Uncle Sam's Grad School

Did you know that the Department of Agriculture, USDA, runs a grad school?

I don't remember where I first found out about this but it drives my friend Turk crazy. And I have to say that I agree with him. I'm not sure how or why USDA thinks operating a grad school is falls within the mission of the department.

I was reminded of the school when I attended the National Conference for State Legislators in Boston earlier this month. The USDA Grad School had a booth in the exhibit hall and were handing out trinkets and trash to all those who stopped by for a conversation.

The school says it is self-sustaining. I assume that means they don't get a direct appropriation from Congress but a quick look at their board of directors and they are almost all Federal Government employees.

What does the school teach? Well, here's a list of the classes they pimp on their website.

Federal Appropriations Law, Clear Writing Through Critical Thinking, Introduction to Supervision, Pre-retirement Planning, Project Management for IT Professionals, Contracting Basics for COTRs, Paralegal Studies, Project Management, Information Technology, Introduction to Photography, Travel Writing, Personal Finance, Effective Business Writing, Intensive Spanish, and Intermediate Accounting.

Here's what I want to know. Just how important is "travel writing" to running a farm? I mean, this is the USDA that is running the grad school. My assumption is that the classes might have an agriculture hook to keep things relevant.

Don't feel bad if you live outside of DC and want to take a class. This must be the world's largest grad school. They've got an opportunity for everyone no matter what state you live in. I checked on Colorado and there are 56 courses scheduled to be offered in Denver in the next 12 months. None of them, not a single one, has anything to do with Agriculture.

Maybe USDA should focus on things like the security of our food supply instead of trying to run a grad school.