§3152. Grants and fellowships for food and agricultural sciences education

(a) Higher education teaching programs

The Secretary shall promote and strengthen higher education in the food and agricultural sciences by formulating and administering programs to enhance college and university teaching programs in agriculture, natural resources, forestry, veterinary medicine, home economics, and disciplines closely allied to the food and agricultural system.

(b) Grants

The Secretary may make competitive grants (or grants without regard to any requirement for competition) to land-grant colleges and universities, to colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and to other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, for a period not to exceed 5 years-

(1) to strengthen institutional capacities, including curriculum, faculty, scientific instrumentation, instruction delivery systems, and student recruitment and retention, to respond to identified State, regional, national, or international educational needs in the food and agricultural sciences;

(2) to attract and support undergraduate and graduate students in order to educate the students in national need areas of the food and agricultural sciences;

(3) to facilitate cooperative initiatives between two or more eligible institutions, or between eligible institutions and units of State government or organizations in the private sector, to maximize the development and use of resources such as faculty, facilities, and equipment to improve food and agricultural sciences teaching programs;

(4) to design and implement innovative food and agricultural educational programs;

(5) to conduct undergraduate scholarship programs to meet national and international needs for training food and agricultural scientists and professionals; and

(6) to conduct graduate and postdoctoral fellowship programs to attract highly promising individuals to research or teaching careers in the food and agricultural sciences.

(c) Eligibility for grants

(1) In general

To be eligible for a grant under subsection (b) of this section, a recipient institution must have a significant demonstrable commitment to higher education teaching programs in the food and agricultural sciences and to each specific subject area for which the grant is to be used.

(2) Minority groups

The Secretary may set aside a portion of the funds appropriated for the awarding of grants under subsection (b) of this section, and make such amounts available only for grants to eligible colleges and universities that the Secretary determines have unique capabilities for achieving the objective of full representation of minority groups in the food and agricultural sciences workforce of the United States.

(d) Evaluation of teaching programs

The Secretary shall conduct programs to develop, analyze, and provide to colleges and universities data and information that are essential to the evaluation of the quality of teaching programs and to facilitate the design of more effective programs comprising the food and agricultural sciences higher education system of the United States.

(e) Continuing education

The Secretary shall conduct special programs with colleges and universities, and with organizations in the private sector, to support educational initiatives to enable food and agricultural scientists and professionals to maintain their knowledge of changing technology, the expanding knowledge base, societal issues, and other factors that impact the skills and competencies needed to maintain the expertise base available to the agricultural system of the United States. The special programs shall include grants and technical assistance.

(f) Transfers of funds and functions

Funds authorized in section 22 of the Act of June 29, 1935 (49 Stat. 439, chapter 338; 7 U.S.C. 329) are transferred to and shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture. There are transferred to the Secretary all the functions and duties of the Secretary of Education under such Act applicable to the activities and programs for which funds are made available under section 22 of such Act.

(g) National Food and Agricultural Sciences Teaching Awards

(1) Establishment

The Secretary shall establish a National Food and Agricultural Sciences Teaching Awards program to recognize and promote excellence in teaching food and agricultural sciences at a college or university. The Secretary shall make at least one cash award in each fiscal year to a nominee selected by the Secretary for excellence in teaching a food and agricultural science at a college or university.

(2) Funding

The Secretary may transfer funds from amounts appropriated for the conduct of any agricultural research, extension, or teaching program to an account established pursuant to this section for the purpose of making the awards. The Secretary may accept gifts in accordance with section 2269 of this title for the purpose of making the awards.

(h) Administration

The Federal Advisory Committee Act and title XVIII of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2281 et seq.) shall not apply to a panel or board created for the purpose of reviewing applications and proposals for grants or nominations for awards submitted under this section.

(i) Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated for carrying out this section $60,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1990 through 1995.

(Pub. L. 95 113, title XIV, §1417, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 996; Pub. L. 97 98, title XIV, §1418, Dec. 22, 1981, 95 Stat. 1305; Pub. L. 99 198, title XIV, §1412, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1548; Pub. L. 101 624, title XVI, §1608, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3716; Pub. L. 102 237, title IV, §402(6), Dec. 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 1863.)

References in Text

Act of June 29, 1935, referred to in subsec. (f), is act June 29, 1935, ch. 338, 49 Stat. 436 , as amended, known as the Bankhead-Jones Act, which was classified principally to sections 329 and 427 to 427j of this title, and was repealed by act Aug. 11, 1966, ch. 790, §2, 69 Stat. 674 , except for sections 1, 10, and 22 of the Act, which are classified to sections 427, 427i, and 329 of this title, respectively. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

The Federal Advisory Committee Act, referred to in subsec. (h), is Pub. L. 92 463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 770, as amended, which is set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, referred to in subsec. (h), is Pub. L. 95 113, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 913, as amended. Title XVIII of the Act is classified generally to chapter 55A (§2281 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1281 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

1991-Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 102 237 struck out at end "Of amounts appropriated to carry out this section for a fiscal year, not less than $10,000,000 shall be used for the national needs graduate fellowship program referred to in subsection (b)(6) of this section."

1990-Pub. L. 101 624 amended section generally, substituting present provisions for provisions which established grant categories for promotion and development of higher education in food and agricultural sciences, provided for program of predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships in food and agricultural sciences, provided for transfer of funds, functions and duties to Secretary of Agriculture, authorized appropriations to carry out the section, and provided for nonapplicability of certain Federal laws to any panel or board created to review applications submitted under the section.

1985-Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 99 198, §1412(a)(1), substituted "Each" for "Such grants shall be made without regard to matching funds, but each".

Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 99 198, §1412(a)(2), substituted "Each recipient institution shall have a significant ongoing commitment to the food and agricultural sciences generally and to the specific subject area for which such grant is to be used." for "Such grants shall be made without regard to matching funds provided by recipients."

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99 198, §1412(b), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as follows: "There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section $25,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978, $30,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1979, $35,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980, $40,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1981, and $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 1982, September 30, 1983, September 30, 1984, and September 30, 1985, and not in excess of such sums as may after the date of enactment of this title be authorized by law for any subsequent fiscal year."

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 99 198, §1412(c), added subsec. (e).

1981-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97 98, §1418(a), substituted provisions authorizing the Secretary to promote and develop higher education in the food and agricultural science by formulating and administering higher education programs, to make grants to land-grant colleges and universities and other institutions capable of teaching food and agricultural education for specified purposes for a period not to exceed five years without regard to matching funds and to make competitive grants to colleges and universities to develop or administer programs to meet unique food and agricultural educational problems, and to administer and conduct specialized programs and graduate fellowship programs for a period not to exceed five years without regard to matching funds for provisions relating to competitive grants to all colleges and universities for the purpose of furthering education in the food and agricultural sciences in two specified categories.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97 98 inserted provisions relating to the transfer to the Secretary of all the functions and duties of the Secretary of Education under the act of June 29, 1935, applicable to the activities and programs for which funds are made available under section 329 of this title.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 97 98, §1418(c), inserted provisions relating to the authorization of appropriations for fiscal years ending Sept. 30, 1983, Sept. 30, 1984, and Sept. 30, 1985.

Effective Date of 1981 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 97 98 effective Dec. 22, 1981, see section 1801 of Pub. L. 97 98, set out as an Effective Date note under section 4301 of this title.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 2209b, 3311 of this title.