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Objective 1 - Delaware State University (DSU), Cooperative Extension and Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) are housed in the James W. W. Baker, the Ulysses S. Washington, Jr. and the Baker Annex buildings, respectively. These buildings provide offices, laboratory and classroom space for research, teaching and extension faculty and staff in the DANR. The same is not true for the Department Family and Consumer Sciences (DFCS). There is a severe shortage of office, classroom and laboratory space for the DFCS faculty. The DFCS, within the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences (CARS), addresses several relevant issues pertinent to the land-grant mission of DSU. The department offers a bachelor of science degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with options in 1) Food, Nutrition and Dietetics and 2) Clothing, Textiles and Merchandising. Since 2003, the DFCS has seen an increase in undergraduate enrollments measuring over 55%. The DFCS presently is responding to increased request for services by an expanding and engaged population who see health disparities, nutrition and food safety as growth areas within the University. As a result of the increased interest in the department, there are on-going efforts to increase the number of faculty and staff to enable the University to respond adequately to these demands. Presently, the DFCS has to share classroom and laboratory space with the Department of Nursing within the College of Health and Public Policy. Due to the competition for space, this is not always conducive to teaching and learning. The proposed building will address the immediate need to increase the office, laboratory and classroom space within the CARS. The new building will provide a professional atmosphere in which departmental and University students can conduct their activities. <P>Objective 2 - There is an increased need to guarantee that all facets of the on-farm production and research are safe. There are several items needed to ensure such safety. The purchase of the new University Farm ten miles from the main campus allows the crop research program to expand. The use of these facilities present a larger area to be monitored for security purposes. The biosecurity needs of our research and demonstration programs are presently not met and attention should be given the use of chemicals and other biohazards. There is the need to render the animal production units (1) free from the incorporation of any contaminants and (2) safe from unwanted intruders. To achieve the needed security, the following will be necessary (a) additional external parameter lights (b) card-access to agriculture research areas and (c) close circuit monitoring system. There has been an increase in the number of crops being stolen from the farm in recent years. This not only compromises the results from the experiments, but also run the risk of someone or some group being in contact with tainted products.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Summary Delaware State University's (DSU) extension, research and teaching programs are embarking on several new initiatives to address the expressed needs of the stakeholders. Funding from the 1890 Facilities Grant Program (FGP), authorized under Section 1447 of the National Agricultural Research Extension and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended, will contribute significantly to Delaware State University achieving this goal. The funds provided in Year One from the FY08 Facility Grants Program combined with accumulated funds from the FY03 FGP will allow the University to construct a much needed classroom/laboratory office building to house the department of Family and Consumer Sciences' research, teaching and outreach activities. The proposed expenditures have been agreed upon by the three units involved (teaching, research and extension). The successful implementation of this proposal will foster the University's goals of enhancing its capabilities to produce trained graduates in the food and agriculture sciences. Delaware State University has requested and received permission to revise the FY03 Five-Year Plan. This request was to use funds accumulated under the FY03 Five-Year plan for an urgent initiative to construct a building to house its Family and Consumer Sciences department. This request delays the construction of the Research Outreach/Extension Multipurpose building. There is approximately $3 million available under the 2003 Facilities Grant Five-Year Plan for use in the department of Family and Consumer Sciences Classroom Office Building Construction. Approximately $1 million from the FY08 Facilities Grant Program will be used to complete the proposed classroom office building. <P>APPROACH: Objective 1 - A new classroom office/laboratory facility will be constructed to house the research, extension and teaching activities of the Family and Consumer Science department. This building will have a total of 16,000 square feet of space to be used equally by all three areas of the land-grant program within this department. The building will contain approximately twelve offices, four laboratories, one lecture theatre, four classrooms, a student lounge area and two conference rooms. The facility will be furnished with the equipment and technology to ensure scholarly research and effective learning. An oversight committee consisting of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences will be formed to access the specific needs for the new classroom office/laboratory building and establish the programmatic specifications. An architectural consultant will be selected following procedures and guidelines as outlined by the University Planning staff. This procedure includes the competitive bid process. The consultant will develop the plans and specifications to meet all programmatic needs. The construction documents will be presented to the administration for their review and approval. These documents will include the Environmental Impact Statement that will be forwarded to CSREES for approval. Upon approval, the project will be competitively bid and the successful candidate awarded the contract. Construction will begin upon award of the contract. Objective 2 - The oversight committee of faculty and staff will review what is needed to enhance the overall security in general and more specifically the biosecurity of the research facilities to include the farms. The construction of the required security system will take place following the University approval process described in the previous objectives.