Portales, NM –July 18, 2023–Kalynn Baldock, Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Department Chair of the Agriculture, Food Science and Kinesiology at ENMU was selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as one of 30 faculty and staff from Hispanic serving institutions as a member of the 2023 class of E. Kika De La Garza Fellows.
Baldock headed to Washington, D.C. last week to learn more about USDA services and programs that will benefit ENMU students. This effort is part of USDA's commitment to advance equity in professional development opportunities as well as build a more diverse pipeline into public service and the agricultural sector.
"During my experience in Washington, D.C., I learned about the various opportunities available to our agricultural students through the USDA. Throughout the week, I collaborated with some of the other fellows to develop ways to further the opportunities we can present our students," said Kalynn Baldock, Department Chair, Agriculture, Food Science and Kinesiology. "The second portion of this fellowship will involve working on a research project with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Clay Center, Nebraska. I hope to gain new laboratory skills and techniques to bring back to the ENMU Agriculture program."
Baldock and her fellow members spent one week meeting with leaders from different USDA agencies in the Washington, D.C. area, where they learned about national and regional issues, policy making and research. Following that weeklong session, E. Kika De La Garza Science Fellows will spend an additional week collaborating with top scientists from USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) or the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Soil Survey Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
"This fellowship is a great professional development opportunity for Dr. Baldock and certainly speaks to her experience and expertise," said James Johnston, ENMU Chancellor. "Thanks to her willingness to take this opportunity, our students and ENMU will benefit as well."
Since the E. Kika De La Garza Fellows Program was established in 1998, USDA has hosted more than 300 faculty and staff, a key effort in strengthening relationships with Hispanic-Serving Institutions. HSIs are accredited and degree-granting institutions of higher education with a full-time Hispanic student enrollment of 25 percent or more. Currently, there are more than 500 HSIs nationally, serving more than 2 million students. All E. Kika De La Garza fellows are faculty or staff at HSIs or Hispanic-Serving School Districts. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
