The Grant
The Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College was awarded the USDA NIFA Higher Education grant in 2013. This USDA grant has enabled our innovative approach to preparing current Honors students at South Dakota State University to ‘Meet the Grand Challenges.’ Innovative Honors curriculum and research opportunities enriched the student experience related to the grand challenges. Additionally, students participated in a service-learning program offered in partnership with SDSU Extension and the Boys and Girls Clubs in Eastern South Dakota.
Interdisciplinary Honors Colloquia Related to Grand Challenge Priority Areas
| Colloquium Title (Syllabi linked) | Semester and Year | Number of Students | Number of Faculty | Partnering Colleges | Priority Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2014
Fall 2016 | 18
12 | 9
4 | Agriculture and Biological Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Honors | Sustainable Energy | |
| Fall 2015 | 24 | 3 | Agriculture and Biological Sciences, Education and Human Sciences, Honors | Food Security, Sustainable Energy, Climate Change, Food Safety, Obesity | |
| Land Conservation Past, Present, and Future and its Potential Consequences | Fall 2016 | 10 | 2 | Agriculture and Biological Sciences, Arts and Sciences | Sustainable Energy |
| Fall 2016 | 30 | 1 | Education and Human Sciences | Food Security, Obesity, Food Safety | |
| Fall 2017 | 25 | 1 | Honors | Agriculture, Leadership | |
| Fall 2017 | 14 | 3 | Agriculture and Biological Sciences | Food Safety |
Presentations for Dissemination of “Meeting the Grand Challenges” Project Results
| Name of Conference and Year | Title of Presentation | Presenter Names |
|---|---|---|
| National Collegiate Honors Conference 2015 | Energy: Present Realities, Future Possibilities | Timothy Nichols Jacob Gubbrud |
| National Collegiate Honors Conference 2015 | Honors Collaborate to Meet the Grand Challenges | Timothy Nichols Henry Goeden Jacob Gubbrud |
| Upper Midwest Honors Conference 2016 | Honors Meets the Grand Challenges | Timothy Nichols Jacob Gubbrud |
| North American College Teachers of Agriculture 2016 | Meeting the Grand Challenges | Timothy Nichols Henry Goeden Suzanne Stluka |
| North American College Teachers of Agriculture 2017 | Meeting the Grand Challenges: Undergraduates Embrace Land Grant Mission | Suzanne Stluka Rachel K. Landmark Timothy Nichols Rebecca Bott |
Honors Undergraduate Research in Grand Challenge Priority Areas
| Priority Area | Number of Students | Partnering Department | Research Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Change | 2 | Agricultural Education, Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science | How South Dakota High School Agriculture Education Programs are Preparing Students to Meet the Biggest Challenges Facing the Agricultural Industry Today
The Effects of Graving Cover Crop Mixtures on Soil Respiration and Farm Profitability |
| Sustainable Energy | 6 | Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, English, English, Agriculture and Bio-Systems Engineering, Agriculture Economics, Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science | Plasma-Activated Biochar Electrode for High Energy Super-Capacitor Tags: Energy Storage, Plasma Treatment, Super-Capacitors
SDSU's Renewable Energy Mobile Microgrid Lab Natural Language Processing in Multilinear Narrative Determining the Flowability and Storage Properties of Soybean Based Biomaterials Under Varying Conditions Profitability and Yields of Alternative Oil Seed Crops Developing a Computational Pipeline for High-Throughput Sequencing Data in Plant Genomes |
| Food Safety | 6 | Veterinary Science, Education and Human Sciences, Animal Science, Dairy and Food Science | Examination of Gut Microbiota and Other Mucosal Colonizers through Culturomics
Mama's Against McDonald's: Impact on the Gut Microbiota and Metabolism of 2 Different Diets Bulls Producing Semen with Poor Motility will Produce Different Types and Amounts of Proteins Relative to Bulls Producing Semen with High Motility An Examination of Environmental Listeria's Antibiotic Resistance and Biofilm Persistence Understanding the Role of Neutrophils in Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) Pathogenesis A Comparison of Cydectin Injectable Wormer and Long Range Injectable Wormer |
| Food Security | 2 | Health and Nutritional Sciences | Collection and Analysis of Focus Group Data to Inform and Measure the Efficacy of Multiple Social Media Based Educational Nutrition Interventions
Wellness Needs and Issues of First-Year College Students |
| Obesity | 3 | Health and Nutritional Sciences, Exercise Science | Examining Environmental Factors Related to Obesity in Rural and Non-Rural Children
Effects of Cooking Classes on Freshmen Eating Behavior The Efficacy of Improved Physical Activity and Decreased Sedentary Time in the Older Generation |
| Agriculture and Leadership | 3 | College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, Animal Science, Agricultural Engineering | Leadership Qualities Employers Seek from SDSU Students in the Hiring Process
Determining Docility in Cattle Via Infrared Readings of Eyeball Temperature Effect of Farrowing Stall Size on Pre-wean Piglet Mortality |
Honors students who complete two or more of these Grand Challenges colloquium and either the Boys and Girls Club Grand Challenges outreach internship or the Grand Challenges research experience will be recognized at the Medallion Ceremony for earning the Grand Challenges designation.