally, I will also recommend that since NIFA 
conference grants may be available for this purpose, we will explore 
applying for one to bring these groups together to determine a 
partnership plan of action.
    We welcome any additional thoughts you may have, Congressman 
Carbajal, on how to improve our performance in these partnership 
endeavors, and I personally invite any of the House Agriculture 
Committee Members to reach out to me with more thoughts on how we may 
achieve this worthwhile collaboration. Thank you.
            Sincerely,
            
            
Makola M. Abdullah, Ph.D.,
President.
Response from Heidi M. Anderson, Ph.D., President, University of 
        Maryland Eastern Shore; Member At-Large, Council of 1890 
        Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
    Question 1. How are 1890's Institutions partnering with Non-Land-
Grant Agriculture and Renewable Resources Universities (NARRU's), 
especially MSI NARRU's?

    Question 2. What can we do to strengthen partnership opportunities 
between 1890's and NARRU's?
    Answer 1-2. Because of the paucity of NARRU institutions in our 
immediate region, we have only had limited collaborative linkages with 
NARRU members.
    An example of initiative was a professional development project 
funded by USDA-NIFA for Dr. Madhumi Mitra to link with a faculty at Cal 
State at Fresno with a focus on bioenergy (see attached).
    To strengthen this type of partnership, we can imagine that if 
there was specific program funding focused on enhancing the linkages 
(academic, research and extension) between 1890s and NARRU MSI's this 
could catalyze development of stronger collaborative partnerships. 
Without specific incentives, it would be difficult to grow such 
linkages.
    Finally, we appreciate the support of all of the Committee Members 
and our Federal delegation.
    Thank you for your patience as we researched this matter.
            Sincerely,

Heidi M. Anderson, Ph.D.,
President,
University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
                               attachment
United States Department of Agriculture--Progress Report
Report Date: 09/16/2020

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Title: Professional Development: Gracilaria (red macroalga) biorefinery
 system: An integrated approach forbioethanol production
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Sponsoring Agency: NIFA              Project Status: ACTIVE
Funding Source: Non Formula          Reporting Frequency: Annual
Accession No.: 1015180               Grants.gov No.:
                                     Award No.: 2018-38821-27742
Project No.: MDX-BE20180401          Proposal No.: 2017-07515
Project Start Date: 04/01/2018       Project End Date: 11/30/2020
Reporting Period Start Date: 04/01/  Reporting Period End Date: 03/31/
 2019                                 2020
Submitted By: Tracie Bishop          Date Submitted to NIFA: 06/29/2020
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Program Code: EQ                     Program Name: Research Project
Project Director:
  Madhumi Mitra
  410-651-6049
  [email protected]
Recipient Organization:              Performing Department:
  UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND             (NO DATA ENTERED)
  11868 ACADEMIC OVAL
  Princess Anne, MD 218531295
  DUNS No. 082611302
Co-Project Directors:                Departments:
(NO DATA ENTERED)                    (NO DATA ENTERED)
 

