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Southern Plains Area DEAR Program

DEAR is an acronym for Diversity Enhancement in Agricultural Research. This initiative represents a concerted effort by the Southern Plains Area (SPA) to increase the number of under represented minorities, women, and people with disabilities in the SPA workforce

Members:

• College Station, TX
  • James Coppedge, Chairman
  • Michael Hume
  • Anne Steele
  • Edna Taylor
  • Debra Owens
  • June Williams
• Bushland, TX
  • Judy Tolk
• Kerrville, TX
  • Felix Guerrero
• Lane, OK
  • Margaret Tenequer
• Las Cruces, NM
  • Billy Armijo
• Stuttgart, AR
  • Jerry Ludwig
• Weslaco, TX
  • Mari Gomez

Advisors:

• SPA Civil Rights Office
• ARS Information Staff
  • Sandy Miller
• ARS Human Resources Division
  • Karen Yezek

Goals:

• Find talented minorities, females, or people with disabilities, and get them interested and committed to a future in agriculture research.
• Give all applications full and unbiased consideration for positions for which they applied.
• Develop a diverse workforce through mentoring, special programs, temporary employment, etc.

Objectives:

• Urge all locations to find qualified students.
• Encourage locations to provide opportunities to enhance ARS careers through education and experience.
• Implementation of an annual award program for the research unit with the best program.
• Stimulate locations to participate in career days, science fairs, field days, etc.
• Initiate dialog with groups such as Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS), Native Indian Higher Education Consortium (NIHEC), National Hispanic Sustainable Energy and Environmental Conference (NHSEEC), etc.
• Develop resource material for outreach and recruitment activities including tabletop and floor displays, pamphlets, posters, bookmarks, a diversity web site, and a slide presentation.
• Coordinate "Flowers in the Garden" articles for the SPA Newsletter. These articles tell how units have developed programs to help minorities, females, and students with disabilities obtain training and college degrees.

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