Since 1992 when Florida A&M University (FAMU) and the University of Florida (UF) established a 2+2 joint degree program, recruitment and retention have been critical to educating minorities in natural resources and forestry (NRF). Among the recruitment efforts implemented are the annual summer programs organized by FAMU for targeted high school students and the identification and selection of middle and high school students to attend a one-week "Forestry 2000" summer program organized by UF and several public and private agencies. Critical to our recruitment efforts have been the involvement of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service liaison officer and college recruiter at annual career fairs held at FAMU and heavily attended by freshmen and sophomores who were undeclared majors; invitation letters, and phone calls to incoming freshmen with GPAs of 3.0 or better to consider NRF careers. While scholarship and tuition waivers have been important for student retention, several ingredients have been crucial for our retaining and graduating minorities in NRF: internships eventually converted to student cooperative education programs (SCEP), the provision of laptop computers to students as long as they maintained a minimum GPA of 3.0 and stayed in the NRF programs, an Academic Success Workshop (ASW) that enhances student skills and awareness when they transfer from FAMU to UF, and the awarding of an Associate in Arts (AA) degree when students complete the FAMU portion of the NRF program. Students are also encouraged to participate in professional clubs related to NRF such as Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS), the student chapters of the Society of American Foresters (SAF), and the Wildlife Society (WS). These, coupled with advising and mentoring services at both FAMU and UF, have been largely instrumental in the successful completion of academic programs by minorities in NRF.
