Empowering Communities: 1890 Land-Grant Institutions Tackling Climate Change
National Extension Climate Initiative (NECI) seminar series
October 9, 2024
Full title: 1890 Land Grant Institutions & Climate: Empowering Communities: 1890 Land-Grant Institutions Tackling Climate Change
This hour long webinar discusses the crucial role of 1890 Land-Grant Institutions in tackling climate change faced by underserved communities.
TITLE: The Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice: Ensuring Resilience for Underserved Communities
PRESENTER: Alton Thompson (Executive Director, Association of 1890 Research Directors, ARD)
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and addressing it requires a strong commitment to research and development. For too long, environmental policy have failed to adequately address environmental injustice, particularly the unequal and cumulative effects of pollution and climate change on low-income communities and communities of color. Researchers at the 1890 land-grant universities, informed by their lived experiences of these communities, play a critical role in developing student leaders, advocates, while also supporting rigorous scientific analysis on issues like community and agricultural resiliency, climate adaptation and environmental justice.
TITLE: Leveraging AI and Innovation to Empower Future Leaders in Resource-Limited Communities
PRESENTER: Ali Fares (Professor of Water Security, Prairie View A&M University)
Dr. Fares’ academic program uses cutting-edge technologies and artificial intelligence to address resource challenges in the water-energy-food nexus for communities with limited resources. By training future leaders and professionals from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) through various outreach activities based on his research, Dr. Fares empowers them to tackle climate change challenges effectively and develop and implement sustainable solutions.
PRESENTER: Raymon Shange (1890 Extension Administrator, Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension)
SPEAKER BIOS
Dr. Thompson provides leadership and coordination in representing ARD in developing multistate and national priorities and implementing a regional response for the 1890 system. In addition, Thompson promotes, articulates and advocates the priorities of the 1890 region’s research agenda within the framework of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute for Agriculture (NIFA), other federal agencies and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). Thompson serves in an executive capacity on several committees and working groups focusing on legislative issues, federal, state and private appropriation of funds for 1890 multistate research and the long-term direction of established and developing 1890 universities initiatives. Key Resource: Foundation for Food Agriculture and Research (FAR)
Ali Fares is the Endowed Professor at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), Texas and Chair of Water Security, Water Energy and Food Nexus. He is currently the editor of the Water Security Book Series. He has edited two books and published 14 book chapters, over 20 conference proceedings, and over 74 articles in peer reviewed journals. His research interests include disaster preparedness and resiliency, flood prediction and mitigation, water security, water-energy-food nexus, watershed hydrology and management, water allocation, irrigation management, and adaptation and mitigation of climate variability. Currently he is doing research on Reducing Energy Barriers for Novel Water. Dr Fares’ research in artificial intelligence in agriculture as well as several inter-disciplinary, multi-institution projects, is supported by millions of dollars. His testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee urged federal support to address “specific climate change needs of the underserved farming communities and train future professionals in climate-smart agriculture discipline.” Key Resource: https://works.bepress.com/fares-ali/
Dr. Shange’s research and teaching interests encompass the areas of: Ecology (Agroecology, Microbial Ecology, Molecular Ecology, and Ecological Engineering), Sustainable Agriculture, Impact of Climate Change on Ecosystems, Rural Energy & Water, Natural Resource Management, Integration of Art, Science and Nature, and Environmental Ethics and Justice. He has been an 1890’s Extension Administrator since 2022.