Travis Park, PhD
Bio
Dr. Travis Park has served agricultural education at NC State University since 2013. He is a full professor and Program Coordinator for Agricultural Education. Dr. Park is also the National FFA Advisor, Chair of the National FFA Board of Directors, and National Director for Agricultural Education. Travis serves on numerous college, university, state, and national committees. He advises both undergraduate and graduate students.
Dr. Park was born and raised on a hay, row crop, and livestock farm in Indiana. Travis understands that working in agriculture is “pleasant as well as challenging.” Growing up in Trafalgar, Indiana, Travis was active in 4-H and FFA throughout high school and served as the 1992-93 National FFA President. Travis earned his BS and MS from Purdue University in agricultural education. While in college, he was active with FarmHouse International Fraternity, Ag Council, Ag Ambassadors, and Mortar Board. Upon graduation, he was named the 1996 G. A. Ross Award winner, which recognizes the outstanding male student in the graduating class.
After graduating from Purdue, Travis taught agriculture at Tri-County High School in Wolcott, Indiana, for 5.5 years. He married Lacy, and the couple moved to Gainesville, Florida, to enroll at the University of Florida where Travis earned his Ph.D. in 2005.
Travis and Lacy moved to Ithaca, New York, where Travis served as an associate professor in the Department of Education, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University. For eight years, Travis helped prepare outstanding teachers of agriculture for New York and the Northeast. In 2011, Travis was tenured and promoted to associate professor and director of teacher education.
Travis and his wife Lacy have three beautiful daughters. Dr. Park enjoys reading, smoking meat, backpacking, gardening, and spending time with his family.
Programs and Initiatives
- Agricultural Education B.S.
- Agricultural Science B.S.
- Developing Educational Leaders and Teachers of Agriculture (DELTA) 40-hour induction program
- Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders (IFAL) co-coordinator
- “Generating more food scientists from diverse communities and rural backgrounds through food science literacy development of secondary educators” NIFA-funded, 3-year grant
- “Cultivating a Community for Rural Agricultural Leaders: Rurally-Engaged Agricultural Leaders (REAL)” funded grant program
- Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources teacher professional development
Primary Teaching Responsibilities
- AEE 426: Methods of Teaching Agriculture
- AEE 427: Student Teaching in Agriculture
- AEHS 500: Agricultural Education, Schools & Society
- AEHS 595: Survey Design and Data Collection
- AEHS 641: Practicum in Agricultural Education
Contributing Websites
Professional Honors/Offices/Recognitions
- 2022 – Outstanding Post-Secondary Program, Region V, NAAE
- 2014-Present – NC Teach Ag, Coordinator
- 2020 – National Council for Agricultural Education, President,
- 2017-2020 – National Council for Agricultural Education, President 2020
- 2018-2020 – ESCOP Social Sciences Subcommittee, Chair
- 2019-2020 – AAAE, Southern Region Vice-President
- 2019 – American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) Fellow
- 2019 – Distinguished Teacher Award, AAAE-Southern Region
- 2015-2019 – NC Ag Ed DELTA, Coordinator
- 2018 – Outstanding Teaching Award, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at NC State University
- 2018 – Outstanding Presentation, ACTER Research Conference
- 2018 – Academy of Outstanding Teachers, NC State University
- 2018 – National Teach Ag Champion, National Council for Agricultural Education
- 2018 – Outstanding Dissertation by Dr. Kevin Curry (Dr. Park, major advisor), AAAE
- 2014-2018 – Editor, Career and Technical Education Research
- 2017 – CALS NACTA Teaching Award of Merit
- 2017 – Outstanding Presentation, ACTER Research Conference
- 2014-2017 – CALS Teaching and Advising Committee, Chair
- 2017 – Honorary State FFA Degree, North Carolina FFA Association
- 2016 – Outstanding Journal Manuscript, Career &Technical Education Research, Vol 41
- 2009 – NAAE, Outstanding Cooperation Award
- 2002 – Outstanding Agricultural Educator, Indiana Association of Agricultural Educators
- 2001 – NAAE, Outstanding Agriculture Program
- 2001 – Outstanding Agricultural Educator, Indiana Association of Agricultural Educators
- 1992-1993 – National FFA President
Selected Publications and Presentations
- Reilly, K., Stevenson, K., Warner, W. J., Park, T. D., Knollenburg, W., Lawson, D., Brune Arita, S., & Barbieri, C. (2022). Agricultural and environmental education: A call for meaningful collaboration. Environmental Education Research, DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2022.2040431
- Rayfield, J., Smith, K., Park, T., & Croom, D. B. (2023). Principles of agricultural, food, and natural resources, 2nd Ed. Chicago, IL: Goodheart-Willcox Publisher. ISBN: 978-1-63776-096-3. Available at https://www.g-w.com/principles-agriculture-food-natural-resources-2023.
- Andreatta, R., & Park, T. D. (2022, February). Relationship between enrollments in land-grant agricultural education majors by year and state participation in the Teach Ag STAR program. American Association for Agricultural Education-Southern Region, New Orleans, LA.
- Spence, A., & Park, T. D. (2022, February). Defining work-life balance of work-linked spouses in agricultural and extension education: A pilot study in qualitative content analysis. American Association for Agricultural Education-Southern Region, New Orleans, LA.
- Stevenson, C., Luck, P., Currens, S., & Park, T. D. (2022, February). Food science fellows. American Association for Agricultural Education-Southern Region, New Orleans, LA.
