Professors' knowledge of agriculture and natural resource issues on Hopi and Navajo lands: A contributing factor in Native American student recruitment and retention (Arizona)

The University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has a long history of serving the agricultural community throughout the state. Located within Arizona's boundaries are twenty-one Indian reservations whose agriculture and natural resources are of significant import to tribal communities culturally, spiritually, and economically. Declining enrollment of Native American students has prompted this study of the perceptions of faculty regarding agricultural and natural resource issues on the Navajo and Hopi reservations. Responses show a disturbing lack of awareness regarding issues important to the two reservations. There are cultural differences between the University and the tribes that are believed to have an influence on recruitment and retention rates. Thus, heightening the awareness of faculty to agricultural and natural resource concerns of the Navajo and Hopi peoples could reverse the downward trend of recruitment and retention rates of Native American students.