Non-Technical Summary
    The professional development project will provide essential support 
for the investigator to conduct sabbatical research on the efficient 
methodologies in integrated aquaculture and for the generation of 
sustainable bioethanol from a red macroalgal feedstock, Gracilaria, at 
a pioneer institute of science, engineering, and technology in the USA. 
The overall goal of this professional development project is to address 
some of the critical needs of sustainable renewable energy generation 
and mitigating the harmful effects of the environment through the 
implementation of a seaweed/macroalgal biorefinery with cocultures of 
fish-plant species. The specific objectives are: (1) to implement and 
maintain an integrated aquaculture system with species of Gracilaria, 
and edible white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei for evaluating the 
bioremediation potential of the macroalga in a biorefinery setting; (2) 
to utilize the macroalga, Gracilaria for the production of sustainable 
bioenergy in the form of bioethanol; and (3) to enhance professional 
training, networking, and strengthening collaborations between two 
minority serving institutions. The professional development will 
facilitate the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) to have the 
capability for implementing bioenergy research in education (courses 
and experiential learning activities), student and faculty training 
(workshops), and outreach activities to the community in the areas of 
sustainable aquaculture, bioenergy, and bioremediation. In addition, 
research collaborations with another minority institution, California 
State University at Fresno, CA, will be expanded and strengthened, 
establishing a platform for future student exchange and faculty visits.
Accomplishments
Major goals of the project
    The overall goal of this professional development project is to 
address some of the critical needs of sustainable renewable energy 
generation and mitigating the harmful effects of the environment 
through the implementation of a seaweed/macroalgal biorefinery with co-
cultures of fish-plant species. The specific objectives are: (1) to 
implement and maintain an integrated aquaculture system with species of 
Gracilaria, and edible white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei for 
evaluating the bioremediation potential of the macroalga in a 
biorefinery setting; (2) to utilize the macroalga, Gracilaria for the 
production of sustainable bioenergy in the form of bioethanol; and (3) 
to enhance professional training, networking, and strengthening 
collaborations between two minority serving institutions. The 
professional development will facilitate the University of Maryland 
Eastern Shore (UMES) to have the capability for implementing bioenergy 
research in education (courses and experiential learning activities), 
student and faculty training (workshops), and outreach activities to 
the community in the areas of sustainable aquaculture, bioenergy, and 
bioremediation. In addition, research collaborations with another 
minority institution, California State University at Fresno, CA, will 
be expanded and strengthened, establishing a platform for future 
student exchange and faculty visits.
What was accomplished under these goals?
    During the first phases of the project, the construction and 
installation of the core components of a prototype Integrated 
MultiTrophic Aquaculture system has been completed. The tanks have been 
constructed from lumber recycled from shipping crates, then insulated 
with construction 1" foam, and finally lined with 6 mm construction 
plastic. The necessary pumps and plumbing have also been installed and 
the generator has been acquired. More efforts have been focused on 
racewaytype growth which has shown much promise for the intensive 
culture of shrimp and may benefit from the integrated remediation 
abilities of integrated algaculture. A hybridized closed 
photobioreactor has been constructed to culture the blue green 
microalga, Spirulina, for carbon capture as well as a source of shrimp 
nutrition. During the first phase, cultures of Litopenaeus vannamei 
post larvae have been obtained from Miami Aquaculture and stocked in 
temporary stock tanks with sterilized seawater and constant aeration 
have been provided for a period of 2 weeks. The shrimp was fed with 
harvested Spirulina and soy bean meal obtained from a screw press 
extrudate. A weekly 50% water change was also undertaken during the 
acclimation process. Gracilaria tikvahiae was harvested from Assawoman 
and Chincoteague bays of the Delmarva Peninsula. The macroalgal samples 
were cleaned and maintained in sterilized seawater for 2 weeks prior to 
the trials with constant aeration to prevent frond deterioration, and 
artificial light. Samples were fertilized weekly with Micro Algae Grow 
to maintain the cultures. Water quality parameters including ammonium, 
nitrate, nitrite, and phosphate levels were recorded once per week for 
the duration of each trial. The following trials/cultures were 
maintained and compared: monocultures of Gracilaria; monocultures of 
shrimp; and integrated cultures of Gracilaria and shrimp. The principal 
performance metric for Gracilaria and shrimp performance for the study 
was the specific growth rate. In addition to the growth rate, the mass, 
Gracilaria tip elongation, shrimp body length, shrimp mortality, and 
nutrient levels (nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and ammonium) are being 
analyzed using an ANOVA and Tukey's separation of means to ascertain 
differences between culturing conditions (mono vs. integrated). During 
the visit to California State University, Fresno, in summer to fall of 
2019, Dr. Mitra received training on the various techniques of algal 
culturing and extractions. She was trained on the the Algem HT24, a 
high throughput, compact, computer-controlled photobioreactor for 
cultivation of various microalgae such as Chlorella vulgaris, 
Arthrospira platensis, Haematococcus pluvialis, and Dunaliela salina.
What opportunities for training and professional development has the 
        project provided?
    The project has served as an initiative for faculty professional 
development and collaborative research in applied agricultural and 
natural sciences at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). 
The research program will enhance the opportunity for sustainable 
aquaculture and bioethanol production at the university, facilitating 
UMES to have the capability for implementing education, student 
training, and outreach activities in the areas of sustainable 
bioenergy, bioproducts, and bioremediation. Already some of the 
activities have been infused in two courses: Marine and Estuarine 
Ecology and Introduction to Bioenergy and Bioproducts. In addition, 
research collaborations with another minority institution, California 
State University, Fresno, CA, (Hispanic serving institution) is 
expanded and strengthened through this professional development project 
leading to publishing book chapters and the book on Bioenergy; and also 
establishing a platform for future student exchange and faculty visits. 
The students and faculty in the Chemistry and Biology departments at 
Cal State Fresno learned about the importance of feedstock like 
macroalgae and their importance in marine aquaculture along with 
generation of bioethanol and bioproducts. Due to the pandemic of COVID-
19, the visit to California State University, Fresno has been postponed 
until next year, as the university will continue to operate on the 
virtual platform.
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
    An invited panel presentation on Bioenergy, Bioproducts, and 
Sustainability was led by Dr. Mitra at the American Society of 
Engineering Education's annual conferences in Tampa Florida, in June of 
2019. The panel reached more than 100 people who attended the 
presentations. Dr. Mitra also shared the results with the collaborators 
and their students in Chemistry and Biology courses along with 
university faculty at California State University, Fresno, during her 
visit in summer/spring of 2019.
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish 
        the goals?
    Dr. Mitra will be trained on the approaches to generate bioethanol 
from potential seaweeds in the department of Chemistry at the 
California State University Fresno, CA. She will be trained on the 
various techniques for enzymatic hydrolysis of algal pulp along with 
chemical analysis; and ethanol fermentation with microbes at Dr. 
Maitra's laboratory. Part of the training was scheduled for summer of 
2020, and the remaining training for October through November of 2020. 
Due to the pandemic of [COVID]-19 with restricted travel and 
universities going online/virtual platforms for teaching, research, and 
collaborations, it is anticipated that Dr. Mitra can only travel to 
Fresno when the restrictions due to travel and research are eased at 
both the universities. So the expected dates will be in Spring or 
Summer of 2021 after the request for no-cost extension is granted under 
special conditions.
Participants
Actual FTE's for this Reporting Period

