Cornucopia College

An imaginative design for a 'farm-to-table' micro-college.

curriculum design, design thinking

Inspirations

This project was an ideative exercise in designing an "alternative university" informed by David Staley's book Alternative Universities. In a group of four, my colleagues and I came up with a new vision of a university that would incorporate some elements of Staley's work, and build a creative, innovative model of a modern university. My group began with the idea of a "farm-to-table university" that would aim to address the entire industrialized food system and mold students into changemakers in every area of the food system, from farming to restaurants to distribution networks and food policy. Our model was thoroughly developed using a 12-item outline of different aspects of the university that we would address, including the student experience, financial model, implementation plan, instructional design elements, and the curriculum.

Our design was inspired by the "microcollege" chapter of Staley's work, meaning that our school was extremely small, accepting about 30 students per year and having a small, efficient team of faculty-administrators who would both educate and run the school. One of the defining features of our school is that it would feature a farm on campus that would help feed the students and personnel, generate income, and serve as an educational context for students to learn skills and knowledge about growing food. Another feature, inspired by Staley, was the multiple hats that both students and teachers would play in the running of the school. These tasks included administrative ones, as well as serving as both researchers and educators, chefs and cleaners, and being involved in the recruitment and marketing of the school.

Another major inspiration for the university were the model universities of Deep Springs College and Wageningen University, a microcollege in the Sierra Nevada mountains with a farm and a leading food and agricultural research university in the Netherlands, respectively.

Evaluation

The design we presented to the Foundations class was met with generally positive reviews, and aside from various details about the financial model and the pacing of the school, our colleagues and professor did not present us with any feedback that would necessitate major revision of our design. Rather, the areas of our design that could be improved in the future would likely come about if we were to present to new audiences or encounter new obstacles later in the implementation process.

The most innovative aspect of our project that I would wish to develop further is the approach that it has on the food industry as a whole while serving as a model form of wellness-centric education. As an educational vehicle, the school cares for the student in the present and future: preparing them for careers and equipping them with skills, relationships while cultivating an optimal environment for their mental and physical health. On a larger scale, the institution presents a bold challenge to the ultra-processed American food system that currently dominates. Modeling an innovative, financially viable food system on a small scale would be an important argument for a new, healthier American food industry.