Rick D. Rudd

Elements of an Undergraduate Agricultural Leadership Program: A Delphi Study

Programs in agricultural leadership are continuing to enjoy success in institutions around the country. To this point, there has been a lack of research conducted to (a) identify objectives for these programs, (b) identify courses that should be taught in these programs, (c) identify the need for and objectives of an internship requirement, or (d) determine future placements of program graduates. This study sought the opinions of 15 agricultural leadership experts from across the nation to address these questions. Although the panel came to consensus on these areas it Journal of Leadership Education Volume 12, Issue 1 – Winter 2013 141 was apparent that the experts in agricultural leadership must continue to work toward national goals and standards for agricultural leadership programs.

Opinions of Practitioners Concerning Curricular Requirements of Agricultural Communication Students at the University of Florida.

This study identifies opinions of agricultural communication practitioners in Florida concerning knowledge and skills that should be taught to agricultural communication students at the University of Florida. We interviewed 14 practitioners who were on the Board of Directors of the Agriculture Institute of Florida. Practitioners recognized the need for broad-based instruction about agriculture. They said communication skills, however, are more important than subject-area knowledge. Students must be versatile in many communication areas and learn interpersonal networking skills. Desktop publishing and internships are essential, as is training in issues management. Curriculum planners should consider these views when making agricultural communication curriculum decisions. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. This research is available in Journal of Applied Communications: http://newprairiepress.org/jac/vol82/iss1/3 Journal of Applied Communications, Vol. 82, No. 1, 1998 / 31 Opinions of Practitioners Concerning Curricular Requirements of Agricultural Communication Students at the University of Florida Kimberly J. Sprecker and Rick D. Rudd Kimberly J. Sprecker completed this research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Communication at the University of Florida. She is now working toward a Ph.D. degree in Mass Communication with a focus on Agricultural Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rick D. Rudd is an assistant professor of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida and a member of ACE. Abstract This study identifies opinions of agricultural communication practitioners in Florida concerning knowledge and skills that should be taught to agricultural communication students at the University of Florida. We interviewed 14 practitioners who were on the Board of Directors of the Agriculture Institute of Florida. Practitioners recognized the need for broad-based instruction about agriculture. They said communication skills, however, are more important than subject-area knowledge. Students must be versatile in many communication areas and learn interpersonal networking skills. Desktop publishing and internships are essential, as is training in issues management. Curriculum planners should consider these views when making agricultural communication curriculum decisions. Introduction and Theoretical Framework As our world and its social and ecological systems change, so must our instruction, curricula, and educational systems. Schuh (1986) maintained that the basic challenge for today’s land-grant university is to bridge the gap between society’s problems and frontiers of knowledge. Because the food, agriculture, and natural resources field is dynamic, curricula need to be reviewed often to meet the 1 Sprecker and Rudd: Opinions of Practitioners Concerning Curricular Requirements of A Published by New Prairie Press, 2017 32 / Journal of Applied Communications, Vol. 82, No. 1, 1998 demands of evolving technical information, technology, changing demographics, dwindling resources, and the occupational requirements of the discipline (McAlpin, 1994; Wrye & Terry, 1993). Curriculum designers must balance the vision of faculty at a particular institution, the goals of students, and the needs of employers (Coffey, 1987). Competencies needed to become an agricultural communicator have changed with technology and job requirements, indicating an urgent need to examine the curricula in an effort to make it applicable to students and their future employers. It is vitally important to ensure that curriculum content reflects the needs of the work world (Finch & Crunkilton, 1989). To establish realistic priorities for instructional development, the curriculum planning process should involve all who are affected by the program (Bjoraker, 1987; Diamond, 1989; Sledge et al., 1987; Wilkinson, 1987). Thus, teachers, students, administrators, employers, and employees should participate in planning and evaluation. Erven (1987) said that employers can be particularly helpful by sharing their perceptions of the competitive society in which graduates will function. They can provide information on educational experiences necessary for a satisfying life in the cultural setting and society of the next century. The agricultural industry represents the consumer or benefactor of curricular reform and can measure the quality of the academic program (Bjoraker, 1987; Wilkinson, 1987). If academic curricula are to meet the needs of industry, agricultural communication programs must continually survey professionals to determine the skills required for a career in agricultural communication (Evans, 1969; Flatt, 1991; Paulson & Metzger, 1990). An examination of competencies needed by graduates as recommended by professional agricultural communicators will help planners design curricula that enable graduates to be more competitive in the marketplace. As Wharton (1987) suggested, communication between education and the agricultural industry plays a vital role in the wellbeing of society at large: If our efforts to revitalize our curricula are to succeed . . . college professors and administrators need to listen with naive and unbiased ears to the expressed needs of our clientele, and then join with that clientele to create a curriculum responsive to those needs (p. 1). Recognition of agricultural communication as an area of study at the university level began when colleges of agriculture developed an 2 Journal of Applied Communications, Vol. 82 [1998], Iss. 1, Art. 3 http://newprairiepress.org/jac/vol82/iss1/3 DOI: 10.4148/1051-0834.2125 Journal of Applied Communications, Vol. 82, No. 1, 1998 / 33 extension function early in the twentieth century (Duley, Jensen, & O’Brien, 1984). By 1991, more than 30 agricultural communication programs existed at colleges and universities in the United States (Doerfert & Cepica, 1991). Yet Buck and Barrick’s (1995) study of professional agricultural communicators showed no uniform description of an agricultural communicator and uncertainty on the type of education best suited for an agricultural communicator. The present study is an attempt to shed some light on the question of education as it pertains to agricultural communication in Florida. Agricultural communication can be defined broadly as a profession that applies communication techniques and theory to decisions of companies that represent food, agriculture, or natural resources. An agricultural communicator, likewise, can be defined broadly as a person whose job requires communicating to both rural and urban audiences through a variety of media on matters of importance to food, agriculture, and natural resources. While students of the agricultural communication curriculum at the University of Florida are qualified to pursue employment in any facet of the agricultural communication industry upon graduation (e.g., telecommunication, journalism, and advertising), the program has tended to focus its efforts primarily on the public relations arm of the profession. Therefore, this paper considers the definitions of “agricultural communication/ communicator” to apply only to public relations professions. Specifically, the limitations of the study are as follow: 1. The study was limited to the agricultural communication content of the agricultural communication program at the University of Florida. 2. The qualitative nature of the work meant that gains in validity would come at the expense of generalizability. 3. Because the subjects were primarily public relations practitioners, the findings lean toward public relations concerns. Purpose of the Study Given the widespread influence of Florida’s agriculture across the United States and abroad, it becomes especially significant to know which aspects of education and training are important for a career in agricultural communication in Florida. In addition, no study has been carried out on the undergraduate agricultural communication curriculum at the University of Florida (a curriculum established in 1990) to assess how well it prepares graduates for the workforce. This study was designed, as a result, to identify the competencies 3 Sprecker and Rudd: Opinions of Practitioners Concerning Curricular Requirements of A Published by New Prairie Press, 2017 34 / Journal of Applied Communications, Vol. 82, No. 1, 1998 that Florida’s agricultural industries desire of agricultural communication graduates. More precisely, the purpose of this study was to determine which knowledge and skills agricultural communication practitioners in Florida believe are vital for graduates of the University of Florida’s agricultural communication program.