- Jones, S. L., Warner, W. J., Park, T. D., & Kirby, B. M. (2021). The community college experiences of students in a baccalaureate access program in a college of agriculture. NACTA Journal. Retrieved from https://www.nactateachers.org/attachments/article/3127/2021-0353%20FINAL.pdf.
- Park, T., & Berescik, T. (2021). Natural resources systems. Chicago, IL: Goodheart-Willcox Publisher. ISBN: 978-1-64564-0156. Available at https://www.g-w.com/natural-resources-systems-2021.
- Warner, W. J., Park, T. D., & Morgan, J. (2021, December). Sometimes it is a circus – Managing all the performers in an ag ed program. National Association of Agricultural Educators, New Orleans, LA.
- Roberts, R., Triani, H. Q., Yopp, A., Park, T. D., & Osborne, E. W. (2021, May). A national review of state standards relevant to teacher performance and program quality. American Association for Agricultural Education, Virtual conference. Available at http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/National/2021meeting/ThursdaySoft-skillsStandards.pdf
- Beseli, A., & Park, T. D. (2020, June). University professors’ content and delivery to develop an understanding of climate change. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Las Cruces, NM. Available at https://julnet.swoogo.com/nacta2020/Orals?i=aV0DmE-5LwCUiHaDYs5plxpJdBqqQbZX
Education
BS Agricultural Education, Endorsement: Biological Sciences Purdue University
MS Agricultural Education Purdue University
PhD Agricultural Education, Teaching and Learning University of Florida
Area(s) of Expertise
- Agricultural Education
- Reading Literacy
- Agriculture Awareness
- Assessment in Teacher Preparation (edTPA)
Grants
Food science is a high-need college major. Food scientists are in high demand in rural NC counties. Very few North Carolina high school teachers teach food science. This project will recruit secondary education "food science teaching fellows," and provide them with an integrated professional development experience that features (1) certification to teach the CASE Food Science and Safety curriculum; (2) job shadowing/experiential learning at food companies in their local areas; and (3) a leadership development program (Kenan Fellows) that involves publishing open education resources that stimulate students' decisions to pursue careers in food science.
The agricultural education faculty in the Agricultural and Human Sciences Department in CALS will provide a 10-day, intensive Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) Institute training for North Carolina agriculture teachers. CASE is an inquiry-based, STEM-oriented agriculture curriculum modeled on the pre-engineering curriculum Project Lead the Way. The CASE vision is ���to enhance the rigor and relevance of agriculture, food, and natural resources subject matter��� CASE provides purposeful enhancement of science, mathematics, and English language understanding.��� The training enables high school agriculture teachers to implement the CASE curriculum in their high school agriculture classrooms. Tasks enabled by this grant include the purchase of laboratory materials and teacher support for initial phases of the CASE Institute. CASE will benefit agriculture teachers and students, and it has the potential of boosting college agriculture enrollments. In other states, CASE has increased both preparation of agriculture students for and enrollments in high-need agriculture majors.
Through the NC Agricultural Foundation, the grant "Engaging and Educating Agricultural Educators" will provide opportunities for Agricultural Extension and Education students to gain real-world context and experiences, contributing to their preparation for future careers as extension agents or agriculture teachers. Immersive experiences to farms and agricultural industries will allow students to connect content knowledge with real���������world opportunities and perspectives that can be integrated in extension programming and curriculum development. These experiences will take place during the following sessions: fall break and summer. These immersive visits will showcase the diversity that is found within North Carolina agriculture by sessions being held in different parts of the state. Following each session, students will be required to prepare two lesson plans based on their trips. These plans will then be distributed to teachers and agents within the state to use within their classes and programs.
The purpose of the CASE Institute for North Carolina agriculture teachers is to ����������������to enhance the rigor and relevance of agriculture, food, and natural resources subject matter��������������� CASE provides purposeful enhancement of science, mathematics, and English language understanding.��������������� CASE was developed in 2009 as a special project of the National Council for Agricultural Education. In 2019, 30 CASE Institutes will be delivered in 20 states and enroll approximately 600 agriculture teachers across the nation. In summer 2018, 38 NC agriculture teachers indicated interest in the CASE Institute. CASE is founded on scientific inquiry. Concepts are taught using activity-, project-, and problem-base instructional strategies. CASE ensures quality teaching by providing extensive professional development for teachers that leads to certification. Teachers actually participate in all aspects of the curriculum in the 10-day, residential, intensive institute (teacher professional development), which will be held in CALS at NC State. CASE curriculum is designed to promote common understanding of agricultural concepts by all CASE students. By providing instruction based on common concepts, national assessments of agricultural education programs are implemented in valid, reliable, and meaningful ways. The projects goals and objectives are to deliver a CASE Institute professional development for North Carolina agriculture teaches so that they can enhance their delivery of robust, inquiry-based, STEM-oriented agriculture, food, and natural resources curriculum. By delivering CASE across the state with 20 North Carolina agriculture teachers the curriculum may impact as many as 1600 high school students annually.
Groups
News
- AEE Faculty Members Publish Research on Meaningful Collaboration between Agricultural Education and Environmental Education Frameworks
- Inspiring the Agriculture Teachers of Tomorrow: Meet Travis Park
- AEE Faculty Members Publish Research on Students within an Agriculture Baccalaureate Access Program
- Dr. Travis Park Recognized as a National Teach Ag Champion