Finca Alzamora Doctoral Teaching and Research Laboratories

Puerto Rico, the rest of the Caribbean, as well as Central and tropical South America, need to increase agricultural production while preserving natural resources. The lack of advanced research to propose scientific alternatives to solve these problems is common to the countries of these regions. While UPRM is a leading institution of higher learning, the lack of a doctoral program in Agriculture forces our own graduates in agricultural sciences, as well as students from other regional institutions, to either change areas of study or go to other places for their doctorate.  As reported in 2004 Summary Report on Doctorate Recipients, only 4 of the 605 doctoral graduates in Agricultural Sciences holding US citizenship or permanent residency were Puerto Rican (less than 1%) and only 17 were Hispanics (4 Puerto Rican, 6 Mexican, and 7 Other Hispanic). This under-representation of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics in Agricultural Sciences points to a need to provide more opportunities for minority students to pursue doctoral degrees in this area.

 

As part of this effort, the College of Agricultural Sciences has proposed a new PhD program in Tropical Agriculture with different areas of specialization. This program has been approved by the Academic Senate and is now under consideration by the University authorities. One of the aspects identified as critical for the success of this program is the development of additional laboratory facilities for teaching and research.

 

The Sustainable Context activity in CIVIS includes providing appropriate research and teaching facilities for the Ph.D. Program in Tropical Agriculture at UPRM, and also establishing an academic initiative to support current campus-wide green initiatives.

 

We are renovating  existing facilities at the Alzamora Laboratory Farm to provide space for four teaching and research laboratories, two classrooms, one administrative office and an office for the doctoral students. There will be one laboratory in each of the following areas: Plant Breeding / Plant Sciences, Animal Sciences, Entomology, and Soil and Water Resources. The facilities will be administered by the Ph.D. program director, and the Program’s Graduate Committee. The facility will also be used by students and faculty from the collaborative PhD programs with other universities, and by Master’s students in the College of Agriculture.Meanwhile, the approval of the PhD program in Tropical Agriculture continues its approval schedule. It has been approved by the Academic Senate, and now is under revision by the Administrative Board. Once approved at the campus level, it will be considered by the University of Puerto Rico Central Administration, and later by the Puerto Rico Higher Education Council  

 

Meanwhile, the approval of the PhD program in Tropical Agriculture continues its approval schedule. It has been approved by the Academic Senate, and now is under revision by the Administrative Board. Once approved at the campus level, it will be considered by the University of Puerto Rico Central Administration, and later by the Puerto Rico Higher Education Council.