Establishing a New Graduate Program in a Multidisciplinary Campus

The Department of Horticulture, Forestry and Recreation Resources of Kansas State University launched a new horticulture M.S. specialization called Urban Food Systems (UFS) in 2011. This program has an interdisciplinary training focus with emphasis on the impact of urban food systems on the economic and community development of urban and peri-urban areas. The specialization requires 7 credits of required course work, a food production practicum, experiencing the grant process from preparation through the final report, and attendance at bi-weekly UFS cohort meetings in addition to meeting the requirements of the M.S. program. Graduates of the program are well prepared to work as director/program managers in not-for-profit organizations, city governments, and extension programs in urban districts, facilitating community gardens, urban farming, farmers’ markets, and farm-to-school programs. Recently Kansas State University opened a new campus in Olathe, KS which is in the Kansas City metropolitan area. One of the primary goals of the new campus is to bring together faculty from different disciplines and industry related to food systems and address the needs of the rapidly changing world regarding food safety and security. The UFS specialization was the first graduate program offered through the K-State Olathe campus. This paper will present an overview of the program focusing on the model of collaboration between the two campuses. Also, we are going to address the opportunities and the challenges of locating a traditional graduate program with tenure-track faculty on a campus that has expectations to serve the local residents and the greater Kansas City animal and food industries, help attract new business to the local county, provide training to the local workforce, and develop new technologies in collaboration with public and private companies.