The North Carolina A&T State University community will celebrate the institution’s 123rd anniversary at the annual Founders’ Day Convocation Thursday, March 20, at 10 a.m. in the Richard B. Harrison Auditorium.

Participation is required for members of the faculty, who should wear their academic regalia (contact Cynthia Beasley or Constance Jackson at University Bookstore by March 8 to rent regalia). The lineup will begin at 9:30 a.m., and the processional will begin at 9:45 a.m.

Seven alumni will receive an Alumni Achievement Award for significant contributions they have made to the growth and development of the university.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Col. R. Bruce Monroe, senior materiel leader of the International Division, Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Monroe leads a division charged with providing security assistance to international partners via Foreign Military Sales (FMS). His portfolio includes international agreements to acquire and sustain aerospace capabilities valuing over $77 billion for over 86 countries worldwide.

Monroe is a 1990 graduate of North Carolina A&T State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. He has master’s degrees in business management and military operational art and science from Troy State University and Air Command and Staff College (Maxwell AFB), respectively., and has attended Squadron Officer School (Maxwell AFB) and Air War College (correspondence).

His career has included a wide variety of system acquisition, security assistance and cooperative development programs at Wright-Patterson AFB, FMS officer in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, military assistant to the Deputy Missile Defense Agency and F-35 program manager for Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.

Monroe’s Headquarters Air Force staff assignments include chief of acquisition workforce policy and chief of trainer acquisition branch in the Global Reach Capabilities Directorate. He has also led the Air Force Security Assistance Office Team in Baghdad for the Multinational Transition Command-Iraq supporting OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF).

Historical contributions, local foods and farming for the millennial generation are the centerpieces of the 2014 celebration of small-scale agriculture in North Carolina, sponsored annually by The Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
 
The 28th annual observance of Small Farms Week is March 23–29, and features workshops, tours, demonstrations and the announcement of the 2014 Small Farmer of the Year.
 
This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the official founding of Cooperative Extension, established nationwide in 1914 by the landmark Smith-Lever Act, congressional legislation.
 
The theme, “Innovations for the Next Generation,” is emphasized through activities that include demonstrations at N.C. A&T’s University Farm for middle-school students, the screening of a film on urban agriculture that is planned for a student audience, and a guest lecture by Robin Emmons, a young urban farmer whose concerns over food justice led her to establish and direct the organization, Sow Much Good.

A CNN Hero 2013, Emmons encourages students to think about their leadership and to use their skills to address food-system needs in African American communities. She will share what motivated her to start Sow Much Good, what she’s learned in creating an urban farm and how A&T and other universities can help communities establish access to healthy local food, employment and equal opportunities.

Small Farms Week recognizes the small-scale producers in North Carolina who generate $250,000 or less, annually, in agricultural gross sales.

Listed below are activities for the week:

Monday, March 24 - Small Farms Week Kickoff, Boone, N.C.

9:30 a.m.–noon
Boone First United Methodist Church, 471 New Market Blvd., Boone, N.C.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Manuel Reyes, professor, Biological Engineering Program, School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, N.C. A&T.

1:30 p.m.
Tours of local farms in Watauga County, Panoramic Tree Farm and Moretz Mountain Orchard and Farms in Boone, N.C.

6–8 p.m.
Urban agriculture documentary screening of “Growing Cities,” Webb Hall Auditorium, N.C. A&T

Tuesday, March 25 - N.C. A&T State University, Greensboro, N.C.

8 a.m.–noon
Discover Agriculture - Middle school students explore agriculture and agricultural careers (session full), A&T University Farm, 3136 McConnell Road

12:30–4 p.m.
Tours depart from Coltrane Hall area for Farlow Farm (Archdale, N.C.) and Smith Farm and Greenhouses (Gibsonville, N.C.)

6–8 p.m.
Urban Agriculture Presentation by Robin Emmons, founder and executive director of Sow Much Good. Academic Classroom Building Auditorium, N.C. A&T

Wednesday, March 26 - Small Farmers’ Appreciation Day and Educational Forum, N.C. A&T

9:30–11:30 a.m.
Educational/Vendor Fair and Local Foods Tasting, Academic Classroom Building Atrium

Noon–2 p.m.
Small Farmers’ Appreciation Luncheon, Alumni-Foundation Event Center (advance registration required) Keynote speaker: Dr. Ralph D. Christy, J. Thomas Clark Professor of Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise at Cornell University

For more information about events, visit www.ag.ncat.edu and click on “Cooperative Extension.”