Many members of the GW alumni community are making a difference in their own communities across the world—and Richard Hopper, CCAS BA ’85, is one of them.
Hopper, who is the president of Maine’s Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC), has taken on a new initiative to teach KVCC students through sustainable agriculture.
Hopper and KVCC are working to rebuild a farm on a 600 acre campus, which was recently acquired with a $150,000 grant from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation.
With the revamped farm, KVCC will offer a new two-year sustainable agriculture program.
The program is the first of its kind in the state, and has already filled half of about 20 slots for the upcoming semester, which begins teaching new farmers Aug. 26, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The goal of the program is to have a farm that is productive year-round and encourages a spirit of experimentation.
“A lot of this is about being an entrepreneur,” Hopper said. “There are a lot of small family farms that function very well, produce a good living and give people job security and a comfortable life.”
Hopper was brought on as Kennebec’s president in April. He is a Fulbright scholar and, in addition to his GW degree, received a doctorate in of education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Prior to joining Kennebec, Hopper was a World Bank education specialist.
For more information about Hopper and the agriculture program, read the full article in the Portland Press Herald.
