Tuesday Morning Notes

November 5, 2002


Critical cuts by state government to the UA of up to 19% have forced all components of the university to make major cuts of programs, departments, and schools. A virtual freeze on all hiring will exist for several years or until the state restores some monies. In order to maintain our commitment to clientele throughout Arizona and to preserve and enhance the quality and focus of such programs, an expanded fee structure will be implemented on all Master Educator, Volunteer and Advisor Programs and the more intensive Youth Development programs conducted by Cooperative Extension effective July 1, 2003. Scholarships will need to be available to those who cannot afford the fee. Fees will be consistent across the state and applied equally in all counties. All programs will follow the Arizona Cooperative Extension COST RECOVERY AND FEE GUIDELINES (adopted November 1998, revised in November 2002, see Appendix Z at http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/employee/pandp/.) We are working on the logistics of these fees and seek your input. Every effort will be made to encourage people from all walks of life to continue participation despite these necessary efforts for cost recovery. We are still the people's university. All monies generated from these increases will be used to support Cooperative Extension programs in counties and Ag. Centers.

I am pleased to announce that Credit Counselors of America (CCOA) has made a $10 million endowment pledge ($1 million annually over 10 years) to the Southwest Retail Center for Education and Research (SRCER), currently directed by Melinda Burke, in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences. This endowment is made possible to establish the Take Charge America (TCA) Institute for Consumer Finance Education and Research within the Retail Center with the mission of providing research-based consumer finance education and outreach programs to students and the general population. The TCA Institute has four specific goals: (1) reaching out to UA student population through Tier I general education (regarding consumer finance); (2) educating K-12 and other college students through the CreditWise Cats program by Students in Free Enterprise; (3) reaching out to children, families and the community through the Arizona Cooperative Extension programs, and finally (4) conducting research and disseminating research outcomes to the training professionals around the country. Over 2 million is committed to a county based endowment for program delivery. The endowment will also partly fund an endowed chair (Professor and Extension Specialist) position, who will deliver a general education course (with an outreach goal) on campus and who will oversee the overall direction and functions of the TCA Institute. Needless to say, this endowment will have a substantial impact on Cooperative Extension county programs over time as the funds are being accumulated. I trust that the endowed chair, upon being hired, along with Melinda Burke, Soyeon Shim, and Deborah Young, will work closely with you to develop a short- and long-term strategy to make a maximum impact on county's consumer financial programs. Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact Melinda Burke (mburke@cals.arizona.edu), Soyeon Shim (shim@cals.arizona.edu) or myself (jimc@cals.arizona.edu). Our thanks to Soyeon Shim and her team on securing this funding.

Grant Proposals: University of Arizona Water, Economic Development, and Sustainability Program (WEDSP) is accepting proposals for grants under the Technology and Research Initiative Fund (TRIF) also known as Prop 301 funds administered by the Arizona Board of Regents (Regents). TRIF funding to the WEDSP is to support UA research, education and outreach in water-related areas of importance to the state. One million dollars ($1,000,000) will be available for this grant program in FY 2003. This grants program is open to faculty and staff at the University of Arizona. The Request for Proposals can be obtained from the Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) web site, http://www.cals.arizona.edu/AZWATER/pdfs/WEDSP_RFP.pdf Pre-proposals are due by December 3, 2002. The WRRC is collaborating with the Water Quality Center (WQC), the Center for Sustainability of Semi-arid Hydrology (SAHRA) and the Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing (ERC) to deliver this program. Links to these centers may be found on the web site listed above. An information session will be held Thursday November 7th at 3:30 pm in room 230 Marley auditorium. For information contact Jackie Moxley, (520) 792-9591 x17, jmoxley@cals.arizona.edu





James A. Christenson, Ph.D.
(jimc@cals.arizona.edu)
Associate Dean and Director
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Forbes, Room 301
Tucson, Arizona 85721
520/621-7205
520/621-1314 FAX