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Students with Staffing Roles
          Role            Non-Students or ------------------------------------------------------  Computed Total
                              faculty         Undergraduate        Graduate      Post-Doctorate      by Role
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Scientist                  1                0.2                 0                0              1.2
        Professional                  0                  0                 0                0                0
           Technical                  0                  0                 0                0                0
      Administrative                  0                  0                 0                0                0
               Other                  0                  0                 0                0                0
                        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Computed Total.......               1                0.2                 0                0              1.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Student Count by Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code

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   Undergraduate        Graduate       Post-Doctorate       CIP Code
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             2                   0                 0      01.11 Plant
                                                            Sciences.
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Target Audience
    Target audiences--Undergraduate students in the Marine and 
Estuarine Ecology (BIOL 600) at University of Maryland Eastern Shore 
course that was offered in Spring of 2020, learned about various marine 
feedstock and how they can be used for the generation of biofuels. They 
also learned about Gracilaria's efficacy as a biofuel feedstock and how 
to turn a nuisance alga into an investment in cleaner energy. They also 
learned about culturing marine microalgae and how these could be used 
for the generation of biodiesel. Such an approach will provide avenues 
for sustainable aquaculture and energy systems via production of 
economically valuable and renewable products. The undergraduate and 
graduate students from the collaborators' labs at California State 
University at Fresno, CA, were also trained in usage of macroalgae for 
the purpose of generating biofuels during the investigator's visit in 
early fall of 2019. More than 50 percent of these students from the 
above-mentioned universities were from the minority and educationally-
disadvantaged populations. Efforts--(1) Increased of content knowledge 
in the areas of Integrated MultiTrophic Aquaculture; bioenergy from 
feedstock like micro and macroalgae; (2) Hands-on laboratory and field 
experiences with respect to utilizing macroalgae for the purpose of 
producing biofuels were replaced with virtual experiences, as the 
university was shut down due to the current pandemic of [COVID-19]. 
These activires were included in the Marine and Estuarine Ecology 
course, and also a mini online workshop was conducted for the 
collaborators and their students at California State University, 
Fresno, CA in Fall of 2019.
Products

 
 
 
Type                     Status        Year Published     NIFA Support
                                                          Acknowledged
 
         Books          Published               2020              YES
 
     Citation
 
    Mitra M., and Nagchaudhuri A. 2020. Practices and Perspectives in
   Sustainable Bioenergy. A Systems Thinking Approach. Springer
   Publishers ISSN 1865-3529............................................
 
