By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

CARBONDALE, Ill. — In order to open students’ eyes to opportunities in the field of crop sciences, Southern Illinois University and the Illinois Soybean Assoc. (ISA) have collaborated to offer new scholarship opportunities for SIU students pursuing a degree in the school’s Crop, Soil and Environmental Management program.

The scholarship’s value for incoming freshmen is up to $10,000 over four years, and transfer students are eligible for up to $5,000 total over two years. Five to 10 new scholarships may be awarded each school year, according to SIU College of Agricultural Sciences professor Bryan Young, who is also co-chair of the Illinois Soybean Center at SIU.

“The only people who can qualify for the scholarship are new students who are coming to SIU,” said Young. “The idea is to increase enrollment in the program and increase the (crop sciences job) candidate pool.”

The ISA cited declining enrollment in crop sciences as a compelling reason to establish the scholarship program with SIU, in addition to a similar scholarship ISA recently announced for crop science students at the University of Illinois.

Young said that regardless if the motivation for the scholarship program with SIU was motivated by dwindling crop sciences enrollment at state universities, “there certainly is a shortage of individuals in the job market right now who are trained in crop sciences. At a minimum, more students need to be trained.”
Each school year, a total of $50,000 will be allotted for scholarships and could be distributed in various amounts to the students who apply. “Anywhere from five to 10 incoming students could be rewarded,” Young said.

“The scholarship’s value for incoming freshmen is up to $10,000 over four years, with $4,000 given as a freshman and $2,000 during each of the next three years. Or, a transfer student could receive $3,000 the first year and up to $5,000 in total.”

Each scholarship recipient will also have the opportunity to obtain paid research experiences in soybean production under the guide of faculty members, and to learn firsthand the role the ISA plays in helping shape legislative policy and in aiding the state’s soybean producers.

“(Students) will be heavily involved with our program as well as with the ISA,” Young explained. “The ISA will expose them to what the Soybean Board does and to the checkoff system. Our ‘soy scholars’ will have a chance to visit with the ISA and be involved in undergraduate research pertaining to soybeans. Students will work with our faculty in research labs, greenhouses and doing field research.

“Book knowledge and classroom learning is great, but I think to be the best marketable candidate, you have to have hands-on experience in the real world.”

Scholarship applications for the 2010 fall semester are being accepted and processed, Young said. For more information on the ISA/SIU crop sciences scholarship program, e-mail him at bg young@sui.edu or call 618-453-7679.