Politico: USDA reinstates fellowship for faculty at Hispanic-serving institutions
By Samuel Benson
The Agriculture Department reopened applications for a diversity-focused fellowship Friday, two weeks after it was suspended amid a purge of diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government.
The deadline to apply to the E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program — which aims to bolster collaboration between faculty and staff at Hispanic-serving institutions and USDA — is now March 19.
USDA paused the program in late February along with the 1890 National Scholars Program, which offers scholarships to students at land-grant historically Black colleges or universities, for further review. At the time, a USDA spokesperson said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins would evaluate the diversity programs “to ensure the most efficient use of taxpayer resources.”
The 1890 scholarship program was reinstated less than a week later.
On Thursday, a group of 13 Democratic senators — led by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Hispanic-Serving Institutions Caucus, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry — wrote a letter to Rollins, requesting the E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program be “immediately” reinstated.
“The EKDLG Fellowship Program is non-partisan and supports increasing the professional development, workforce development, and exposure opportunities for faculty, staff, and students nationwide,” the senators wrote. “The Department’s decision to suspend EKDLG Fellowship Program threatens the U.S. agricultural workforce pipeline and the opportunities this program provides educators and students nationwide.”
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