UK Ag Equine Programs Hosts Horsey Hustle 5K Benefiting Student Enrichment
29 March 2023 – The University of Kentucky Ag Equine Programs will host the second annual Horsey Hustle 5K April 1 at Coldstream Park in Lexington beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT. A virtual component is also available. Event proceeds benefit the program’s Student Experience and Applied Education Fund.
“We are excited to bring back the UK Horsey Hustle 5K for a second year. We are expanding the fun to include food trucks, family friendly activities and a silent auction following the race,” said Kristen Wilson, senior academic coordinator and event organizer. “The Wildcat Wrangler equine student ambassador team has done a fantastic job and is excited to increase the event’s fundraising efforts this year.”
Registration is $35 through the morning of the event and includes a t-shirt while supplies last. Virtual registration is also available for $22. Donations can be made from the registration page for those unable to attend. Onsite registration begins at 9:30 a.m. Participants are encouraged to bring a chair or picnic blankets for relaxing and enjoying the activities after the race.
“This is a fun event developed and organized by equine science and management students. Importantly, all the proceeds will directly benefit our Student Experience and Applied Education Fund, a program that supports equine-related student enrichment activities and initiatives,” said James MacLeod, director of UK Ag Equine Programs. “You can run or walk, organize a team or bring friends and family members. Spring is the perfect time for outdoor activities, so please join us and support our students.”
Now in its second year, the Student Experience and Applied Education Fund has already benefited several students directly and opened opportunities for others.
Braden Heath, a junior in the Equine Science and Management undergraduate program, received money from the fund this year and plans to resurrect UK’s Horse Judging Team.
“We are in the early stages of the team, but we are hoping that these funds can help go toward travel to compete in judging competitions. Our coach, Mr. Tim Jedra, is a well-known stock horse judge and hopes to take us to many competitions throughout the year,” Heath said. “This club is a new opportunity for me and others. I came to the UK with little horse experience, and Tim took me under his wing and has helped me become a better horseman. This money will help me and other team members gain new experiences and network with others in the industry.”
Another recipient benefiting from the fund is the UK Saddle Seat Team. Emily Brown, a senior in the Equine Science and Management undergraduate program and team president, headed up the application.
“The UK Saddle Seat Riding Lesson Scholarship is an opportunity for Equine Science and Management students to receive hands-on riding and horse care experience outside of their degree with the UK Saddle Seat team at Wingswept Farm in Nicholasville, Kentucky, acting as facilitators,” she said. “The ideal award recipients are equine students who might have little hands-on experience with horses, paired with little means to obtain such experience outside the classroom, but are eager to learn more about working in the barn and riding.”
Event sponsors include American Saddlebred Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association; Aurora Pharmaceutical; Claiborne Farm; Equine Alumni Affiliate Network; Fasig-Tipton; Godolphin; Hallway Feeds; Hagyard Equine Medical Institute; Park Equine Hospital; Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital; Spendthrift Farm; Spy Coast Farm; The Jockey Club; US Equestrian; and Westbrook Stables.
To register, visit https://raceroster.com/events/2023/71657/uk-horsey-hustle-5k-runwalk.
Source : https://news.ca.uky.edu/
Read MoreUC Davis Leads World Rankings With Veterinary Science, Ag
29 March 2023 – The University of California, Davis, continues to be recognized for its leadership in the fields of veterinary science, and agriculture and forestry in the 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject released March 22.
Quacquarelli Symonds, considered one of the most influential international university rankings providers, ranked UC Davis first in the nation and second in the world in both subjects.
Since veterinary science was added to the rankings in 2015, UC Davis has been first in the world five times and is No. 2 for a fourth time. The campus was No. 1 in agriculture and forestry in the first three years the subject was ranked and has held the No. 2 spot since 2016.
UC Davis was ranked 38th in the world and tied for 17th in the nation in the broad category of the life sciences and medicine. The campus was also ranked globally and nationally in each of the other broad categories of the rankings: natural sciences, engineering and technology, arts and humanities, and social sciences and management.
In addition to being top-ranked in veterinary science and agriculture and forestry, the university had top 50 world rankings in four other subjects and top 25 national rankings in 14 others. (Detailed rankings by country are provided to universities but not published on the website.)
“The rankings shine a spotlight on UC Davis for its leadership in veterinary science and also demonstrate the excellent education and research the campus provides across the academic fields,” said Chancellor Gary S. May.
The rankings consider reputation among academics; reputation among employers; the citations and impact of academic papers from a university; and the diversity of a university’s international research network. In all, the 2023 rankings analyzed programs at 1,594 universities across the world.
