National Science Foundation awards $5M grant to MSU

The National Science Foundation has awarded a four-year $5 million grant to the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance within Missouri State University's William H. Darr School of Agriculture.

Grant funding will be used to establish VESTA, which is dedicated to grapevine cultivation and the study of wines, as a National Center of Excellence - allowing the alliance to foster economic development and sustainability of the U.S. grape and wine production industry, according to an MSU news release.

Using the grant, the VESTA National Center of Excellence would be able to partner with colleges across the country, providing education to two-year institutions and grape and wine production facilities.

“This grant is the result of the hard work by people here at MSU as well as in our partner states, and without their input, we wouldn’t be about to launch VESTA as a NSF National Center of Excellence,” said Michelle Norgren, director of the VESTA National Center of Excellence, in the release. “It will enable VESTA to expand the viticulture and enology curriculum to include wine business and entrepreneurship, provide Spanish versions of courses, provide a career pathway from technical certification to associate and baccalaureate degrees, and expand the awareness of career opportunities in this thriving alternative agricultural industry.”

VESTA, which began in 2003 through a grant from the National Science Foundation, originally had a three-state partnership with Illinois and Iowa, but a 2007 grant allowed the program to expand into 12 states.[[In-content Ad]]