Daily Egyptian THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016
VOL. 100 ISSUE 66
SINCE 1916
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
Board discusses MAP payback, future of towers, budget impasse ahead of Thursday meeting EVAN JONES | @EvanJones_DE
The SIU Board of Trustees heard presentations Wednesday morning ranging from potential tuition hikes to proposals for new dorms on the east
side of Carbondale’s campus. Here’s what the nine trustees discussed during the executive meeting. They will vote on some of the following issues Thursday morning. Will students who received MAP
grants this year have to pay SIU back? This fall, the university funded Monetary Award Program grants to meet the financial needs of 4,766 eligible undergraduate students
with the expectation that the state would refund it. SIU President Randy Dunn said university administrators don’t know if they are going to charge those students or if they will just “eat it” and
let them keep the money. Carbondale student trustee Allen Shelton said this would be tough on students because it is money they need to go to school. Please see MAP | 3
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack talks about the future of farming EVAN JONES | @EvanJones_DE
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the future is bright for agriculture, but its success requires new ways of thinking. Vilsack’s lecture on the future of farming, which occurred Wednesday at the Student Center, focused on security from national, energy, economic and environmental standpoints as well as the opportunities for farmers — who make up less than 1 percent of wage and salary workers in the nation. Vilsack, President Barack Obama’s longest-serving cabinet member, visited as part of the MortonKenney public affairs lecture series sponsored by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. “Agriculture is helping to lead an effort to redefine, to recreate the American economy,” said Vilsack, who served two terms as the governor of Iowa. He said if young people want to make a difference, then agriculture is the place to be. “There is an absolutely bright, incredibly innovative, unbelievable future in agriculture,” he said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has invested more than $47 billion during the past seven years in Illinois for everything from research to nutrition programs. Vilsack said agriculture students should not be concerned about employment despite admitting the field is an unappreciated and under-used aspect of the economy. “American agriculture supports one in every 10 jobs in this economy,” he said. He said a predicted 60,000 jobs will be available in agriculture during the next three to six years. However, only about 30,000 students are being trained for these jobs. Peter Dirks, the recruiter for the College of Agricultural Sciences, said college enrollment has been progressing, especially because of its student and faculty involvement with industry, technology and research in a state where agriculture is the top employer. People need to begin thinking innovatively, creatively and passionately about agriculture, said the secretary of agriculture. To do that, they
Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack lectures to a crowd Wednesday as part of the Morton-Kenney Public Affairs Lecture Series at the Student Center Auditorium. Vilsack is President Obama’s longest-serving cabinet member and, prior to his appointment, served two terms as the governor of Iowa. “The reality is that American agriculture supports one in every 12 jobs in this economy,” Vilsack said. “It’s an extraordinary aspect of our economy that’s underappreciated and underutilized. … Over the next three to five years, there are going to be 60,000 jobs available for college graduates in a variety of aspects involving agriculture and agribusiness. But we’re only training about 30,000 folks for those jobs.”
must understand the role agriculture plays in the country and the world, said Vilsack, who arrived in Illinois after visiting Cuba. While on the island with Obama, he discussed ways to build a better relationship with the country and their farmers. He went on to suggest farmers take a more proactive approach to sustainability and climate change because people are becoming increasingly concerned about where their food comes from.
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“It’s not just about corn and beans, it’s about conservation as an income source,” Vilsack said. Agriculture must lead the transition from a fossilfuel based to plant-based economy, he said. He said it’s necessary to build a vibrant economy in rural America — one that supports and complements changes and improvements in agriculture. Zachary Howard, a junior from Homer studying agriculture, said the lecture was uplifting and it left him hopeful for his
future in agriculture. Many people don’t think about who is going to feed their family because they consciously or unconsciously delegate that task to farmers, Vilsack said. “I don’t know the last time we thanked an American farmer for that opportunity,” he said. Anna Spoerre can be reached at aspoerre@dailyegyptian.com or 618-536-3325.