OKMULKE, Oklv. – On an episode of Mvskoke Media’s Live Wire with host Jerrad Moore, College of Muscogee Nation Land Grant Extension Services Grant Coordinator Chris Azbell (Mvskoke) explained the role he serves in for the school.
CMN is one of three institutions in the state under a land grant, which provides extension services. According to Azbell, the other two colleges are Langston University and Oklahoma State University.
“They (land grant colleges) have a mission to do research, education, and extension,” Azbell said. “Our job is to do adult education, community enhancement, take the information from research facilities and put that back into the communities.”
The land grant is funded by the National Institution of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Each institution that participates in the four-year grant must reapply when the grant ends.
Azbell said CMN wrote their grant proposal to focus on a variety of socioeconomic problems.
“The mission of our organization is to promote food sovereignty, eliminate food scarcity, eliminate food deserts, promote traditional ecological knowledge, and promote heirloom seed programs,” Azbell said.
According to Azbell, his department will be working with the Looped Square Meat Company to host a farmer’s market every Saturday starting on April 13 until October. The market will be stocked with produce grown at the college. A horticulturist will be hired to teach a course based on horticulture. Azbell claims these are just a few things the grant entails.
Retired OSUIT President Bill Path has partnered with Azbell’s extension office to help build a strategic plan for the College of Muscogee Nation to become the gold standard for tribal college extension programs across the nation. The strategic plan takes in plenty of data, including a voluntary survey that will soon be released. Azbell urges citizens to take part in the data collection efforts to help increase community involvement.
To engage with the community, Azbell also plans on publishing a monthly column to the Mvskoke Media News to inform citizens of events, share data, and update on things happening around their grant services. Azbell invites citizens to contact him if they are interested in sharing stories or if they would like to volunteer for future projects.
For more information contact cazbell@cmn.edu or call 918-549-2500.
