Prides Corner Farms in Lebanon, Connecticut, has provided a donation to support graduate and undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR).
The donation will establish the Prides Corner Farms Graduate Scholarship and the Prides Corner Farms Student Success Fund. The funds will support students pursuing a degree in plant science, with a preference for those studying horticulture.
“I saw the clear need of graduate students who want to make the world a better place,” says Mark Sellew, the president and owner of Prides Corner Farms. “They need to have funding to get them on campus and do the work and the research that they do. That compelled me to find a way to help the University bring in more of those students.”
The Student Success Fund will also provide funding for activities that provide graduate and undergraduate students with experiences that will make them more competitive in the job market. These activities can include conducting and disseminating research, conference travel, experiential learning, and purchasing laboratory equipment.
The first cohort of students supported through these awards will be in the 2026-27 academic year.
Prides Corner’s gift was celebrated at an event on March 16.
Prides Corner and the College have had a long and productive relationship. Sellew says the two have been working together for the entirety of Prides Corner’s 46-year existence.
“It’s a long history,” Sellew says. “Really, the entire time I’ve been in business. I felt it was important to be able to give back where I saw I could help the industry that has been so good to me and UConn has been very good to me,” Sellew says.
CAHNR has helped Sellew navigate issues that have arisen over the years with plant diseases and improving growing strategies. Prides Corner has also helped bring original cultivars to consumers. These unique plants were developed in CAHNR’s plant breeding program, led by Mark Brand, professor of horticulture and plant breeding.
Prides Corner Farms also currently employs 17 UConn alumni.
“On behalf of the College and our plant science students, we are so grateful to Mark and Prides Corner Farms for their longstanding commitment to this industry and its future leaders,” says Interim Dean Kumar Venkitanarayanan. “We work best when we work together, and this is a prime example of the positive impact that collaboration has on our students and our state.”
This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Ensuring a Vibrant and Sustainable Agricultural Industry and Food Supply.
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