Maria Navarro

Dr. Maria Navarro has worked in international development and agricultural education in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Western Asia. She completed an undergraduate degree in agricultural engineering in 1992 and then worked in the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM – IAMZ) until she moved to the US to complete her Ph.D. Since 2005 she has been on the faculty of the University of Georgia. In January 2018, she became the Associate Director of the UGA Honors Program and the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO).

Teaching Activities

Currently, Dr. Navarro teaches a course on global food security for ALEC-CAES, ALDR/AFST/LACS 3820 Reflections on Fighting Hunger (which is included in UGA Core Curriculum Area V – Social Sciences) and several courses and workshops for CURO (Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities) and the Honors Program.

Research and Professional Foci

Research in interdisciplinary education in Higher Education has addressed the following:

• Undergraduate research
• Teaching about Global Food Security
• Integrating STEM and social sciences
• Transforming higher education for a more global, socially conscious, and effective curriculum
• Faculty development

Representative samples of competitive grants with other co-PIs

• Interdisciplinary graduate research and education in sustainable food systems (USDA-NIFA-HEP, $246,000);
• Enhancing the learning experience of national needs fellows in food and nutrition for health. USDA-NIFA-HEP. $238,500.
• Teaching locally, engaging globally: Enhancing the undergraduate curriculum (USDA, $459,770);
• Empowering faculty to deliver graduate distance education courses (USDA, $138,099);
• Integrating humanistic studies into engineering education (USDA, $98,500).

Career Highlights

• 2018-Present: Associate director, UGA Honors Program and CURO (Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities);
• 2010-Present: Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication, University of Georgia (ALEC-UGA);
• 2005-2010: Assistant Professor, ALEC-UGA;
• 2004: Intern, Peace Programs, The Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia;
• 1999-2004: Part-time Instructor, ALEC-UGA;
• 1997-1999: Teaching and Research Assistant, Texas A&M University;
• 1991-1997: Coordinator, Plant Production Area, International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM - IAMZ).

Recent Awards

• 2018 Fellow, Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education;
• 2017 D.W. Brooks Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching;
• 2017 Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor;
• 2016 Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award. Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication (UGA);
• 2014 UGA Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching;
• 2012 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National New Teacher Award;
• 2011 J. Hatten Howard III Award, UGA Honors Program.

Recent Publications

Urban, E. R., Navarro, M., Borron, A. (2018). TPACK to GPACK? The examination of the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework as a model for global integration into college of agriculture classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 81-89. Doi: /doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.03.013

Urban, E., Navarro, M., & Borron, A. (2017). Long-term impacts of a faculty development program for the internationalization of curriculum in higher education. Journal of Agricultural Education, 58(3), 219-238. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.03219

Navarro, M., Foutz, T. L., Patrick Singer, K., & Thompson, S. (2016). Development of a pedagogical model to help engineering faculty design interdisciplinary curricula. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 28(2), 372-384.

Kincy, N. Fuhrman, N. E., Navarro, M., & Knauft, D. (2016). Predicting teacher likelihood to use school gardens: A case study. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 15(2), 138-149. doi: 10.1080/1533015X.2016.1164096

Romagosa, I., Navarro, M., Heath, S., & López-Francos, A. (eds.) (2015). Agricultural Higher Education in the 21st century. A global challenge in knowledge transfer to meet world demands for food security and sustainability. Zaragoza: CIHEAM. 229 pp. Options Méditerranéenes, Series A,113. ISSN: 1016-121-X – ISBN: 2-85352-551-1

Foutz, T., Patrick Singer K., Navarro, M., & Thompson, S (2015). Investigating the extent that an integrative learning module broadens the perception of first year students about the engineering profession. American Journal of Engineering Education, 6(2), 99-112. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.19030/ajee.v6i2.9505

Navarro M., Heath S. B., Lopez-Francos, A., & Romagosa, I. (2015). Report and conclusions: Agricultural Higher Education in the 21st Century. OPTIONS Méditerranéennes, Séries A(113), 5-11.

Shinn, G., Navarro M., & Briers, G. 2015). Role of quality assurance and program accreditation in supporting development of innovative agricultural curricula. OPTIONS Méditerranéennes, Séries A(113), 153-170.

Daniel, J. B., Duncan, D., Navarro, M., & Fuhrman, N. (2014). Experiential learning for Extension professionals: A cross- cultural immersion program. Journal of Extension, 52(3), 3FEA4, 16 pages [online], Available at http://www.joe.org/joe/2014june/a4.php

Paterson, A., Cox, S., Kong, W., & Navarro, M. (2013). Chapter 8: Viewpoint: Multiple-harvest sorghums toward improved food security. In C. Batello, S. Cox, L. Wade, N. Pogna, A. Bozzini, & J. Choptiany (Eds.): Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services in agricultural production: Perennial crops for food security. pp. 57-67. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.

Self, C., Morgan, A. C., Fuhrman, N. E., & Navarro, M. (2013). An evaluation of the Health Rocks program: Implications for program improvement. Journal of Drug Education, 43(1), 49-63. doi:10.2190/DE.43.1.d

Tippens, A., Ricketts, J. C., Morgan, A. C., Navarro, M., & Flanders, F. B. (2013). Retention and attrition among teachers of agriculture in Georgia. Journal of Agricultural Education, 54(4), 58-72. doi:10.5032/jae.2013.04058

Herndon, M. C., Behnke, A. O., Navarro, M., Daniel, J. B., & Storm, J. (2013, February). Needs and perceptions of Cooperative Extension educators serving Latino populations in the South. Journal of Extension, 51(1)(1FEA7), 8 pages [online]. Available at www.joe.org/joe/2013february/a7.php

Harder, A., Lamm, A., Roberts, T. G., Navarro, M., & Ricketts, J. (2012). Using a preflective activity to identify faculty beliefs prior to an international professional development experience. Journal of Agricultural Education, 53(4), 17-28. doi:10.5032/JAE.2012.04017

Navarro, M. (2011, 2013). The Millennium Development Goals and agriculture in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. In I. S. Aderibigbe & A. Ojo (Eds.), Continental Complexities: A Multidisciplinary Introduction to Africa (1st and Revised Edition). Cognella Academic Publishing. San Diego, CA.

Foutz, T. L., Navarro, M., Hill, R. B., Thompson, S. A., Miller, K., & Riddleberger, D. (2011). Using the discipline of agricultural engineering to integrate math and science. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 12(1 & 2), 24-32. Available at http://ojs.jstem.org/index.php?journal=JSTEM&page=article&op=view&path[]=1577

Dooley, K. E., Roberts, G., Navarro, M., Harder, A., Murphrey, T., Ricketts, J., & Lindner, J. (2011). Teaching locally, engaging globally to enhance the undergraduate curriculum: A social science research and evaluation perspective. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 5(5), 24-32.