TUESDAY MORNING NOTES - MARCH 18, 2014

Tue Mar 18 14:34:30 MST 2014

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

Tuesday Morning Notes 

March 18, 2014

FROM THE DIRECTOR:

A few days ago during a meeting a colleague offered a comment in response to
the business at hand by saying "that's a heck of a way to run a railroad."
In the context of the conversation we all knew exactly what he meant and he
was right.  As you might imagine, the topic of the conversation dealt with
the complexities and challenges of managing a large organization.  What
might seem to make sense to someone making a decision or setting a new
policy in one place in the organization may make no sense at all to a person
at the delivery level of the operation.

Several years ago I had a job working on the railroad as a
brakeman/switchman based in a division working out of Wichita, Kansas.  That
job on the railroad provided my first experience working in a large
organization.  Working as a brakeman/switchman was very different than
working in the university, and certainly within the College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cooperative Extension (CE), and at the time it
was a stark contrast and a very different environment than the family farms
where I had been working for many years.  But I see now there are some
parallels that can be drawn between some large organizations like a railroad
and a university or college. 

With the railroad, I knew that I had a job and a place within the division
where I worked, and within the railroad company as a whole, but from my one
small spot in the company my fellow railroaders and I knew we were a long
way from the positions where the policies were set and major decisions were
made.  There were more than a few times when the railroaders working on
train service would question the decisions made in Chicago or some far off
place that seemed to make little sense to us.

Even though CALS CE is a rather large organization, every job and position
that we have in this college and CE is important in carrying out the
mission.  I recognize the importance to provide the support for the
operation of individual positions at all levels across a broad array of
programs, and units and for us all to understand a connectedness and to
adhere to the policies and directions of the university and college.  I also
understand the importance of using a practical approach to organizational
decisions, listening to the people working at the program delivery level,
and for communicating the basis and rationale behind our decisions and
policies.

Our administration in CALS and CE is fully committed to develop and maintain
the connections and function among all positions and all parts of this large
complex university organization and respect the importance and value of all
the individuals doing each job.  Similarly, it is important for everyone at
any level in CALS CE to understand that their work is important and it
provides a critical connection and contribution to the organization as a
whole.

TUCSON FESTIVAL OF BOOKS:

The 6th Annual Tucson Festival of Books and Science City are over, but we
want to extend a big thanks to all from CALS who participated and made
Science City an engaging, interactive venue for families.  All of the
Extension booths and had consistent, large crowds.  Thanks so much for
taking time over a weekend and spring break to represent your programs and
promote the many ways we are changing lives and communities in Arizona.

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
0140311Roster.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:

WRRC Brown Bag:  A Water Update From Down Under
<https://wrrc.arizona.edu/node/12702> , Monday, March 24, 3:30-5:000pm, WRRC
Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Avenue, Tucson), with guest
speaker Rosalind Bark, Resource Economist, Ecosystem Sciences Division,
CSIRO [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation].  

WRRC Brown Bag:  An Insider's Look at WIFA and WIFA-funded Infrastructure
Projects: The Most Needed, The Most Unique, The Most Sustainable
<https://wrrc.arizona.edu/node/12699> , Tuesday, March 25, 12:00-1:30pm,
WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Avenue, Tucson), with
guest speakers from the Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority
(WIFA) - Susan Craig, WIFA Communications Director & Melanie Ford, WIFA
Technical Program Supervisor.

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.  

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