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<div><b>From:</b> "Ratje, Jeffrey M - (jmratje)" <<a href="mailto:jmratje@email.arizona.edu">jmratje@email.arizona.edu</a>><br>
<b>Date:</b> December 14, 2017 at 3:11:11 AM MST<br>
<b>To:</b> "Vedantam, Gayatri - (gayatri)" <<a href="mailto:gayatri@email.arizona.edu">gayatri@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Lanza, Robert K - (lanza)" <<a href="mailto:lanza@email.arizona.edu">lanza@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Berrellez, Brian - (bberrell)" <<a href="mailto:bberrell@email.arizona.edu">bberrell@email.arizona.edu</a>>,
"'<a href="mailto:calsbusofficers@list.arizona.edu">calsbusofficers@list.arizona.edu</a>'" <<a href="mailto:calsbusofficers@list.arizona.edu">calsbusofficers@list.arizona.edu</a>>, "Chorover, Jon - (chorover)" <<a href="mailto:chorover@email.arizona.edu">chorover@email.arizona.edu</a>>,
"Farrell-Poe, Kathryn L - (kittfp)" <<a href="mailto:kittfp@email.arizona.edu">kittfp@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Going, Scott B - (going)" <<a href="mailto:going@email.arizona.edu">going@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Hawley, