FARM FOUNDATION AWARD (by Steven Crofts):
Since Jim is in Arkansas on a Farm Foundation-funded trip, I am reporting that he is one of two agricultural leaders who was recognized yesterday by the Farm Foundation for excellence in education and public service. Jim received the 2006 James R. Hildreth Award during a luncheon on September 18 as a part of the 2006 National Public Policy Education Conference in Fayetteville, Arkansas, September 17-20. The Hildreth Award recognizes individuals who over their career have demonstrated excellence in scholarship and public service through public policy education programs, been a mentor to and supported colleagues working on public issues, and maintained consistently high ethical standards. The award recognizes individuals who followed Jim's example as policy educators, devoting their careers to helping public and private decision-makers better understand public issues, policy alternatives and the potential consequences of different courses of action. Since 1989, Jim has served as our director, as Associate Dean of CALS, as a professor of agriculture and resource economics, and most recently became Associate Vice President of Outreach. Congratulations, Jim.
AREA/REGIONAL SPECIALIST INFORMATION:
For updated information on the process to be appointed as an area and/or regional specialist, see our Policy and Procedure Manual at http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/employee/pandp/ . Click on the red "search" bar and you can find what you're looking for!
CALS COPY CENTER UPDATE:
CALS Administration recently announced that the CALS Copy Center will be phased out between May 1-July 1, 2007 (that is, multi-year contracts will be ending). This will affect several college-managed copiers, including several in our county Extension offices (Apache, Cochise, Gila-Payson, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Santa Cruz, Yavapai-Prescott/Cottonwood). The college will not be leasing/purchasing new copiers to replace these copiers and affected units and users should start looking at alternatives and negotiating their own deals for replacements. The university now has document processing alliances with Xerox and HP/IKON (see http://pacs.arizona.edu/purch/manual/man4.html#Alliance for the policy and for contact information). All arrangements for the removal of a CALS Copy Center copier must be routed through CALS Admin Services for pre-approval and questions can be directed to Sandy Pottinger (520.621.1468) in CALS Admin Services.
AGROTERRORISM TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES:
The Western Institute for Food Safety and Security (WIFSS) at the University of California, Davis is developing and delivering training for local frontline response teams to strengthen their capability to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from agroterrorism events or other major disasters in the food systems in their communities. The WIFSS will present the first two courses of the training curriculum:
- Course 1 - "Understanding the Dangers of Agroterrorism", Rio Rico: October 19 , Esplendor Resort at Rio Rico. To register, go to: http://pub.hs.state.az.us/agroterror/registration/m_form1.cfm .
- Course 2 - "Principles of Preparedness for Agroterrorism and Food Systems Disasters", presented at two locations: 1) Yuma - October 17 , Yuma Civic Center; and 2) Phoenix - November 1st , ASU Downtown Center. To register, go to: http://pub.hs.state.az.us/agroterror2/registration/m_form1.cfm .
The training will focus on existing local emergency teams and others who must respond to an agroterrorism event in a coordinated manner with state and federal antiterrorism teams. Participants will include public health, environmental health, police, fire, agricultural industry, veterinarians, emergency service representatives, etc. Participants will be engaged in discussion at multiple steps in a scenario.
Questions about the training courses can be directed to Brigitte Dufour (602.364.3130).
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES:
The UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Department of Nutritional Sciences, the Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition and Gatorade Sports Science Institute are pleased to present the 2006 Nutrition for Fitness & Sport Conference. This one-day event is taking place on Friday, October 6 at the Health Sciences Center on the UA campus. Participants will learn the latest in nutritional sport science and how to apply this information to enhance personal fitness, health, and athletic performance. Although this conference is geared toward health professionals, the content is appropriate for athletes, casual exercisers, or people interested in improving their health, managing their weight, and increasing energy levels. For more information and online registration, visit the Sports Nutrition Conference website or call the conference coordinator, Melanie Hingle (520.621.9344).