TUESDAY MORNING NOTES - JANUARY 21, 2014

Tue Jan 21 13:29:49 MST 2014

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

Tuesday Morning Notes 

January 21, 2014

FROM THE DIRECTOR - AES Administration:

We have experienced a lot of change in CALS the past two years and this
trend continues.  As of 1 January 2014 Dean Burgess now serves as the
Director of the Arizona Experiment Station (AES).  In relation to that
change, I now carry the responsibilities and title of Associate Director for
AES.  My responsibilities to the AES include full administrative oversight
for each of the experiment station sites that are external to Tucson.  These
sites include the Maricopa, Yuma, and Safford Agricultural Centers.

It is reasonable for the Associate Dean and Director for Cooperative
Extension (CE) to have administrative responsibilities for these experiment
station sites.  The CALS faculty and programs that are in residence and
operation on these sites are directly associated with CE programs.  The
research that is conducted at these sites serves as the basis and material
content for much of the CE programs that emanate from these facilities.
Thus, the CE Director has a distinct stake and incentive concerning the
management and operation of these experiment station facilities (financial
resources, personnel, physical plant, etc.).   The CE Director needs to have
a direct involvement with these sites similar to each of the county CE
offices and the integration of all of CE programs and personnel is better
served with this administrative arrangement.  This also helps streamline
lines of administrative responsibility within CALS.

I am fully supportive of this administrative change with the AES and Dean
Burgess and I are working together to coordinate this transition in concert
with the AES and CE personnel.  I am also working with all the experiment
station site directors in this transition.  We have very good programs
working from each of these experiment station sites and the intention is to
provide the best support structure possible for their operation and
delivery.  I very much appreciate the cooperation from all parties involved
and I am quite fortunate to have the benefit of very competent professionals
serving as directors and in the support staff positions at each of these of
experiment station sites.

GOOD NEWS:

On Friday, 17 January, Governor Brewer's office released her FY15 AZ State
Budget proposal that includes $3.5M for UA CE; refer to page 39 in the
Executive Budget Recommendation
<http://www.azgovernor.gov/documents/AZBudget/FY2015/FY2015_ExecBudget_Budge
tRollout.pdf>  document.   Now the real work in the legislature begins.  We
are in the game but there is still a lot more to come to bring this to
fruition.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR-ANR CANDIDATE SEMINARS AND FORUMS:

The following candidates will be presenting seminars and open forums for the
position of Associate Director-ANR:

*	Ursula Schuch, Wednesday, January 29, 9:00-11:00am, Seminar ("The
Role of ANR in Serving Arizona's Needs") & Open Forum, Marley 230
*	Paul Brown, Thursday, January 30, 2:30-3:30pm (Open Forum, Forbes
229) & 4:00-5:00pm (Seminar, "Extension Programs in Agriculture and Natural
Resources:  Current Challenges and Future Opportunities", Marley 230)

All interested faculty and staff are welcome to attend.  The seminars will
be recorded and will be available by webcast (link will be announced later).

YUMA AG FIELD TOUR - SIGN UP NOW:

A reminder that in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Cooperative
Extension, Arizona Cooperative Extension is hosting a Yuma Agriculture Field
tour in conjunction with the 2014 Southwest Ag Summit.  Ag Summit
participants are invited to attend this tour, which will include
transportation to and from Yuma, a one night hotel stay and a box lunch for
the tour.  All other meals will be provided as part of your registration for
the Summit.

On February 26, the Cooperative Extension bus will leave UA Main Campus at
7:00 a.m. to arrive in Yuma in time for lunch and the afternoon field tour.
After a stop at the hotel, the bus will deliver attendees to the 5:30 p.m.
Ag Summit reception at Arizona Western College.   After attending the
Southwest Ag Summit on February 27 [7:00-3:30], the bus will leave Yuma at
4:00 p.m., returning to Tucson at approximately 9:00 p.m.  PLEASE NOTE:  The
Harvest Dinner on February 27 is not part of the general Summit
registration.  The bus will leave for Tucson before the Harvest Dinner.

Please contact Steven Crofts at scrofts at cals.arizona.edu by February 7 if
you plan on attending this event.

