Wednesday, 9 November 2005 - 8:00 AM
260-1

Who, What, Where Is the Next Generation of Soil Scientists – the Tale of Our Future.

M.E. Collins, University of Florida, 2169 McCarty Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611

At the 2002 ASA-SSSA meeting in Indianapolis a paper was presented titled: “Where Have all The Students Gone?: Under-enrolled Majors in Soil and Plant Sciences” . Collins et al, reported that many Land Grant Universities were critically evaluating undergraduate majors in which enrollment has been low. Under-enrolled major was defined as having too few students to continue offering the major or an enrollment that has been declining in recent years. The oral presentation discussed enrollment trends and why these trends were taking place. The National Academy of Sciences – National Committee for Soil Science was interested in following-up on this study and created the National Trends in Soil Science Undergraduate Education Subcommittee. Since May, 2004 the subcommittee has been developing recommendations which, hopefully, would enhance the number and quality of students majoring in soil science. Specifically, the subcommittee has been studying enrollment trends, “problems” with the major, courses offered, employment opportunities, and addressing the question - what will be the future of the major in the next 5-10 years? Even though the subcommittee was only concerned with undergraduates, this Special Session will address ALL ISSUES relative to soil science. The goals of the Special Session are to: i) discuss the issues that we are all facing now and will in the future and ii) create a PLAN OF ACTION (who, what, and where) to offer the next generation of soil scientists.


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Back to The ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings (November 6-10, 2005)