The faculty, staff, and administration of Virginia Tech offer an extraordinary educational experience for 100 of Virginia’s gifted and talented high school students in the Summer Residential Governor’s School for Agriculture (GSA).  The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences serves as the administrative unit and host College, with collaboration from and in cooperation with the College of Natural Resources, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, and Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Mission :

To develop future leaders and scientists for careers in agriculture. Concentration is placed on STEM integration within the five NIFA initiatives: global food security and hunger, climate change, sustainable energy, childhood obesity, and food safety. This mission will be accomplished through rigorous courses and activities that provide hands-on cutting-edge, scientific, and academic information.

Goals of the GSA at Virginia Tech are to:

1. Provide a rigorous agricultural educational program that will challenge gifted and talented students to study and research the scientific nature of agriculture as it relates to and affects Virginia’s largest industry, agriculture;
2. Provide structured educational discourse designed to increase the students’ ability to critically think and solve problems associated with providing safe, economical, and aesthetically pleasing food, fiber, and shelter to the world’s population.
3. Acquaint junior and senior students with scientific education and career opportunities available in agricultural economics, agricultural leadership, animal science, plant science, and veterinary medicine;
4. Promote an atmosphere of inquiry and dialogue, with an appreciation for multicultural diversity.

For more information, please see our website at https://www.alce.vt.edu/signature-programs/governors-ag-school.html, or email us at agschool@vt.edu.