Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Over the course of centuries, agriculture has carried a negative connotation for those who identify as an underrepresented minority. The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE), Office of Diversity (OOD) has worked strategically over the course of the last twenty years, in enhancing recruitment and retention mechanisms to increase the enrollment of underrepresented minority (URM) students and to change the face of agriculture within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The purpose of this study is to identify and examine the student engagement and academic achievement of underrepresented students who are juniors and seniors at the University of Kentucky (UK) who are members of the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) student organization. The contextual framework of this dissertation is based on Tinto’s Student Integration Model. There is extensive literature that shows the perceived correlation amongst a student’s academic achievement based on a student’s involvement in their collegiate career.

Year manuscript completed

2019

Year degree awarded

2019

Author's Keywords

agriculture, higher education, student engagement, academic achievement, mentorship, MANRRS

Dissertation Committee Chair

Brian Parr

Co-Director of Dissertation

Randal Wilson

Committee Member

Quentin Tyler

Committee Member

Landon Clark

Document Type

Dissertation

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