TUESDAY MORNING NOTES - August 30, 2011

[Kirk Astroth]

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

Tuesday Morning Notes 

August 30, 2011

 

 

FOCUS ON STAFF:

 

Last Tuesday, August 23, we announced the 2011 Extension Staff Person of the
Year - Dotty Spears.  Much to Dotty's surprise, she was joined by her family
and coworkers at the dinner and presentation associated with a recent
UAccess staff training event.  Dotty has been with Extension for over 21
years and is a Program Coordinator, Senior with FCS/SNAP-ED in the Maricopa
County office.  Congratulations, Dotty, on a well-deserved honor.

 

CHALLENGING TIMES BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE ONES:

 

As you probably know by now, once again the University is mandating budget
cuts to all units due to decreasing state funding.  We are fortunate this
time that the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences has been able to offset
the impact of the cuts by absorbing a substantial amount ($1M) centrally.
Still, all units, including ours, can expect budget cuts of something around
2.2%.  Despite how demoralizing this might seem, remember that you work for
a great institution--one of the top universities in the nation.  University
of Arizona Cooperative Extension is also a leader because of the quality of
our people and the programs to which they give leadership.  We all can be
proud of our work and the value we provide to the people of Arizona.  You
and your colleagues are our most valuable assets and you should never lose
sight of that.  We will get through this round of budget cuts.  With
extramural funding of $23M, greater attention to cost-recovery, partnerships
with AmeriCorps and VISTA, and other strategies, we can weather this
reduction.  I know we all look forward to a time when we can build our ranks
and expand our resources.

 

USDA/NIFA ONE-LINE FUNDING PROPOSAL:

 

Over the past several months, there have been discussions at the national
level about how to preserve Extension's formula funds for capacity-building
and infrastructure programs in light of an increasing move towards
competitive funding.  The Board of Agriculture Assembly and the Committee on
Legislation and Policy (CLP) has been asked to consider a "one-line funding"
process for USDA-NIFA programs.  The purpose of submitting a one-line
funding request to Congress for NIFA is to allow NIFA to make funding
decisions based on system priorities.  In addition, the purpose of "single
line funding" is to provide downside protection and potential upside growth
for the NIFA program that supports the land-grant system's
infrastructure/capacity.  In essence, Congress would appropriate a single
amount for all NIFA programs and the total would be distributed
automatically in one of two ways depending upon whether the final
appropriation was larger or smaller than a specified base year.  These
discussions are ongoing and directors have been asked to provide input to
this proposal.  I believe this is a positive direction and would help
preserve our formula funds on which we rely for supporting operations and
personnel.

 

ARIZONA 4-H CAMP & OUTDOOR LEARNING CENTER:

 

As many of you know, we are deeply engaged in a number of conversations to
try and arrange the purchase of the Mingus Springs Camp east of Prescott for
a statewide Arizona 4-H Camp & Outdoor Learning Center.  We are reaching
some critical milestones and will need to have the support of every county
in trying to bring this 30+ year idea of a statewide facility to fruition.
This camp will be a statewide resource for all of us--not just 4-H.  Like
our recent all-association meeting in June, this facility can be used for
professional development retreats, planning meetings, and conferences.  If
we are to be successful in purchasing and maintaining this facility, all
counties will be expected to help with fundraising.  A camp advisory
committee has been assembled to give oversight to the camp and includes
agents from several program areas.  They will be sending out information
soon about how each county can contribute to supporting the camp.  Please
assist them with their efforts.

 

NEW ARIZONA 4-H LOGO:

 

Description: AZ_State_4H-logo_GreenSmAfter months of work, Arizona 4-H has
developed a new logo that specifically recognizes our uniqueness as a state.
The desire to have our own logo arose from our strategic planning session in
the summer of 2008.  We have placed many versions of this logo on the
Arizona 4-H website under Employee Resources.  Feel free to use it as
appropriate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kirk A. Astroth
Interim Associate Dean and Director
Arizona Cooperative Extension
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
PO Box 210036
Tucson, AZ  85721-0036
520.621.7205
520.621.1314 (fax)

 

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