In addition, the 2014 schedule for additional statewide Centennial
Celebration events are as follows:

*	Saturday, May 10 - Southeast Arizona, Santa Fe Ranch
*	July/August  - Northern Arizona, V Bar V Ranch (TBA)
*	Saturday, October 4 - Central Arizona, Phoenix area

UA VITAE ANNUAL REPORTING SYSTEM:

A continued reminder that the new UA  <http://uavitae.arizona.edu/> Vitae
Annual Reporting System is ready for use by faculty to complete 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 - ONLY 10 DAYS LEFT TO SUBMIT:

There are only 10 days left for you to submit your nominations for the
Extension Faculty of the Year Award, the Outstanding Staff in Cooperative
Extension Award, and the Extensionist of the Year Award for 2013:  

*	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).

NEW PUBLICATIONS:

*	Recommendations for Growing Standard-Height Wheat Varieties in
Arizona <http://www.cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1612.pdf>  by Michael
Ottman & Joy M. Hought (pub #az1612)
*	Summer Slump in Alfalfa
<http://www.cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1611.pdf>  by Michael Ottman &
Ayman Mostafa (pub #az1611) 
*	Basics of Evaporation and Evapotranspiration
<http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1194.pdf>  by Paul Brown (pub #az1194)

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*	WRRC Brown Bag:  Agri-Business Council of Arizona's Perspective on
Water and Agriculture in Arizona <http://wrrc.arizona.edu/node/12620> ,
Friday, January 24, 12:00-1:30pm, with guest speaker,  Chris Udall,
Executive Director, Agri-Business Council of Arizona, WRRC Sol Resnick
Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Avenue, Tucson). 
*	SWES Colloquium Series:  What a Difference One Inch Makes:
Measurement and Monitoring of Critical Properties and Processes at the Soil
Surface, Monday, January 27, 3:00-4:00pm, Marley 230, with Scott B. Jones,
Professor of Environmental Soil Physics, Utah State University, Dept.
Plants, Soils and Climate.  The top inch of the earth's soil surface is a
very dynamic and important layer where physical and biogeochemical processes
take place under extreme diurnal and seasonal variations in moisture and
temperature. Some of these critical surfaces include biocrusts, desert
pavements, agricultural lands, mine tailings, hydrophobic forest soils, all
of which can significantly impact environmental conditions at large-scales.
Natural hazards associated with surface conditions include dust storms
posing health hazards, post-fire erosion and flooding in addition to crop
failure. Less obvious, though continually occurring microbial-induced gas
emissions are also significantly impacted by surface conditions. With so
much at stake, it is surprising in today's technological world that there
are few if any sensors designed for monitoring the top inch of the surface.
In particular, our future expectation for remote sensing imagery to provide
near-real time conditions of the earth's surface necessitates ground
calibration of the top inch, something that is presently lacking. Examples
of the dynamics of surface conditions will be presented along with their
impact on processes of interest and the need for near-surface measurements.
Novel measurement solutions and their prospects to improve scientific
methods will be presented.
*	Early bird registration is now open for the April 8 WRRC Annual
Conference, "Closing the Gap Between Water Supply and Demand."  Early bird
rate is $100 ($125 after March 6).  Student special rate is $35. Go to the
conference website <http://wrrc.arizona.edu/registration>  to register, view
the agenda, and more.  The conference is organized in collaboration with the
Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) and this year's conference will
explore the large and growing gap between water supply and demand in the
Colorado River Basin, with a focus on what this means for Arizona.  You By
2060, water demand in the state may exceed renewable supplies by a margin
that is estimated to grow to 1 million acre-feet. Now is the time for
action. The WRRC conference will explore Arizona's options for balancing the
scales of water supply and demand in our state. 
*	The WRRC Annual Conference is now accepting abstracts for the poster
session at its April 8 event.  The deadline for submitting abstracts is
Monday, February 3.  Interested students, researchers and practitioners are
welcome to submit a poster abstract, and a student poster contest will offer
generous cash prizes!  The topic should be any water-focused topic related
to the conference theme, including water reuse, quality, supply, climate,
environment, the role of governments and markets, and water management and
policy.  To learn more and submit an abstract, visit the conference
abstracts website <http://wrrc.arizona.edu/conference/poster-abstracts> . 

Jeffrey C. Silvertooth
Associate Dean & Director, Extension & Economic Development 

Associate Director, Arizona Experiment Station

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.  

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.cals.arizona.edu/pipermail/ace_astf/attachments/20140121/1fe2d4e4/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------

_______________________________________________
ACE mailing list
ACE at CALS.arizona.edu
http://CALSmail.arizona.edu/mailman/listinfo/ace