AMES, Iowa – Antoine Alston, professor and associate dean for academic studies at North Carolina A&T State University, will present a lecture based on his new book on Sept. 27 at Iowa State University.
Alston’s lecture, “A Legacy of Excellence: The History of the New Farmers of America,” will be held at 7 p.m. in Dolezal Auditorium, room 0127 Curtiss Hall on campus. The event is free and open to the public.
The lecture will follow the historical narrative of Alston’s book, “The Legacy of the New Farmers of America,” which recounts the formation of the NFA, a national organization for Black high school farm boys. The NFA was formed in 1927 and was similar in structure to the Future Farmers of America. The two organizations merged in 1965, following the Civil Rights Act. Alston will also highlight the impact African Americans have had on agriculture as a whole.
Alston, who earned his doctoral degree in agricultural education and studies from Iowa State, has continued to transform North Carolina A&T State University’s agricultural education program during his 22 years at the institution. The university’s master’s program earned a place in the top 100 online education programs and cultivated a successful “2 + 2” undergraduate program under his guidance. Additionally, he is the first African American to receive a U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Agriculture Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award.
The lecture is co-sponsored by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Diversity Programs and the Committee on Lectures, funded by the Government of the Student Body.