Kansas State University

June Has Begun and So Have the DPO Summer Programs!

Submitted by Zelia Wiley, Stacy Stringer, Iyonna Campbell

The start of June means that summer programs will have officially begun in the Diversity Programs Office (DPO). We are excited and energized for what is to come both this month and in July.

DPO would like to share some information about our summer programs:

•  Please welcome 3 new faces to the DPO for the summer: Iyonna Campbell, Zulecia Gerardo and Stacy Stringer. They will be part of our team to make sure all of our programs and efforts are successful for summer 2015. Stop by and tell them “Hi!”

•  Kansas State Research & Extension (KSRE) Summer Research Fellowship officially began in June! Thank you to those who attended the KSRE Orientation on June 1, 2015. The KSRE participants will be collaborating with faculty mentors to conduct research. At the end of the program the participants will be asked to create a presentation based on the research they conducted throughout the program. This year participants will be coming from Florida A&M University, North Carolina A&T State University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Langston University and three participants were invited from Kansas State University.

•  2015 Nicodemus Educational Camp, in partnership with KSU and the College of Agriculture, will give the campers, grades 5th – 10th, the opportunities to explore majors and careers in the Agriculture industry as well as learning about the historic town of Nicodemus. This year there will be two one-week-long camps during the month of June. Dates include June 15th-19th, and June 22nd-26th. College of Agriculture departments that are contributing to the Ag Tours include Entomology, Agronomy, Animal Sciences & Industry and the Food Science Institute.

•  Junior MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences) is a program for high-school and/or younger students to expose them to career pathways and educational possibilities in the food, agricultural, environmental and related sciences. This is co-sponsored by the K-State MANRRS Chapter. This summer they will be participating in the Nicodemus Educational Camp as well.

•  2015 MAPS: The Project Impact Summer Bridge Program gives students the opportunity to earn up to 6 credit hours over six weeks. This summer the College of Agriculture will be hosting 10 students for this program, from June 12 - July 24. The students come to us from all over Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

•  Congratulations to Dr. Derris Burnett, former MANRRS Chapter co-advisor and Post Doc in Animal Sciences and Industry. He has accepted a position at Mississippi State University. We thank him for his mentorship with our chapter and wish him well in all his future success.

Please continue to look for more diversity events as we continue to advertise. We appreciate your support. For more information about upcoming events or to collaborate with the DPO, please call 785-532-5793 or contact Dr. Zelia Wiley, Assistant Dean of Diversity, zwiley@ksu.edu.