As of Jan. 1, agricultural education and agricultural operations
technology have been reincorporated into the Montana State
University College of Agriculture.
"If the Board of Regents approves it, the AgEd/AOT group will be
the Division of Agricultural Education/Agricultural Operations
Technology and Greg Johnson will be the administrative director,"
says the college's Dean Sharron S. Quisenberry.
"I think the move will be transparent to the students," says
Johnson. "We want to make this transition as seamless as
possible." In the short term, no degree programs or classes will
change, though Johnson says that this move will increase
collaborative work between departments in the College of
Agriculture and AgEd/AOT.
Historically, 80 percent of students majoring in agricultural
operations technology have gone to work on Montana farms and
ranches as managers or farm hands. That option includes strong
components in both new and traditional technologies, like
geographic information systems and mechanical engineering. About
50 percent of agricultural education graduates at MSU have taken
jobs teaching high school agricultural education. Other
professions for those graduates included agricultural sales,
management or education.
"Having the agricultural education and agricultural operations
technology groups back with the College of Agriculture should
improve communication, coordination and make the program more
responsive to the needs of agriculture," says Don Kress, the
College's interim associate dean. The move was supported by the
College of Agriculture's clientele, including Montana
Stockgrowers, Montana Graingrowers, Montana Farm Bureau and the
Montana Association of Agricultural Education.
The move back to the College of Agriculture comes eight years
after the unit was moved to the MSU College of Education.
