[CED] June 18, 2012 CALS Cabinet update

[Rick Gibson]

All,

The CALS Cabinet met this morning in Forbes and there were some interesting
discussion items.

1)  Research Advisory Council.  This is a new group that has been formed
within CALS to help better organize, envision, and coordinate research
activities within the college and perhaps reach out to engage colleagues
across the university.  The council has an Extension presence, Peter
Ellsworth and Linda Houtkooper, and their research experience and
understanding of Extension will help them (and us) bring the issues and
objectives of applied research to that table.  I would encourage all to
contact Peter and/or Linda directly with your input.  One of the Dean's
priorities is the integration of both basic and applied research.  He would
like to de-silo the separation that has previously existed and look at both
basic and applied in an integrated manner.  Additionally, he reported today
that in recent conversations with unnamed individuals (who I am taking to
be decision makers) he has stressed the value of recent Extension research
to the state and that "they know that better now than they did a few weeks
ago."  I believe that means that the Dean is going to bat for us. I for one
am grateful for his support.

2)  Possible CALS Open House.  Joy Winzerling, Associate Dean for
Instruction, suggested the need for an open house type of event where
faculty, staff, and students could learn more about CALS and what everyone
does.  She said that many students come to campus without a major and
wander from place to place.  Sometimes they get lost.  She said that the
college needs to "know more about itself, in all its diversity."  Since
CALS is highly diverse, there is a lot to learn and appreciate.  As a vital
part of the college, Extension will be invited to play a role in this
effort. There seemed to be common agreement that some type of event needed
to be scheduled.  Director Silvertooth suggested that perhaps the event
might be tied to the upcoming August Extension conference.  No decision was
reached today, so don't get all in a tizzy, but there is a possibility.

3)  Strategic plan.  The strategic planning project, CALS 21, continues to
be a topic of discussion.  The Dean feels that the recent and still
continuing process is an important exercise for the college and he fully
intends to hold all of CALS to the same standard of adoption.  While we in
Extension are used to strategic planning and goal setting, and this is
pretty much run of the mill stuff for us, I understand that the exercise is
causing a little anxiety among the departments on campus so the process
remains interesting to watch.  If we haven't done it yet, it might be a
good idea for all of us to review with our faculty and staff the Extension
segment recently released by the Extension Administrative Team and look for
ways that it might be incorporated into our programming.  If you have any
observations on this, I would be glad to receive them and report back to
the Cabinet.

If you have any questions on any of this, let me know.

Rick



-- 
*Richard Gibson*
*Extension Agent, Agriculture*
University of Arizona
Pinal County Cooperative Extension Office
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

820 E Cottonwood Ln, #C
Casa Grande, AZ 85122
Tel: (520) 836-5221 ext. 227
Fax: (520) 836-1750
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