Legislation Introduced to Make Agriculture Scholarship Permanent

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 6, 2021) – Through an effort from chancellors and presidents of the 1890s land-grant institutions, House Agriculture Committee Chair David Scott (D- Georgia) introduced legislation to make the 1890s Land Grant African American Colleges and Universities’ Student Scholarships program permanent with a $100 million increase in funding.

The scholarship is funded through the 2018 Farm Bill. Scott, along with vice chair Rep. Alma Adams ’69, ’72 (D-North Carolina), introduced legislation to make the scholarship permanent instead of being renewed through the farm bill every five years.

Harold L. Martin Sr., chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, said the scholarship will continue to help students who are changing the world.

“Your investments through the Farm Bill, in research and scholarships, are supporting our university and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in significant ways,” said Martin in virtual testimony to the Agriculture Committee. “We are recruiting outstanding students and fostering innovative research and educational programs that are ensuring that we are preparing these incredibly bright students for an incredibly bright future.”

In 2020-21 at North Carolina A&T, the scholarship helped 40 students in a broad array of disciplines including agricultural education, agricultural and environmental systems, food and nutritional science, biological engineering (agricultural engineering), landscape architecture, animal science, and laboratory animal science. This year, 70 scholarships were awarded to new first-year and transfer students.