Clark State is one of the only community colleges in the region to offer two-year agriculture programs, and it’s making an effort to emphasize a collaborative approach for students.
That includes helping to create the Community College Alliance for Agriculture Advancement program or C2A3.
C2A3 is a national network of two-year colleges strengthening agricultural education through research, shared curriculum and professional development.
"It started as a greater Midwest organization of community colleges linked together to kind of work on common problems. It's now become national as it's grown," said Adam Parillo, dean for the School of Business and Applied Technologies at Clark State.
Parrillo said having that connectivity to other educational programs and ag communities is vital to growing as an individual in the industry.
“I like to think that people in those interconnections are an extension of our own consciousness in ways to kind of expand who we are and what we can be," he said.
To expand this effort beyond the U.S., students at Clark State met with the Fulbright Scholar, Kigbajah Coulibaly from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
"His specialty in agriculture and agronomics really connects with what we do at this institution in some ways, which was exciting to have him here," Parillo said.
The Fulbright Program is an international program, investing in global peace, prosperity and safety through educational and cultural exchange. It competitively selects students, scholars, educators and more to receive grants or scholarships that support research, education and cultural exchange.
Parillo said Clark State reached out to Coulibaly with a proposal to speak with students, working to meet the parameters for a Fulbright scholar visit.
"They have to do a presentation on the Fulbrights Scholar program itself, they do a representation on their research or teaching and then there has to be cultural exchange activities," he said. "So he did some touring of some different sites around our region."
Coulibaly's presentations at the community college covered his own Fulbright experience and his research into cocoa production in Cote d’Ivoire.
Parillo said he also encouraged students to put themselves out there and push past their own self-doubt to advance in their careers.
"It was one of those things that you want to put out to students all the time. That your story's not written yet, and as long as you keep moving forward into experiences, you will write that story," said Parillo. "But if you just stay stagnant, you sit around and doubt what you can do, that story won't be written."
Parillo said there are opportunities through the program for students to travel the world and learn more about their desired career paths while engaging in vital, cultural exchange.
"Having that cross-pollination really helps folks understand how they are similar to each other, not only in terms of people being people in some ways, but also their career fields or industries," he said. "But also those differences that set us apart in those opportunities to kind of work with each other but also. Set yourself apart from what other people are doing."
Parillo said bringing Coulibaly to campus shows how Clark State is encouraging students to view agriculture as a “global community.”
“That's what really helps create a broader ecosystem, is what we do on this campus isn't necessarily contained within this campus," he said. "With all the feathering partnerships that we need to have in today's higher ed environment.”
According to Parillo, Clark State saw a brief lull in ag program interest after the pandemic but those numbers have stabilized in recent years.
Enrollment across the board is up 10% from the 2024-2025 school year at Clark State, seeing another 1% increase in the Spring 2026 semester alone.
"We expect that to ramp up even more as agriculture, food production, food processing, all those areas become a very high need," he said. "You can imagine as we work with our industry partners, especially in technology areas, there's a lot of need out there. And so Ag fits into that."
Current agriculture programs at the community college include agricultural business, horticulture industry and precision agriculture.
"With that focus on skill sets that translate directly into jobs and careers, that's where we play a really important role," said Parillo.
