Fresno State hosts liaison officer

By Roberto González Jr.
USDA-HSINP (Agricultural) Liaison Officer
California State University, Fresno has been chosen to host the USDA-HSINP (Agricultural) Liaison Officer for Northern California, Oregon and Washington in collaboration with the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The USDA and Fresno State have entered into one of only five such cooperative agreements in the nation. Their role will be to raise the awareness of USDA programs in the region and to provide services to students in the form of scholarships, internships and federal employment opportunities with prospective USDA employees, and assisting faculty and staff with available fellowships and federal grant opportunities for the institution.

The intent is to provide mutually beneficial partnerships between the USDA and these regional Hispanic-Serving Insitutions (HSIs). That mission will be accomplished by providing increased academic, professional and institutional development opportunities to students, faculty and staff.  The aim of the USDA-HSINP partnership is to increase participation in the USDA and to enhance the institutional capacity of HSIs in the region.

Overall, the mission of the USDA-HSINP is to provide mutually beneficial partnerships between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). This is accomplished by gathering representatives from participating organizations to cultivate knowledge of USDA and HSI programs as well as by developing future leaders who express interest in careers with the USDA.

The USDA provides academic, professional and institutional development opportunities for students, faculty and staff from HSIs via internships, scholarships, grants and fellowships. The USDA agricultural liaison officer disseminates information through campus visits, presentations, e-mail communication and referrals as he networks with students, faculty and staff. The goal is to provide awareness of USDA opportunities, as well as other federal opportunities available to the students and institutions. Furthermore, USDA agricultural liaison officers are strategically positioned to assist students, faculty and staff at HSIs throughout the nation and the management team in the nation’s capital works to develop, implement and assess federal policies to further these goals.

There are approximately 250 HSIs in the United States and Puerto Rico with over 550,000 Hispanic students. With the rapid changes in demographics, these numbers increase annually. The United States Department of Education has defined an HSI as a non-profit institution of higher education that has at least 25 percent Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment.  In addition, a minimum of the 50 percent of the Hispanic student enrollment must qualify as low income for the HIS status. (Low income is defined as 150 percent of the poverty level as determined by the United States Bureau of the Census.)