August 2021

In this issue:

NACTA Featured Member - Krishnaswamy Jayachandran
NACTA 2022 Conference to be Held at OSU
Welcome New NACTA Members!
Renew or Become a New NACTA Member

NACTA Featured Member - Krishnaswamy Jayachandran
Each month we sit down with a member to highlight their academic and professional career and to see how they are making the best of their membership in NACTA. This month’s Featured Member is NACTA Journal Associate Editor and Editorial Board member Krishnaswamy Jayachandran.

Krishnaswamy Jayachandran, PhD
Professor and Program Director
Florida International University

What is your role on the new NACTA Journal Editorial Board? And what specifically does that entail?
I'm happy to join the Journal Editorial Board as an associate editor. My role will be to direct the workflow when manuscripts are submitted. I will be assigning them to certain reviewers, making sure the review process is done and completed in a timely manner, and then make the decision on whether an article can be published.

What are you looking forward to in the year ahead?  What would you like to see happen with the Journal?
Most journals have a very short time period (for reviews). We want to make the review period shorter so that we can process as many articles as possible. I want to work with the reviewers to make sure reviews are done on time so that I can then make a decision and we can inform the authors quickly.
I served with Chad Miller on award selection for the Journal this past year and was able to read all the articles and Teaching Tips from the year. I really look forward to working with the Journal and offering my expertise to support the increase in its quality.

If you could describe the Journal five years from now, what would you be able to tell us about it?
That's a good question. We would love to increase the impact factor. We would also like to include more articles on experiential and experimental learning of study abroad programs. That would help us expand to a more international audience.

Who or what introduced you to NACTA?
Several years ago, we had a USDA grant to help recruit students, get them scholarships and training through experiential learning. As part of the grant requirements, we had to present our work at a conference. My first experience with NACTA was presenting my work at the conference in Alberta, then again in Iowa and Hawaii.

I've attended several conferences and presented at many, but I plan to attend them regularly in the future. It is such a good experience, and the poster sessions are so wonderful. I have a sabbatical leave next year but I will try to join in Wooster, OH.

What interesting things are you working on outside the Association right now? Research, presentations, etc.
Four years prior to COVID and this year I have worked on a study abroad program with faculty and students from Florida International University, Texas A&M University at Kingsville, the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez and the University of Texas at El Paso. We take students to Costa Rica for two weeks to study sustainable agriculture; farming practices; pineapple, strawberry, coffee, cacao production; among other things. We will be doing this trip next year as well and hopefully writing an article about the program.

Can you share something with us, either personal or professional, that we would like to learn about you?
My undergraduate degree is in agriculture. My BS is in soil microbiology and PhD is in plant pathology. I worked at Iowa State University during my postdoc then I came to Florida International University in 1996. What has been very rewarding to work on while here is the Agroecology Program. Through significant funding from USDA, we have worked to promote education, research, training and outreach activities for students pipelining and capacity building. It has been 15 years we've had this program and it has been so gratifying.

NACTA 2022 Conference to be Held at OSU
Preparations are starting to take shape for the 2022 NACTA Annual Conference, to be held at the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences in Wooster, Ohio from June 20-24, 2022. We hope you plan to attend the first in-person gathering of the NACTA family and community since 2019!

Interested in presenting at or attending next year’s meeting? Abstracts for workshops will be accepted from October until November 15, poster and oral presentation abstracts will be accepted from November until February 1, 2022 and travel grant applications will be accepted from December until February 15, 2022. If you are interested in nominating someone for a NACTA teaching award, those nominations will be accepted from November until February 1, 2022.
We look forward to seeing everyone in Wooster next summer as well as in Las Cruces in 2023.

New NACTA Members

NACTA had 3 new members in the last month. We hope you will join us in welcoming them!  

Renew or Become a New NACTA Member

NACTA is the largest professional development organization that focuses specifically on the scholarship of teaching and learning in agriculture, food and natural resources.

Need to renew your membership? Want to invite a colleague to join? Want to change your membership status? Visit the membership page here.

We appreciate your NACTA membership!