FOCUS ON FACULTY & ADMINISTRATORS:
- Congratulations to Deborah Young who has accepted the Associate Provost & Director of Extension position at Colorado State University and will be leaving her position as Associate Director with our unit around August 1. Information about a celebration of her 23+ years at the University of Arizona will be released at a later date.
- I am pleased to announce that Jim Sprinkle was promoted to full area agent and regional specialist. Congratulations, Jim!
- At this years CYFAR conference, Ruth Carter , Dan McDonald , Brandon Moak and Jan Gibby presented on the 4-H Teen Interactive Theater Education program. This is an experiential, peer education model that uses drama to teach about risky behaviors and started as a CYFAR project in 1995 and is an example of program sustainability.
- Although we did not have the information last week, we do want to congratulate Kristine Uhlman and Phil Guertin who also received a grant from the Water Sustainability Program (FY08) funded through the Technology and Research Initiative Fund. It was for $4,985 for the San Pedro River Volunteer Monitoring, Community Watershed Alliance, Cochise County. In addition, Charles Sanchez (Soil, Water and Environmental Science) and John Chesley (Department of Geosciences, College of Science) received $12,541 for Preliminary Evaluation of Metal Contamination Sources in the Colorado River from Measurement of Lead and Uranium Isotopic Ratios.
- On May 16, 2007 CALS Diversity members Ruth Jackson and Ruth Carter , with assistance from Sharon Hoelscher Day , hosted the Diversity Leadership Alliance group. There were 150 participants from all over Maricopa County who came to hear guess speaker Laurie Beth Jones, best selling business author and consultant on her book, "The Four Elements of Success: Igniting Teams & Increasing Results."
POSITION INTERVIEWS & WEB CASTS:
The Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering and the Maricopa Agricultural Center will be interviewing candidates for the position of Extension Specialist in Precision Agriculture on June 7-8 and again on June 12-13 . Seminars for the two candidates will be given at MAC on June 7 and June 12 at 11:00 a.m. in the multipurpose room. The candidates will also be giving their seminar on campus at 11:00 a.m. on June 8 and June 13 , in Marley 230. The campus seminars will be Web cast and taped. To view the live Web cast or review the taped seminar, go to http://vas.calsvideo.arizona.edu/extension/PreAgSpec_June_2007.htm. You can submit comments to Ed Martin, committee search chair.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES:
A reminder that there are two opportunities for funding this year--working groups and statewide initiatives. All requests for funding are due to Extension Programs by Friday, May 25 at 5:00pm . All proposals will be submitted on line and are required to have a county and campus or experiment station collaboration. Funding is available from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Final decisions will be made by Extension Administration. If your team received funding last year and is resubmitting, your proposal will not be considered if you do not include the report of accomplishments. All requests for funding will use the logic model. If you have any questions about this model, consult http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/pda/logicmodel/ or Sheila Merrigan (520.626.6543). To submit a proposal, go to http://cals-cf.calsnet.arizona.edu/exact/proposals. The criteria can be found at http://ag.arizona.edu/internal/programs/statefundingcriteria2007.pdf using a different username (coa) and password (ua). For questions about funding requests, contact Patti B. (520.621.5308).
WESTERN MID-MANAGERS MEETING:
Registration for the Western Mid-Managers meeting is now available on-line at https://outreach.uwyo.edu/eventmanager/OnlineRegistration.asp?EventCode=W3L The registration fee is $175 which includes Tuesday evening dinner, Wednesday and Thursday breakfast and lunch, breaks and conference materials. If you have any questions (or problems with the Web site), contact Susan James, Federal Relations & Staff Development Coordinator, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension (307.766.3562).
NEW PUBLICATIONS CORRECTION:
The new CALS publication that we reported on last week ( Mesquite and Palo Verde Trees for the Urban Landscape ) was a joint authorship -- Ursula Schuch and Jack Kelly .
NEW REPORT:
A new report entitled A New Look at the Agricultural Community as Extension Clientele in the West is now available on line. For more information, contact Trent Teegerstrom (520.621.6245).
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES:
- Arizona Project Wet offers training in water education across the state. Workshops are FREE. Tucson workshops are scheduled for June 18 & 19 . Phoenix workshops are scheduled for June 5 & 6 and June 13 & 14 . For specific information on each workshop and to register, go to www.ag.arizona.edu/azwater/wet.
- Registration is still available for the UA Water Resources Research Centers Annual Conference - The 20th Anniversary of the Environmental Quality Act and ADEQ: Assessing and Protecting Arizonas Water Quality. The conference is being held on June 5 at the Hyatt Regency Civic Center in Phoenix. The one-day conference will feature panels on the History of the Environmental Quality Act and ADEQ, the Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF), Emerged and Emerging Contaminants, Emerging Policy Challenges, and the Future of ADEQ. Also included will be a luncheon presentation on the State of ADEQ by Director Steve Owens and insights from former directors. Registration is only $135 and you can register and view the updated agenda at http://ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/conf2007/index.html.
- The Food Safety Work Group is offering a tour/update on June 13 from 10:00am-3:00pm at the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Greenhouses. The tour will include Option for Safer Produce? with Gene A. Giacomelli ; Genotype Lab Virtual Tour and Campylobacter jejuni in Oysters/Poultry Update, Lynn Joens and John Marchello ; and an update from Chuck Gerba . Registration is free, but you MUST pre-register online at http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB226GPCGUAG2 by June 8 because space is limited. For more information or if you are interested in becoming part of the Extension Food Safety Work Group, contact Sharon Hoelscher Day (620. 470.8086).
- The joint meeting of the Association for Communications Excellence and the National Extension Technology Conference (which offers something for everybody this year with more than 140 sessions) takes place June 16-19 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Topics range from Podcasting for Virtual Instruction to Finding New Ways to Attract Students and Promoting 4-H Youth Development Using Results from the Tufts University Study. Sessions cover academic programs, research, application development and support, distance education and instructional design, marketing, publishing, diversity, leadership and management, photography, and a lot more. The conference website offers complete descriptions of each offering. Registration is filling fast, so visit http://acenetc2007.nmsu.edu/ for more information. If you have any questions, contact Susan McGinley, ACE state representative (520.621.7182).
- Join Farm Bureau Women from around the state to refresh and regenerate your life at the Women in Ag Conference, July 12-13 , at the Four Points Sheraton in Phoenix. This year's theme is Live, Love and Laugh with speakers to inspire you and fun and interactive afternoon sessions. Registration is $40 for members and $75 for non-members; special hotel rates are available. For more information or to register, contact Peggy Jo Goodfellow (480.635.3609).