It is incredible that another semester has ended, with 552 students earning their Bachelor of Science degree. I hope you will take time to read about a few of our graduates and their time at Mizzou as part of Senior Spotlight (story links below). ShowMe Mizzou featured Commencement speaker Ashley Cade, an environmental sciences graduate. Ashley encouraged graduates to let their fear guide them rather than limit them as they pursue new opportunities.  Thanks for sharing your reflections on your time in CAFNR and your advice for your classmates, Ashley!

I wanted to share a few highlights from this past academic year. Our undergraduate enrollment at 2,655 was the highest it has been in nearly a decade. We offered scholarships to 100% of eligible incoming Missouri residents, and 89% of continuing students who applied! Our retention of first-year students from fall 2022 to fall 2023 was 93.1%, an all-time CAFNR record. Our graduation rate of 80.0% is another CAFNR record, and 17% greater than state and national averages. Finally, we offered $102,000 in scholarships and financial aid to students completing an undergraduate research internship, studying abroad, or interning at an out-state Research, Extension and Education Center. We are proud of the signature learning experiences we offer in CAFNR and thank all of you who help make it great!

LATitude will take a break for the next two months and will return in August, with the same important content highlighting our students’ experiences and their achievements.

Bryan Garton
Senior Associate Dean
Director of Academic Programs

CAFNR celebrated more than 550 graduating seniors as part of Spring Commencement Saturday, May 11. We enjoyed sharing highlights from the academic experiences of five seniors as part of our Senior Spotlight. Congratulations to all of the graduates!

• Agribusiness Management: Clark Rohrbach
• Agricultural Systems Technology & Agribusiness Management: Ethan Gutz
• Animal Sciences: Sky Walton
• Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism: Zane Nichols
• Plant Sciences: Madison Holmes

Muthukaruppan is a freshman biochemistry major.

When Lindsey Swindler was adopted 21 years ago, her uncle held up a “Mizzou Class of 2024” sign at her welcome party. That same sign reemerged this weekend as Swindler walked the commencement stage at Mizzou Arena to receive her degree in dietetics from CAFNR.

Riley Cole is graduating with a degree in Environmental Sciences and will join the Peace Corps in September as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Promoter in Paraguay.

• CAFNR student, Allison Vernon, has won the 2024 Liminal Scholarship for her essay, “Charon’s Forgotten Humanity.”  Vernon is currently majoring in biochemistry and minoring in Spanish, with plans to study medicine in the future. The $500 Liminal Essay Scholarship is sponsored by Deuxmers Publishing and S. K. Kruse, author of the short story collection, “Tales From the Liminal.”
• Mizzou National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) team places 5th in national competition: The Mizzou NAMA team qualified for the final round of the student marketing competition at the 2024 Agri-Marketing Conference held in Kansas City, April 24-26. The team is coached by Annette Kendall, professor in the Division of Applied Social Sciences, and includes Rachel Ancell (sophomore, agribusiness management), Halley Blades (senior, food science and nutrition), Lauryn Robnett (senior, agribusiness management), Teagan Engle (freshman, agricultural education), and Emma Steele (freshman, agricultural education). For the competition, student teams presented a marketing plan for a new agricultural product. This year, Mizzou’s product was Holiday Harvest, a high-oleic premium cash crop derived from field pennycress.
• The University of Missouri recently announced two CAFNR student recipients of the 2024 Award for Academic Distinction. This honor was established in 2014 by a group of students to celebrate fellow Tigers who have gone above and beyond expectations. It is one of the highest honors MU offers based on academic distinction alone. The honorees are:
  • Alyssa Fritz, a senior natural resource science and management major from Blue Springs, Missouri
  • Randi Noel, a junior plant sciences major from Butler, Missouri
• At the Division of Animal Sciences awards banquet on April 26, 10 seniors were recognized for their contributions to the department. The Top 10 Seniors were:
  • Jess Caple
  • Catriona Chew
  • Lauren Crutsinger
  • Emma Goodwin
  • Caleigh Grote – selected as Outstanding Senior
  • Carley Hopkins
  • Caitlyn Kleffner
  • Rachel Lensing
  • Bre Pace
  • Daniel Wagner