USDA Announces Fellowship Applications to Reach Hispanic-Serving Institutions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) is accepting applications for the 2024 USDA E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program. These fellowships introduce faculty and staff from Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) and Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSD) to the vast array of USDA resources available to them.

The fellowships take place during the summer of 2024, and applications are due by March 4, 2024.

“This program supports USDA’s strategic goal of embracing a cultural understanding of agriculture, food, natural resources, and nutrition through two-way exchange programs,” said Lisa Ramirez, director of USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. “More than 400 fellows have participated in the E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program, bringing back the knowledge they’ve acquired to share with their institutions and communities.”

The USDA E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program offers faculty and staff the opportunity to work collaboratively with USDA to gain insight and understanding of the federal government. Fellows receive access to long-term collaboration opportunities with USDA agencies, and then share what they have learned with students and colleagues at their home institutions and in their communities.

Education Fellowships are for faculty and staff at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. High School Fellowships are for secondary education superintendents, principals, agricultural and/or district level teachers working at Hispanic-Serving School Districts. Participants attend a one-week program in Washington, D.C. (July 8-12, 2024).

Science Fellowships are for science faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Science fellows not only attend the one-week program in Washington, D.C. (July 8-12, 2024), but also spend an additional week collaborating with leading scientists at a USDA research facility (July 15-19, 2024).

Eligible applicants are faculty or staff at an HSI or HSSD. HSIs are accredited colleges and universities with at least 25 percent Hispanic student enrollment. Currently, there are more than 500 HSIs in 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico serving more than 3 million students.

For more information or to apply, visit USDA’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program web page.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

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