Tuesday Morning Notes

February 17, 2009

TUCSON CITIZEN BUDGET ARTICLE:

Last week the Tucson Citizen produced an article regarding the UA budget. It is available online (tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/109768.php). Similar articles are appearing in local newspapers and several of our County Extension Directors have done excellent jobs describing the impact of the budget cuts.

STAKEHOLDER SURVEY:

As a follow-up to the recent email about the UA Cooperative Extension 2009-2013 Strategic Planning Stakeholder Survey, Extension Administration is asking each of you, as "Extension stakeholders," to complete the survey. It is an excellent opportunity for you to have input into shaping Cooperative Extension's future programs. Then, each unit was asked to contact 5-10 key stakeholders/clientele that you work with and request that they complete this web based Strategic Planning Stakeholder Survey. The survey is part of an organization-wide strategic planning process for 2009-2013 and one aspect of this process is to carefully consider the future priorities of our Cooperative Extension educational programs, and the needs of our stakeholders/clientele, to ensure we are able to meet stakeholder/clientele needs in an effective and efficient manner. The Stakeholder Survey is short and will take only a few minutes to complete. Directions for completing are available at the Stakeholder Survey Web Site (www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Z_2bBY8H3Uoc2fJuKyOeRXHQ_3d_3d) and responses are needed by March 11. If you have questions or would like additional information, contact Ed Martin (edmartin@cals.arizona.edu, 520.621.5308), Linda Houtkooper (houtkoop@cals.arizona.edu, 520.621.5308) or Kirk Astroth (kastroth@cals.arizona.edu, 520.621.5316).

FOCUS ON FACULTY:

Congratulations to Dawn Gouge – her award-winning School IPM Program was featured in an article "The War on Bugs" in the February 11 edition of UA News (uanews.org/node/24000).

Kristine Uhlman was invited to serve as a peer reviewer on the Journal of Extension (www.joe.org/) (JOE) editorial committee. The appointment is effective March 1. Reviewers serve an initial three-year term that may be renewed for an additional three years based on their performance.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES:

eXtension offers several 30 minute professional development sessions every month covering a wide variety of topics. For example, the February offerings include: The Ask eXtension Widget, the Mentoring Series, Subversion, Drop.io, Google Analytics, and Getting Started in Second Life. These sessions are open to anyone in Cooperative Extension. You can join in these sessions at your own computer. To see the complete schedule of activities and information on how to join a session, go to about.extension.org/wiki/Schedule_of_Professional_Development_Opportunities; to view archived recordings, go to about.extension.org/wiki/Recordings_of_eXtension_Professional_Development_Sessions; and to join the eXtension Professional Development listserve go to people.extension.org/communities/learn.

NEW PUBLICATION:

How to Propagate Agaves and Cacti from Cuttings and Seed (cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1483.pdf) by Jack Kelly.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

It is not too late to register for the "Technology Training: New Web Tools for Extension" workshops on February 20 (must register by 2/18) and March 5 (must register by 2/27). There are still a few openings for each. The workshops are designed to introduce a number of web technologies that may prove useful to Extension professionals. To access the public URL for complete details, go to docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcww8prb_3ct3zhhfd.
A Collaborative Conference hosted by Project CENTRL, United Dairymen of Arizona Young Cooperators and the Arizona Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers will be held on Friday, February 27 at the ASU Polytechnic Campus. The theme for the conference is "Prospering in Arizona's New Economy" and will feature keynote speaker, Dr. Jay Lehr, economist and futurist, and Robert Shuler, attorney with Ryley, Carolock and Applewhite. Registration fee is $50. For more information, contact the CENTRL office (520.316.0909) or Karen Vanderheyden (kvander@cals.arizona.edu).
The 2009 Southwest Ag Summit will take place on March 11-12 at the Yuma Agriculture Center (with an evening reception at the Yuma Civic Center). Extension faculty making presentations are Mike Ottman, Jeff Silvertooth, Charles Sanchez, Barry Tickes, Kurt Nolte and Paul Brown. For more information and to register online, go to swagsummit.com/.
The last day for early bird registration for the UA Water Resources Research Center's Annual Conference ("Best Practices for Stakeholder Engagement in Water Resources Planning") is today — February 17. The full-day program will be held at UA Student Union Memorial Center Ballroom on Tuesday, March 17. You can register at cals.arizona.edu/azwater/. Fee waivers are available upon request thanks to the generous support of our sponsors. For more information, contact Jane Cripps (jcripps@cals.arizona.edu, 520.621.9591, ext 55).
The Controlled Environment Ag Center is hosting a Greenhouse Crop Production & Engineering Design Short Course — "Eye on Economics and Energy (E3): For the Small and the Experienced Grower" — on Sunday, April 26. Early bird registration deadline is March 2. Space is limited, so register soon to go on the optional commercial greenhouses tour at Eurofresh Farms in Willcox (a major producer of greenhouse vegetables in the U.S.). To register, go to guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?1Q,P1,3B357C08-BBD5-420C-BCFF-E0F2DDD6EAB4.

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

TMN submittal: http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/tuesday/submittal_form.html