FACULTY AND EXTENSIONIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS:
Each year we recognize both our faculty and our strong contributors to Extension programs with the Extension Faculty of the Year Award and the Extensionist of the Year Award. It is time to make a call for nominations and I strongly encourage you to submit a recommendation for the Faculty of the Year and/or the Extensionist of the Year awards. This year we will receive nominations for both 2007 and 2008 since we did not have a Faculty Conference last year. The Faculty of the Year awards will be presented at the 2008 Faculty Conference in August where the recipients will receive $1,000 and a plaque. The Extensionist of the Year awards will be presented at an appropriate college-wide event to recognize residents of the State of Arizona who have contributed time and talent, through Cooperative Extension, to citizens of their community and state. Letters of nomination from faculty and staff in Extension should state the nature and extent of the service that the individual has performed and how it has benefited the community, the state and its citizens. Please submit your nominations to the Cooperative Extension office by May 1 . Extension Faculty of the Year Award nomination forms and criteria are located at http://ag.arizona.edu/awards/extfacultyawd.html. A nomination for the Extensionist of the Year Award is located at http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/download/2007-08_Nomination_Form.pdf. If you have any questions, please contact my office (520.621.7205).
FOCUS ON FACULTY:
Sharon Megdal , director of the UAs Water Resources Research Center, has been named the first recipient of the new C.W. and Modene Neely Endowed Professorship for Excellence in Agriculture and Life Sciences. The endowed professorship honors the late C.W. Buck Neely, a prominent cotton farmer and rancher in Gilbert and his wife, Modene. A gift from the charitable foundation created in their names enables the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) to recruit or retain a distinguished scholar in an endowed professorship to further critical research, teaching and extension in areas relating to water. According to the gift agreement, the dean of CALS will award the professorship to recognize an outstanding CALS faculty member who focuses on water and related fields of study and Megdal uniquely fits the description. She holds appointments in the Departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Soil, Water and Environmental Science, and is director of the Water Sustainability program, in addition to serving as director of the UAs Water Resources Research Center (WRRC). Megdal has been a leading force and advocate in the area of water policy for many years in Arizona, says Colin Kaltenbach, CALS dean and director of the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station. The appointment as an endowed professor will allow Megdal to further her many contributions to the overall water program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
- It is a pleasure to announce that our own Dr. John Marchello has won The Henry and Phyllis Koffler Prize for Public Service/Outreach. This prestigious award is given once a year to one who has excelled in outreach and service and in the words of one of the criteria, in "providing means to create a better life for Arizonans." Dr. Marchello will be invited to present a public lecture, and will receive a medallion, a certificate and a $10,000 prize on April 16. Few people have contributed so much in so many ways to our department, college, university and state as John. Congratulations, John!
FOCUS ON PROGRAMS:
- The 15th Annual High Desert Gardening and Landscaping Conference , in conjunction with Cochise County Master Gardeners, occurred on February 15-16, in Sierra Vista. There were 172 registrants, with 22 presentations including four general sessions and 18 breakout sessions. Eighteen vendors, exhibitors and not-for-profit organizations supported the conference, along with 43 sponsors who donated door prizes. The conference addressed landscaping with native plants, food production and environmental stewardship in the high desert. Evaluations were positive with most attendees saying they will return next year. A big thanks to all the Extension personnel who made the conference such a success and the Master Gardener volunteers.
- Just under 400 people attended the 23 rd Annual Southwest Nutrition and Management Conference in Phoenix last week. Todd Bilby (our dairy specialist), Lance Baumgard, Ron Allen, Bob Kattnig and others from Animal Sciences facilitated the event. Several attendees indicated that this program had become the premiere event for the winter season. The location did not hurt attendance. Cheers to all.
CIVIL RIGHTS REPORTS PAST DUE:
The Civil Rights Annual Desk Audits that each county must complete were due February 1. Each county must complete one as a part of our plan of work and as are required by the Federal government. In addition, the Annual Affirmative Action Report ( AAP-7 ) was due at the first of the year. We have received reports from only a few counties, so please complete both of them and submit to my office. If you have any questions, contact me or Steven Crofts (520.621.7145).
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES:
- The Maricopa County Extension office is offering two Challenge Group Facilitator Training sessions for faculty and staff. The challenge program helps develop self-confidence, self-esteem and basic life skills based on highly successful experiential learning adventure based model. Youth learn to plan and set goals while taking appropriate risks to develop trust and teamwork. As a trained facilitator you will be able to teach the basics of communication, cooperation, creative problem solving and trust in an atmosphere of emotional/physical safety and FUN. The dates will be March 18-20 and April 21-23 . Go to http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/download/PortableChallengeFacilitator.pdf for more information and registration forms.
- Mark your calendars for April 1-2 for the Professional Development Workshop hosted by the Professional Development working group. The focus will be on developing teaching skills in a number of different settings. The sessions will be conducted by instructors from the University Teaching Center ( http://www.utc.arizona.edu/). Registration and more information will be available soon. For more information, contact Brent Strickland (928.669.9843).
- 2008 Arizona Dairy Day - This years Dairy Day will be held at the Caballero Dairy Farms in Eloy on Thursday, April 3 with the Dairy Day Golf Tournament being held on Friday, April 4 at Club West, Phoenix. For more information as well as registration forms, go to http://ag.arizona.edu/extension/dairy/index.html.
- In an effort to increase communication and coordination within Extension, a Water Summit is being sponsored by Cooperative Extension for the CE faculty working in the water area. We will have campus, county and ag center faculty with Extension appointments give presentations and meet to increase coordination and communication among Extension faculty to improve program delivery and efficiency. The summit is scheduled for May 1 , 9:00am-3:30pm at the UA's Swede Johnson Building, Room 205, 1111 N. Cherry in Tucson. Please mark your calendars; more information will follow.