TUESDAY MORNING NOTES - DECEMBER 17, 2013

Tue Dec 17 13:48:21 MST 2013

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

Tuesday Morning Notes 

December 17, 2013

FROM THE DIRECTOR - Happy Holidays:

"Hey, isn't that mistletoe?"

The winter solstice has always been an important and significant time in the
Silvertooth Clan.  Working in agriculture as I have for about 50 years now,
this is also commonly a period marking the end of a cropping season.  In
university life, as we move into the latter days of the fall semester we are
reminded of the transitions this time of year brings.  The end of a calendar
year also provides an opportunity to stop, reflect, and reassess our
progress to date and to formulate plans for the next year.  It has been a
busy and very productive year for Cooperative Extension (CE) and all of the
College of Agriculture and Life Science (CALS).  Hopefully all of you have
been able to realize many of your goals and objectives in 2013 and can enjoy
a sense of accomplishment.  

In my view, one of the best features of this time of year is with the
holidays.  This is a season when we traditionally set aside time to spend
with our families and friends.  In many cases, our institutions, such as the
university, accommodate this season with a closure period when most offices,
programs, and functions are shut down.  The UA closure this year is 24
December 2013 to 2 January 2014.  

I encourage everyone to be sure to take some good time to enjoy friends,
family, and a period of relaxation.  People in CE and across all of areas
CALS work hard and direct productive programs.  We are very appreciative of
the hard work and dedication provided by all of the faculty, staff, and
students in CALS and CE, and I want to sincerely wish everyone a very Happy
Holidays!

FOCUS ON PROGRAMS:

NRA Provides Support for Shooting Sports at Camp - More great news related
to support of the James 4-H Camp.  Thanks to a proposal spearheaded by Matt
Baller, an Arizona 4-H Youth Foundation board member, the NRA State Fund
Committee voted to support our proposal to receive funding and/or equipment
in the amount of $11,576.27 to support shooting sports education at the
camp.  This means James 4-H Camp will have resources for two shooting sports
disciplines at the Camp:  Archery (bows, arrows, quivers, 3d targets, etc.)
and air rifle (including a state of art target receiver kit that collects
all dispensed pellets).  We also have 2 safes and cases for all air rifles.
We want to thank Curt Peters, Susan Pater and Eric Larson for assisting with
and getting support letters for this proposal to seal the deal while Kirk
Astroth was on vacation in August.  [Submitted by Kirk Astroth]

Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust Awards Arizona Project WET $150,000
Grant - Arizona Project WET (APW) was recently awarded a $150,000 grant from
the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust to support the Water Investigations
Program (WIP) in the Phoenix Valley.  WIP efforts refine students' critical
and creative thinking skills and environmental education during a year of
inquiry into water resources and supply, water use and water in natural
systems.  WIP also assists teachers in transforming their instructional
practices through the integration of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics) disciplines.  Learn more about Project WET and WIP at the
Arizona Project Wet website <http://arizonawet.arizona.edu/> .  [Submitted
by Jessica Schlievert]

Annual Statewide EFNEP/SNAP-Ed In-Services - On December 5-6 the annual
Statewide EFNEP and SNAP-Ed In-Services were held at the Maricopa County
Cooperative Extension office.  It consisted of in-depth presentations
regarding breaking research and how to increase skills in the
community-nutrition arena.  There were 25 EFNEP staff and faculty
participating the first day and 65 SNAP-Ed staff and faculty participating
the second day.  We were pleased to have Dr. Linda Houtkooper 's support and
attendance.  The overall conference was planned by co-chairs, Traci
Armstrong Florian, Ruth Jackson, and Stephanie Martinez, with guidance and
supervision by Principle Investigator and State Director of EFNEP and
SNAP-Ed, Dr. Scottie Misner.

UA VITAE ANNUAL REPORTING SYSTEM:

