Exciting Times at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture!

The Stockbridge School of Agriculture has been central to the fabric of New England agriculture for 94 years. We plan to continue that role in the next 94 years and beyond. Over the past few months, we have begun to make some very significant and exciting changes that will make Stockbridge better than ever. These changes are central to the University's and the College's refocusing of its agricultural efforts. As part of this refocusing, the Stockbridge School of Agriculture has been elevated to a full academic unit with its own faculty, education offered at all levels from AS to PhD, and research and outreach responsibilities. These changes were approved by the UMass Faculty Senate on May 3, 2012, and the "new" Stockbridge School of Agriculture came into being on July 1, 2012.

So what's new?

• The Stockbridge School of Agriculture is officially a "school within a college" under new University guidelines. Previously, it was an administrative, degree-granting unit that oversaw the Associate of Science degree programs, but those programs resided in departments. Likewise, all research and outreach resided in other academic units. Now the School encompasses all of the pieces necessary to provide the best agricultural education in the country for all students.
• The Stockbridge School of Agriculture has a faculty for the first time in its 94-year history. Currently, 26 individuals have joined the Stockbridge faculty, including fruit, vegetable, turf, field crop, greenhouse, and equine specialists and soil scientists, plant physiologists, molecular biologists, plant pathologist, entomologists, and animal physiologists. These individuals bring active and vibrant teaching, research, and outreach programs to the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. Furthermore, they bring extensive experience in graduate education at the MS and PhD levels.
• Pending proposals will create three new Bachelor of Science degrees in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture: Sustainable Food & Farming, Sustainable Horticulture, and Turfgrass Science & Management. If all goes well, the first BS majors will enter the Stockbridge School in the spring semester of 2013.

These are big changes and you might be worried that what's made Stockbridge so special will be lost. Be assured, however, that we recognize everything that has made Stockbridge great and our plans not only honor that greatness but will strengthen it over time.

• The Associate of Science degrees will continue to be an integral part of our educational program, and we will manage students' Stockbridge experience with the same care and personal approach that our students and parents have appreciated in the past. We hope to extend that care to students at the Bachelor of Science and graduate levels, too. The Stockbridge family will grow!
• The transition from AS to BS degrees will be improved now that the process will be within Stockbridge. We want the continuation of our students' education to be seamless and efficient.
• All of our undergraduate majors will evolve as the needs of agriculture evolve. The new degree programs are focused on the future and our graduates will continue to be well prepared to make significant contributions to current and future agriculture.
• Hands-on education will always be our priority. A new diverse Agricultural Learning Center is being developed on campus and this facility will provide our students with easy access to hands-on learning in all facets of agriculture. Our students also will benefit from the greater visibility the UMass Amherst Undergraduate Agricultural Learning Center will give the university's agricultural programs, research, and outreach.