Two West Virginia State University Students Selected as USDA 1890 National Scholars

8/19/2022

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Contact: Jack Bailey
(304) 766-4109
Jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
 
   
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Two West Virginia State University (WVSU) students have been selected as United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 1890 National Scholars.

Kadin Hall and William Reid were both selected as national scholars during the 2022 selection year. Hall is a sophomore from Ripley, West Virginia, majoring in Economics with an Agricultural Economics concentration. He is from a family that can claim five generations of farming in West Virginia. He hopes he can continue this tradition as well as work to help other West Virginia farmers succeed in their operations.

Reid is a senior from Irmo, South Carolina, majoring in Biology with a Plant and Soil Science option. He plans to go into wildlife biology after finishing his degree next May.

A record 125 scholars were selected from 1890 land-grant universities across the country this year, which marks the 30^th anniversary for the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program. In addition, eight scholar selections were made from 1994 land-grant universities.

The goal of the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program is to increase the number of minorities studying agriculture, food and natural resource sciences, and related disciplines. The program affords students a firm foundation and opportunities necessary to become valuable assets in the agriculture community.

All USDA 1890 national scholars are required to commit at least one year of service with the USDA for each year of financial assistance provided. The program provides full tuition, employment, employee benefits, fees, books, and room and board each year for up to four years to selected students pursing a bachelor’s degree at an 1890 land-grant university.

Both Hall and Reid are also recipients of the WVSU 1890s Scholarship, which is a separate award.

Follow West Virginia State University on Facebook, Instagram @wvsu_official, and Twitter @WVStateU.
 
About the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program
The USDA/1890 National Scholars Program was established in 1992 as part of the partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the 1890 Land-Grant Universities. The USDA/1890 National Scholars Program is implemented under the USDA Fellows Experience Program (FEP). Scholars accepted into the program are appointed using the Schedule A(r) authority (5 CFR 213.3202) and may be eligible for noncompetitive conversation to full-time employment upon graduation. Successful applicants receive a temporary appointment to the USDA, not to exceed four years. Upon successful completion of the degree requirements and the end of the agreement period, the scholar may be eligible for conversion to permanent appointment in service to USDA without further competition, using the Conversion to Career Conditional Appointment Farm Bill 2018 (5 CFR 213.3102) authority code “ZLM.”
 
West Virginia State University is a public, land-grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.