A reminder that the new UA  <http://uavitae.arizona.edu/> Vitae Annual
Reporting System is ready for use by faculty who do their annual reviews.
We are one of several colleges piloting the system (SBS, Fine Arts, CALS,
Public Health, and the College of Medicine, Phoenix).  As detailed on the
FAQs page <http://uavitae.arizona.edu/help/questions> , the UA Vitae system
will replace the PETS and APROL systems.  The UA Vitae website also includes
information pages about the system <http://uavitae.arizona.edu/about>  and
on the benefits of the system <http://uavitae.arizona.edu/system-benefits> .
Faculty can log into the system by going to the college pages on the UA
<http://uavitae.arizona.edu/> Vitae website.  To save faculty time,
information is currently in the process of being loaded on courses,
sponsored research and prior annual reviews from the APROL and PETS systems.
There will inevitably be questions about this information.  For example,
faculty may not be familiar with how independent studies and dissertation
hours are listed in our information systems of record.  Faculty will be
provided with opportunities to offer feedback on this information if they
believe it is incorrect.  Workshops on these points are being offered.
Faculty may wish to start entering their annual report information and rely
on the on-screen help icons.  The system is quite intuitive and
comparatively easy to use.  The Resources
<http://uavitae.arizona.edu/resources>  page includes a Quick Start Guide
<http://uavitae.arizona.edu/sites/uavitae/files/uavitae_quickstartguide_11_1
8_final_3.pdf>  and a Getting Started
<https://www.faculty180.com/help/videos/Faculty180_for_faculty/index.html>
video.  To provide time for faculty to attend a workshop, it has been
recommended that the due date for faculty to submit their annual reviews be
set by colleges no earlier than February 15.   

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - YEAR END REMINDER:

Each year we recognize our faculty, staff and strong contributors to CALS
Extension with the Extension Faculty of the Year Award, the Outstanding
Staff in Cooperative Extension Award, and the Extensionist of the Year
Award.  It is time to make nominations for 2013 and I encourage you to
submit your recommendations:  

*	The Faculty of the Year award recipient will receive $1,000 and an
award.  Click here <http://ag.arizona.edu/awards/extfacultyawd.html>  for
Extension Faculty of the Year Award criteria and nomination form.
*	The Outstanding Staff in Cooperative Extension award recipient will
receive $500 and an award.  Click here
<http://cals.arizona.edu/awards/extstaffawd.html>  for award nomination
criteria.
*	The Extensionist of the Year award recognizes and honors a resident
of the State of Arizona who has demonstrated extraordinary contributions,
through UACE, to improving the lives of people in their community and state.
The award will be presented at an appropriate college-wide event.  Letters
of nomination from UACE or non-UACE faculty and staff and/or peers should
focus on the following criteria:  1) the nature and extent of the
contribution provided by the individual (35%), 2) how this contribution has
benefitted people in the community (15%) and the state (15%), 3) leadership
qualities (25%), and 4) support for UACE (10%).

All awards will be presented at an appropriate Extension or CALS event.
Please read the criteria carefully, submitting only the materials noted (no
vitas).  Submit your nominations and support letters c/o Steven Crofts,
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, PO Box 210036, Tucson, AZ,
85721 or scrofts at cals.arizona.edu by Friday, January 31, 2014.  If you have
any questions, contact Steve <mailto:scrofts at ag.arizona.edu>
(520.621.7145).

EVAL WORKS!:

Do you know the difference between a program activity, outcome, and impact?
A good resource to review prior to finishing your annual report is the
Program Planning and Evaluation materials under the 'employee' tab on the
extension website.  Many tools and helps are available under each of the
sections: Needs Assessment, Program Planning, Funding, Evaluation Planning,
Human Subjects, Evaluation Methods, and Reporting Impacts.  [Submitted by
Mike Hauser]

UPDATED DIRECTORY AVAILABLE:

The latest edition (December 2013) of the downloadable Extension directory
is now available on our People Search web site
<http://extension.arizona.edu/people-search> .  Just click on the "PDF file
version" link to open up a copy that you can save and print as needed.  Or
use this direct link
<https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/resources/2
0131211Roster.pdf>  for an immediate download.  As always, please report any
changes to Steven Crofts <mailto:scrofts at cals.arizona.edu>  (520.621.7145).

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Hold the date for the Annual Performance Review Process webinar training on
Tuesday, January 7, 2014 from 1:00-3:00pm.  The APR Guidance Committee will
provide an overview of completing your APR with some highlights pertaining
to the new UA Vitae system.  Information on connecting to the webinar will
be sent out shortly.  [Submitted by Dan McDonald]

Jeffrey C. Silvertooth
Associate Dean

Director for Extension & Economic Development 

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
PO Box 210036
Tucson, AZ  85721-0036
520.621.7205
520.621.1314 (fax) 

To submit tips, suggestions, ideas for changes and anything that could help
us be more effective, use  the "Director
<http://extension.arizona.edu/state/directors-suggestion-box> 's Suggestion
Box" - all submissions are anonymous.  

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