In this Issue

  • News from the College of Ag
  • COA Faculty of the Month
  • Awards and Achievements
  • Events
  • Publications, Grants and Funding Opportunities

News from the College of Ag

More MSU in the news:

COA Faculty of the Month

The September faculty member of the month is Mac Burgess of the PSPP department! Dr. Burgess was nominated for his commitment to helping students be involved and his willingness to go above and beyond to create an environment of belonging, including organizing trips and giving farm tours. Congratulations, Dr. Burgess!

Awards and Achievements

  • Two past MSU faculty were recognized by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle in September: Gretchen Rupp (LRES) and George Haynes (DAEE) were chosen for the Ninth Annual Prime Awards, honoring those in our community who make a difference. Congratulations Gretchen and George, and thank you for your tireless support and advocacy!
  • MSU faculty were recognized at the national AgInnovation meeting last month for their efforts in research and student support. Congratulations to Blake Wiedenheft (MCB) who was recognized with the Western Region Research Innovation Award of Excellence, and Tracy Dougher and the Indigenous Pathways in Agriculture Program, who received the organizations Diversity, Equity and Inclusion group award!
  • Marsha A. Goetting, MSU Extension Family Economics Specialist, and Jennifer Munter, Assistant Director, MSU Extension Nutrition Education Program, were selected to present about their Alzheimer’s Storybook program at the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Conference in Tucson.

Recent Events

  • Tracy Sterling and Dr. Diane Debinski led a 3-day immersion for doctoral students in LRES 593: Challenges in Ecology and Environmental Science in late September. The course provided a common starting point and cohort-building experience for students in the Ecology & Environmental Sciences cross-college PhD program. Students worked to develop the vocabulary, peer group and professional skills to support an interdisciplinary approach to challenges in ecology and environmental sciences. To further explore these issues, the course focused topics including climate change, water quantity and quality, managing landscapes for multiple objectives and systems thinking. Students attended excursions to meet with researchers, land managers, non-governmental organizations and landowners who have been tackling “grand challenges” within the Greater Yellowstone region.

Upcoming Events

Publications and Funding Opportunities

Recent Publications

Recent Grants

  • Anna Schweiger, Seth Walk, Stephan Warnat: “Early prediction of maple syrup quality using carbon dynamics spectroscopy."
  • Mosley, J. “Southwest Montana Sagebrush Partnership: Restoration Effectiveness Monitoring. The Nature Conservancy.”

Funding Opportunities

 

COA Teaching and Equipment Grants

The 2025 Teaching and Equipment Grant Program is now accepting proposals. In order to maximize equipment needed for the summer, we will work with awardees to ensure these needs are met with FY25 funding. The funding will be for FY25 only, so equipment must be ordered by 1 June, 2025. Funding is available for both MAES and non-MAES programs. 2025 Teaching & Equipment Grant proposals must have Department Head signature prior to submission. Priority will be given to research equipment with a shared use plan in development by the time of the submission and to those with matching funds from external sources. Full details, the application form, and instructions for submission are available on the COA website.

COA Minigrant

The 2025 Minigrant Program is now accepting proposals. Funds are available to support capacity-building research aligned with strategic goals. These funds are intended to support new investigators, interdisciplinary exploratory research, cross-department collaborations and to encourage collaborations between on-campus faculty and Research Centers to address agriculture and natural resource related challenges. Faculty and Research Faculty who are approved by OSP to serve as a PI may submit a project proposal. Faculty from other colleges and institutions may be involved in the proposal, but funds may only be expended by and for faculty in the College of Agriculture. Proposals should directly benefit the goals of the College of Agriculture and its Strategic Plan. Preference will be given to junior TT and NTT faculty. All junior faculty are encouraged to apply to this program as a source of seed money for preliminary data collection or proof of concept to leverage for external grants. Submission deadline is Monday, October 21, 2024 Additional details and application instructions can be found on the College of Agriculture website.

For questions or assistance with the Minigrant or Teaching and Equipment Grant programs, please contact Rebecca Falks at Rebecca.falks@montana.edu