Designing the Future of Work
Key Insight | Yass Prize STOP Awardee ($200,000) – Semifinalist: Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools, a K–12 charter network, is expanding how students define careers in agriculture through a specialized agricultural science curriculum and an AgriSTEM Pathway Program for older students. As Deputy Director of Innovation, Wendell Scales Jr. helped position and advance a vision for developing Arkansas’s first K–12 Ag/STEM school, integrating Freight Farm design with a strong college-to-career pathway and developed in partnership with the University of Arkansas, Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food, and Life Sciences, to strengthen local and statewide workforce development.
Bumpers College's Scales Named Farm Foundation Cultivator, Gives Talk to Summer Round Table
Key Insight | Farm Foundation 2025 Cultivator – Wendell Scales, a University of Arkansas Ph.D. student in Bumpers College’s agricultural leadership program, was selected as one of eight national “Cultivators” by Farm Foundation and presented at the first Round Table meeting led entirely by Ph.D. students. Centered on “Automation for a Resilient Future for Agriculture: Technology, Tools and Trends,” Scales’ talk elevated the role of statewide partnerships and youth development in building strong AgriSTEM pathways, arguing that preparing the next generation of agricultural leaders requires intentional, early investment in people (especially first-generation and rural students), not just access to technology.
MANRRS 40 Under 40 Class
Key Insight | MANRRS announced the final honorees of its MANRRS 40 Under 40 class, celebrating leaders driving purpose-driven impact across agriculture, STEM, and natural resources. The post recognizes all 40 recipients as a collective legacy of excellence and invites the community to revisit Parts I–III and share congratulations as the celebration closes.