SALEM — For Susie Nelson, the opportunity to start teaching again was too good to pass up.

Nelson, who has a doctorate in agricultural education from Oregon State University, was the first female agriculture instructor at Cascade High School in Turner, Ore., before stepping away to raise her family.

Now she is joining Corban University in Salem to help begin a new degree in agriculture science — the first such program to be offered at a Christian college west of the Rocky Mountains. Enrollment is open for the inaugural class in fall 2022.

“I thought it was the perfect fit to get back into agricultural education,” said Nelson, who will serve as the program’s director.

Growing up on her family’s farm in Idaho, Nelson has felt a lifelong connection to agriculture. She had her own herd of registered Black Angus cattle beginning in fifth grade, and was president of her high school FFA chapter in Meridian.

Nelson came to Oregon to study agriculture science and education at OSU. The Willamette Valley is perfectly situated to learn about farming and ranching, she said, producing 200-plus commodities, from grass seed and hay to fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy.

“I think agriculture in the Willamette Valley reaches so far into everybody’s everyday life, even if they don’t realize it,” she said. “We grow such a variety of products.”

Recognizing the potential for agriculture education, Corban University added a concentration in agribusiness in 2018, which school leaders hoped would plant the seeds for a full agriculture science degree in the future.

Founded in 1935 as the Phoenix Bible Institute in Arizona, the school came to Salem in 1969 as the Western Baptist Bible College before changing its name to Corban College in 2005, and finally Corban University in 2010.

Nelson said she is excited to teach students about agriculture from a Christian worldview.

“I think a lot of students like having a Christian background,” she said. “They believe God created this Earth, and they want to learn in a way that follows that belief.”

The program will combine coursework in soil science, animal science and crop science with soil health as the basis for understanding agricultural systems, Nelson said.

“The soil is the foundation to everything we do, from raising animals to raising crops and even into our greenhouse production,” she said.

Nelson said she and agribusiness professor Tim Peterson will begin recruiting students for the agriculture science program, attending FFA conventions and reaching out to high school agriculture teachers across the state.

“I’ve been in the area for 30 years. I have a connection with the agriculture teachers already,” Nelson said.

Nelson said she expects to have about 20 students in her first class. The total undergraduate enrollment at Corban was 950 students in fall 2020.

In addition to classes, Nelson said the program will be guided by an advisory committee made up of farmers and agribusiness professionals from as far as La Grande in northeast Oregon. They will provide an opportunity for students to experience all agriculture has to offer in Oregon, Nelson said.

“It’s a very personal connection we’re going to be able to have with the students, so they can experience the different types of agriculture that we have and figure out what it is they want to do when they leave here,” she said. “We’re just really excited to get this program going.”