Type                     Status        Year Published     NIFA Support
                                                          Acknowledged
 
 Book Chapters          Published               2020              YES
 
     Citation
 
    Nagchaudhuri A., and Mitra M. 2020. Bioenergy Systems--A Wholistic
   Approach. In Mitra M., Nagchaudhuri A. (eds). Practices and
   Perspectives in Sustainable Bioenergy. A Systems Thinking Approach.
   Springer Publishers ISSN 1865-3529. pgs 1-12.........................
 
Type                     Status        Year Published     NIFA Support
                                                          Acknowledged
 
 Book Chapters          Published               2020              YES
 
     Citation
 
    Mitra M., Henry X. Nagchaudhuri A., and Maitra K. 2020.
   Photobioreactors for Bioenergy Systems and Lipid Extraction Methods
   from Microalgae. In Mitra M., Nagchaudhuri A. (eds). Practices and
   Perspectives in Sustainable Bioenergy. A Systems Thinking Approach.
   Springer Publishers ISSN 1865-3529. pgs 131-157......................
 

Other Products
Product Type
    Data and Research Material
Description
    Experiments on the Integrated MultiTrophic Aquaculture and data 
collected; Analysis in progress
Product Type
Educational Aids or Curricula
Description
    Many of the research-related activities pertaining to the 
professional-development grant have been incorporated in the following 
courses: Marine and Estuarine Ecology (BIOL 600/BIOL 400); BIOL 112 
(Principles of Biology II) and Introduction to Bioenergy, Bioproducts, 
and Sustainability (MEES 688X).
Changes/Problems
    The major problems encountered by the Principal Investigator (Dr. 
Mitra) and her collaborators were connected to the closure of the 
universities due to the current pandemic of [COVID-19]. The University 
System of Maryland required all universities to teach and conduct 
research (as much as possible) on the virtual platform. Professional 
travel is also restricted. The University System of California also 
adopted similar measures of teaching courses online and restricting 
research and travel as well as hosting collaborators/scholars. The last 
component of the research for training on the generation of ethanol 
from seaweeds could not be continued due to the current situation. It 
is anticipated that Dr. Mitra will be requesting an extension of the 
project beyond November 2020, to accomplish the final objective of the 
project.
Response from Orlando F. McMeans, Ph.D., Chancellor, Agricultural 
        Research and Extension Center, Southern University; Dean, 
        College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, SU
    Question 1. How are 1890s Institutions partnering with Non-Land-
Grant Agriculture and Renewable Resources Universities (NARRU's), 
especially MSI NARRU's?

    Question 2. What can we do to strengthen partnership opportunities 
between 1890s and NARRU's?
    Answer 1-2. Non-land-grant Agriculture and Renewable Resources 
Universities, or NARRU are those universities with agricultural 
academic, research and outreach programs, but do not have congressional 
designation as land-grant institutions. These institutions number 
around 60 and are located throughout the U.S. Many of them having 
strong Ag programs and graduates go on to work in the same fields as 
graduate of 1862 and 1890 Institutions.
    There are opportunities for NARRU and 1890s to collaborate as 
relates to agriculture related academic, research and outreach 
programs. Some of these include, but are not limited to:
    Research: Faculty and student exchanges, including summer 
internships in research areas of common interests. Combined research 
programs between faculty at both sides which can in turn result in 
combined publications through external grant writing.
    Academic Curricula: Help each other in offering specialized courses 
(e.g., via online platforms)
    Outreach: Community and Economic Development is an area of a common 
interest. Youth and Family development may also be explored. Access to 
specialized audiences (e.g., Disadvantaged/Black farmers and small 
businesses).
    Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture 
Program (NLGCA) is a line with the USDA's National Institute of Food 
and Agriculture. I think the current funding level is a little more 
than $4 Million. If those funds were significantly increased with the 
encouragement (additional points) of working with an 1890 that is 
located within the same state, perhaps that would increase 
collaborations. For example, in Louisiana we have two non-land-grant 
schools, McNeese State and Louisiana Tech. Currently we do not have 
joint programming, but this could be a catalyst in us working together. 
For example, we have a large population of African American farmers in 
the state. We available funding, we can develop joint outreach research 
and efforts to support these farmers. Just my 2.
    Hope this helps.

Orlando F. McMeans, Ph.D.,
Chancellor-Dean,
Southern University Research and Extension Center,
College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences.

                                  [all]