Agricultural News
OSU Division of Ag Thriving in Face of Budget Cuts - Remains Committed to Mission
Mon, 29 Aug 2016 18:12:57 CDT
During a recent visit to Stillwater, Oklahoma, Farm Director Ron Hays had the opportunity to sit and speak with Dr. Thomas Coon, vice president, dean and director of the OSU Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources (DASNR). With the new school year starting among many of other activities happening, Dr. Coon says there is a lot of excitement in the air. He filled Ron in on some of the highlights going on right now - and enrollment topped the list.
The 2016 Fall Semester, Coon says, is up 20 percent in both freshman and transfer enrollment. He underscores that last year was in fact an all-time record year for enrollment in the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. He says that dramatic growth is being seen throughout the college with in and out of state student segments both on the rise. He says the numbers continue to rise in the most popular departments such as Animal Science, Plant & Soil Science, Biosystems, Ag Engineering and Natural Resource & Ecology Management.
Coon says his staff at the college is doing everything it can to assist students to prepare for and find potential employment and reports that they are getting great participation from a large number of employers.
The only numbers that aren't up though are those on the budget, especially for the experiment station and extension legs of the three-legged stool that is DASNR, since those branches cannot draw tuition dollars. Over the last two years, Coon says that almost one-fifth, 19 percent to be exact, of DASNR's state funding has been cut.
"It's a challenge we've got to respond to in a positive way," Coon said. "Our mission has not ended; our responsibilities have not gone away."
Coon says despite the financial difficulties this situation presents to the Division's operations, they will make it work. Getting creative, DASNR is in transition he says, working to find ways to spread their workforce as much as possible, while also not filling positions that can afford to be left vacant.
"What I see is, we have an opportunity to get even better at what we do; being leaner about how we do it," Coon said, "but doing the most important things that the agricultural industries, the natural resource industries need from us."
Nonetheless, after 125 years in operation, progress must go on and Coon says it is his responsibility to make the prudent decisions that will see the Division through the next 125 years. A major part of that he says, is bringing the Division's infrastructure up to date. Finding the resources where they can, Coon says they are poised to begin work on five key capital projects over the next 10 years including among others, a replacement for Agricultural Hall featuring two buildings (one for laboratories, the other for classrooms and offices), as well as a new dairy freestyle barn and a new seed cleaning facility for the foundation seed program.
Coon says the Division remains committed to investing in its purpose and mission and hopes to keep the state and its leaders mindful of all the Division has to offer.
Listen to Dr. Coon and Farm Director Ron Hays' entire conversation on what's been going on at DASNR recently, by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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