FOCUS ON FACULTY:
- Bill Brandau has recently accepted the Area Associate Agent (located in Graham County and also serving Greenlee County) as well as the position of Graham County Extension Director. His first day will be August 6.
BUILDING DEDICATION:
On Monday morning, June 4, the Wetstone Building, a new teaching and storage facility located at the Pima County Extension office, was dedicated. Major funding was provided by Tucson Water's Conservation Program, "SmartScape", and supporting contributions were made by other Extension programs including 4-H, Master Gardeners and Family & Consumer Science. SmartScape, a successful landscape water conservation program sponsored by Tucson Water, also took this time to recognize the valuable contribution its instructors make to the efficacy of the workshops and the overall program. University and Extension personnel honored during the event included Ursula Schuch , Libby Davison , Jack Kelly , Dave Kopec , Mary Olsen and Carl Olson . All instructors received a framed certificate of recognition and lapel pin.
WEB NEWS:
- Web Casting Presentations Available . The Web casting presentations for the Assistant/Associate Agent, Community Resource Development positions in Yavapai and Cochise counties, titled Building the Capacity of Extension Community Resource Development Programs A Five Year Plan for Success, are now available at http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/webcasts.html. Candidates are D. F. G. Williams , Erik Glen , and Mark Apel .
- Candidates for the position of Extension Specialist in Precision Agriculture will interview over the next two weeks. Dr. Pedro Andrade-Sanchez will be here June 7-8 and Dr. Kenan Diker will be here early next week, June 12-13 . Seminars from the two candidates will be given at MAC on June 7 and June 12 at 11:00 a.m. and again on campus at 11:00 a.m. on June 8 and June 13 , in Marley 230. The campus seminars will be Web cast live 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.
- Faculty & Staff Biographies . The Arizona Cooperative Extension website has a directory that provides colleagues and clientele additional information about our Extension employees. You can provide updated information by going to your name and clicking on "edit biography" (and entering the username of cals and the password of ua). Please help us keep this information timely.
- Calendar . In an effort to coordinate Extension activities and to promote multi-county projects, you are encouraged to post events on the Arizona Cooperative Extension calendar. You can easily add your county events, or check out what other counties are doing. Contact your CED or lead administrator for that information. Remember, the calendar is for public events and/or group events requiring registration but open to the public. It should not be used as an internal calendar.
HEALTHY WEIGHT 4 LIFE:
The Healthy Weight 4 Life program is a 16-week online course based on research by the UA Center for Physical Activity & Nutrition (CPAN) in partnership with the Colleges of Medicine and CALS. Recently, on a county staff conference call, Dr. Tim Lohman (Professor, Public Health/Physiology), promoted the program and offered the entire 16-week course for half price or $125. All Extension faculty and staff are encouraged to check out this program. In addition, staff have available to them a minimum of $50 and release time as outlined in the CALS Classified Staff Training Policy and up to $250 through the CALS Career Development Support Program. Extension faculty may use their professional development funds, if it conforms to their professional development plan and is approved ahead of time.
GRANT OPPORTUNITIES:
- The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation did not receive enough qualified proposals for the Water Conservation Field Services Program. Additional applications are being accepted. The current closing date is June 8, but an upcoming mod will extend this date to June 15. For more information or questions, contact Lynne Fisher, Water Conservation Coordinator at the Bureau of Reclamation (623.773.6273).
- The Water Environment Research Foundation is accepting proposals for the Long-term Study on Landscape Irrigation Using Household Graywater. Proposals are due July 31 .
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES:
- 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).