GRA position at Virginia Tech: community food security

Dear colleagues,  

 

The Appalachian Foodshed Project has a graduate research assistantship (Masters or PhD) available for this coming January.  (Pasted below and attached.)  This student will have the opportunity to work with community partners in southwest Virginia on issues of community food security.  Please pass this on to others who may be interested.  The deadline for letters of interest (with CV) is December 1st.  The graduate school application deadline is January 1st.

 

Thank you,

Kim Niewolny

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Kim L. Niewolny, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor/Extension Specialist

Director, Virginia Beginning Farmer & Rancher Coalition Program

Virginia Tech

Department of Agricultural and Extension Education (0343)

282 Litton-Reaves Hall

Blacksburg, VA 24061

 

tel: 540.231.5784

cell:  540.577.6559

fax: 540.231.3824

email: niewolny@vt.edu

 

Virginia Beginning Farmer & Rancher Coalition Program

www.vabeginningfarmer.org

 

Appalachian Foodshed Project

www.appalachianfoodshedproject.org

 

 

Virginia Tech

Graduate Research Assistantship

 

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP

STUDYING Appalachian Community Food Security in Virginia

 

Please forward this announcement to prospective Master’s or Ph.D. students interested in community food security.  We are seeking a high quality applicant beginning in January 2014 for a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) on a community-based research project on community food security in Appalachia Virginia.  Awards are available beginning in January 2014 spring semester.  Funding is available for 4 semesters; it includes a stipend and tuition remission.

 

The GRA is associated with a National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA-funded project on Enhancing Food Security by Cultivating Resilient Food Systems and Communities: Place-based Foodshed Analysis from Research to Community Practice. The Appalachian Foodshed Project (AFP) is using a foodshed concept to address issues of community food security in West Virginia and the Appalachian regions of North Carolina and Virginia. The AFP aims to facilitate a network of organizations and individuals working to address issues of community development, economic viability, health, nutrition, food access, social justice, and agriculture. By working collaboratively, the AFP hopes to build on the human and natural resources in the region to cultivate resilient food systems and vibrant, healthy communities. The AFP is working to create a culture of collaboration in the region to facilitate systemic change and increase access to healthy, local food for underserved and marginalized populations in Appalachia. The project also hopes to build capacity in the region to enhance community food security and increase understanding of regional community food systems. The AFP intends for this knowledge to be transferable to other regions and contribute to the larger work around community food security.

 

The GRA’s primary responsibility will be to contribute to the AFP’s community food security assessment, with a specific focus on the coalition efforts in southwest Virginia.  The GRA will also play a significant role in carrying out the project’s outreach and community engagement plan in southwest Virginia, and across the three-state region. The GRA will be supervised by the AFP Project Director in the Horticulture Department, although they could have a different academic home department depending on their interests. 

 

A strong candidate for this GRA position will have experience in community development processes and/or food systems work, in addition to knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Preferred academic backgrounds for this GRA position include horticulture, agriculture education and extension, community development, food systems, sociology, or human nutrition. 

 

 

Please send a letter of interest with a resume or curriculum vita to Susan Clark (sfclark@vt.edu) by December 1, 2013.  The review process will begin shortly thereafter and successful applications will be notified.   

 

Please contact Nikki D’Adamo-Damery (nikki11@vt.edu) or Susan Clark (sfclark@vt.edu) or for more information about the project.

 

Please see our AFP website (www.appalachianfoodshedproject.org) for more information about the project.   

 

To be considered for the GRA students need to be accepted into the Graduate School; graduate school applications are due by January 1^st.  For more information about applying to graduate school visit http://graduateschool.vt.edu/admissions/applying/index.html.

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