ECC Selected for National Award
Tuesday / December 6, 2016
Ellsworth Community College, is one of only six programs nationwide that received the 2016 National Association of Agricultural Educators Outstanding Postsecondary/Adult Agricultural Education Program Award. The award was presented at the NAAE annual convention in Las Vegas on November 30.
ECC has evolved into a modern and diverse two-year program that was recently recognized as one of the top 150 community colleges in the U.S. by the Aspen Institute. The agriculture department has 70 students enrolled in associate of applied science degree programs in farm management, agribusiness, animal science, precision agriculture, mobile service technical service, and swine management.
The agriculture department is housed in the Agriculture and Renewable Energy Center, built in 2009 with funds from a $35 million district bond and the college’s first ever million-dollar donation from local retired farmers, Robert and Arlene Hamilton. The college has been building its agricultural education program since the 1970s, and many of its first students and instructors are still actively involved in the Ellsworth agriculture advisory board. ECC is an active component of the community by supporting local FFA chapter activities and partnering with local agricultural businesses.
ECC offers students an interactive, community-based learning experience while helping them learn to analyze theoretical information and develop leadership, communication and citizenship skills. ECC instructors are strong believers in the “learning to do, doing to learn” teaching philosophy and incorporate as many real-life and hands-on scenarios into their classroom. They often invite guest speakers ranging from industry experts to elected officials to provide insight on specific topics of interest. Each student is required to complete an agriculture-based internship as part of their graduate requirements.
Students also work in labs and develop problem solving skills on the 133-acre college farm, owned by the Ellsworth College Board of Trustees. The farm is actively managed by students in the ECC agriculture program, who can be found on the farm learning to sample soils for a local agronomy company, use GPS equipment and install new precision agriculture technologies, processing calves with a local veterinarian, or using an ultrasound to detect cattle pregnancies.
“Students in the agriculture programs at ECC are especially successful because the faculty work to deliver a combination of theoretical and scientific knowledge along with hands-on experiences. This creates an engaging environment where students learn the foundational concepts and are able to apply them to gain confidence and deep understanding of the material,” said Dr. Martin Reimer, ECC Provost.
Each of the six regional Outstanding Postsecondary/Adult Program Award winners was recognized at the NAAE convention in Las Vegas. The Outstanding Postsecondary/Adult Program Award is sponsored by Monsanto as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. NAAE is the professional association for agricultural educators.