In addition to veterinary science, and agriculture and forestry, the top 50 world rankings are:
- environmental sciences, 22nd
- biological sciences, 35th
- development studies, 44th
- anatomy and physiology, 50th
And the top 25 national rankings are:
- environmental sciences, 10th
- development studies, 11th
- civil and structural engineering, tied for 12th
- geography, tied for 15th
- anatomy and physiology, 16th
- biological sciences, 17th
- law, tied for 19th
- earth and marine sciences, 20th
- geophysics, tied for 21st
- geology, tied for 21st
- economics and econometrics, 21st
- sports-related subjects, 22nd
- statistics and operational research, tied for 22nd
- chemical engineering, 23rd
The School of Veterinary Medicine has more than 700 students pursuing the doctor of veterinary medicine and other professional and graduate degrees, and offers the nation’s largest veterinarian residency program with more than 30 specialties. More than $89 million in annual research funding is applied to benefit animal, human and planetary health. The school’s hospital treats more than 50,000 patients each year. This April, the school will celebrate its 75th anniversary.
The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has more than 7,400 undergraduates in 27 majors and 1,040 graduate students in 22 graduate groups and programs. The college’s researchers generate more than $225 million in government, corporate and foundation awards. UC Davis is among the most published and cited U.S. research universities in agricultural sciences, animal science and plant sciences, environment and ecology, food science and nutrition, and soil sciences.
UC Davis and rankings
A world-class university, UC Davis is highly ranked for how it transforms students’ lives, the impact of its research, the excellence of its academic programs, sustainability and more. The university performs self-evaluations and also appreciates the value of third-party assessments. However, ranking methods vary, change over time and can be subjective. UC Davis focuses on those rankings that most closely align with its mission and values — including serving the public good, inclusiveness and equity, and social mobility — and in national rankings looks most closely at its standing among public universities. UC Davis encourages prospective students and their families to weigh rankings among other factors in their college decision, talk with counselors and UC Davis admissions advisors, and, if possible, visit the campus.
Source : https://caes.ucdavis.edu/
Read MoreBreak a leg: Repurposing Acting Class Methods to Improve Students’ Presentation Skills
28 March 2023 – AMES, Iowa – Graduate students are often asked to present their research at conferences or in academic settings. The trick is taking sometimes very technical information unique to their discipline and presenting it in a way that is understandable and relatable to a broader audience.
Mark Gleason and Leonor Leandro, professors of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology at Iowa State University, have been on a mission since 2011 to improve graduate students’ speaking skills. An article highlighting their efforts and the class they created to accomplish this goal was recently published in Trends in Biochemical Sciences.
The course, PLP 628: Improving Your Professional Speaking Skills, combines several elements that help graduate students feel more comfortable with public speaking and explaining their research in a way a general audience can understand.
“Oral presentations are a type of performance – they are very different from writing a research paper about your work,” Gleason said. “Students have to take that imaginative leap of how to make their presentation engaging for their audience.”
Throughout the semester, students give their presentations several times, making modifications based on feedback from peers and course instructors, as would happen in an introductory acting class. Feedback comes in the form of peer evaluations, watching recordings of their presentations and one-on-one coaching sessions with Gleason and Leandro.
Anne Carey, graduate student in horticulture, appreciates the individualized feedback the instructors provide during the one-on-one sessions.
“Going through the presentation in front of them and having them stop me to pinpoint when exactly I was making the mistake they had referred to made it so much easier to see and integrate the feedback I was receiving,” Carey said. “Although nerve-wracking, having that individual attention and opportunity for a conversation about how to overcome some natural (but not beneficial) behaviors was super helpful. I now know what my weakness are and, being aware of them, can focus on overcoming them and notice when they arise.”
Gleason and Leandro both reinforce to students that the presentation is not about the students themselves, it is about the audience. They encourage students to incorporate analogies, pictures or short videos into their talks to help the audience relate to their work.
“They come in with the expectation that people know what they’re talking about,” Leandro said. “We urge them to sell their work and tell the audience why they should care about it.”
While the course is geared toward students in the STEM fields, any Iowa State graduate student can enroll in the class.
Olivia Meyer, graduate student in horticulture, took the class at the encouragement of Gleason, her advisor. As a boxing coach, Meyer often tells her boxers that the nerves they experience before a competitive event never really go away, no matter their level of experience. The same is often true for public speaking.
“This class equips you with tips, tricks and tools to transform that nervous energy into something useful. It teaches the value of preparation, coaches self-awareness and hones the fundamentals of delivery,” Meyer said.
The impacts of the class extend beyond students’ time at Iowa State. Eric Gangloff took the course while pursuing his doctoral degree in ecology and evolutionary biology at Iowa State. Now an assistant professor of biological sciences at Ohio Wesleyan University, Gangloff said he continually draws on lessons learned from the course during talks he gives and when advising students on how to better present their work.
“This course was invaluable in my development as a speaker, helping me to improve in areas I didn’t even consider beforehand,” Gangloff said. “As I work with students now on developing their speaking skills, I continually draw back to my fantastic (and challenging!) experience with this course.”
Gleason and Leandro hope the class will become a requirement for all Iowa State graduate students. To their knowledge, not many higher education institutions offer such semester-long public speaking training to students.
“It’s an opportunity for Iowa State as an institution to take the lead in STEM oral presentation training,” Gleason said.
Source : https://www.cals.iastate.edu
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