Volunteer Administration Leadership Proficiency and Leadership Styles: Perceptions of Southern Region 4-H County Faculty

Volunteers play an integral role in supporting the mission of 4-H programs in the southern region. For this reason their proficiency in volunteer administration competence and perceived leadership style is important. The researchers sought to examine both the perceived proficiency of 4-H faculty in the southern region in seven competencies associated with volunteer administration leadership (Stedman, 2004) and perceived leadership style based on Full Range Leadership (Avolio & Bass, 1991). Overall respondents’ scores indicated an average proficiency in volunteer administration leadership competence. Yet, their reported scores showed a higher proficiency in the individual competency areas of personal skill and organizational culture. Leadership style was measured based on behavior scores of transformational, transactional, and laissez faire leadership. The 4-H county faculty used transformational leadership most frequently, followed by transactional leadership, and then laissez faire. Implications are 4-H county faculty could use additional professional development opportunities which address accountability and management.

Volunteer Administration: Theoretical Dimensions of the Discipline

The focus of this paper is to provide the profession of volunteer administration (VA) a model outlining theoretical dimensions of the discipline. The dimensions provided include the (a) processes, (b) discipline, (c) foundations, and (d) theoretical base. Volunteer administration is the set of associated processes of operating a volunteer program. Included are a compilation of competencies identified by the Association for Volunteer Administration (2001) and 13 professionals that participated in a study conducted by Boyd (2002). The seven processes are Commitment to the Profession, Organizational Leadership, Systems Leadership, Accountability, Management Skills, Personal Skills, and Organizational Culture. The foundational disciplines are Leadership and Management, Community Development, and Teaching and Learning. Psychology and sociology provide the empirical evidence that supports the foundations and processes of VA. Professionals should look deeper into the theoretical base of VA, in order to develop and encourage focused research initiatives and academic curricula for volunteer administrators.

Rural Leadership Development: A Synthesis of Research

With millions of dollars being invested in adult rural leadership development, it is essential that research be conducted to determine the effectiveness of this investment. Such research can validate the investment and provide guidance for future programming. However, an extensive review of literature in Cambridge Scientific Abstracts yielded only 15 relevant research articles over a decade of publication. Among these articles, sub-topic areas identified included Partnerships, Political Shifts, Safety & Health, Gender Equity, Public Discourse, Statewide Program Impact, and Continuing Education. All of these areas lacked adequate saturation of research. The effectiveness of rural leadership development is severely threatened by this lack of published research. With increasingly limited resources, those engaged in rural leadership development programming must address significant deficiencies in the research and share findings for the betterment of all.

Factors affecting evaluation culture within a non-formal educational organization

While research has been done on many aspects of evaluation within a variety of contexts and organizations, there is a lack of research surrounding the culture of evaluation. This study set out to examine this evaluative culture in one of the worlds largest non-formal educational organizations through the use of an online survey and quantitative methodology. A path model was developed to examine the factors affecting evaluation culture. Results show perception regarding evaluation, program area, college major, location, training in evaluation, degree level, and years of experience explained 28% of the variance within evaluation culture. Results also found that the culture of evaluation is greatly impacted by leadership. By taking a closer look at the evaluation culture of a large non-formal educational organization, much can be learned about how to better develop and support evaluative work in other similar organizations and programs.