Helping students go back to school with science on their mind
By Jay Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture

For Indiana students, the importance of a quality education has never been more significant. As such, we have made helping to improve P-12 education in the sciences one of the goals of our new strategic plan for Purdue Agriculture. By doing this, we help Indiana students become more academically competitive and our state more economically competitive. Efforts include:

• Purdue advanced life-science courses in agricultural sciences taught in the high schools.
• Hoosier Ag Science Institute and Ag Discovery Camps for students who might not otherwise learn about agriculture.
• Purdue zipTrips, electronic field trips for middle-school students, that help them learn more about the science of animals and humans.

And our newly announced effort for students beyond high school, the Pathway Program, will allow students even greater access to higher education. Agricultural career opportunities are there, and we will work to make sure our students are prepared to pursue them.