The Agriculture program is growing into a new semester with an award winning program coordinator.
Andrew McCain, the program’s coordinator, is the recipient of the 2020-21 Adjunct Faculty Award.
“It was a great surprise and honor, and it really hit home with what I’ve been working toward with my students,” McCain said.
He said he never found out which of his students nominated him, but has a few guesses.
“Andy has been a wonderful addition to the team at MCCC. He has taken the agriculture program from ground zero to unimagined heights,” said Dr. Paul Knollman, recently retired dean of the college’s Business Division, in a press release.
The Agriculture program operates under a partnership with Michigan State University’s Institute of Agricultural Technology.
“As an alumni of both, it’s a great honor to be coordinator and work in my hometown,” McCain said.
MCCC’s agriculture program has entered its fifth year, with McCain being at the forefront since the beginning.
“The community support has allowed us to succeed and is why the program is where it is today. We’re grateful for the support of anything and everything associated with agriculture,” McCain said.
Through the Agriculture program, students are able to get two different types of degrees, McCain said.
The first is an associate in Agriculture, which is hands-on, McCain said.
The second is an associate in Agriculture business, which focuses on marketing, McCain said. It was added this year.
Agriculture student Nathan Waller said having McCain as a professor has been rewarding.
“He’s been really helpful, it’s really easy to figure out what I’m doing with him as a professor,” Waller said.
Many of the students within the program are also members of the Agriculture Club, where students connecting with the local agriculture business is their main goal.
“Along with the Ag club, we try to stay in touch with the needs of the community,” McCain said.
Agriculture is one of the more technologically advanced industries there are, within the use of drones and driverless tractors, McCain said.
For more information on MCCC’s agriculture program, contact Andrew McCain via email at amccain@monroeccc.edu.
