USDA awards science education grants

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WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- Twenty-three universities will share $3.3 million to enhance their international research and teaching capabilities, the U.S. Agriculture Department said.

Strengthening domestic and international food security is a priority for the Obama administration, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday, "and these projects will promote innovation to prepare the U.S. agriculture industry to meet the global demands of the 21st century."

The department's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service administers the funds through its competitively awarded International Science and Education Grants program, Vilsack said.

The projects will boost the curricula's international content, provide faculty a chance to work outside the United States to enhance classroom experience, promote international research partnerships, improve use and application of foreign technologies in the United States and strengthen the role that colleges and universities play in maintaining U.S. competitiveness, the department said in a news release.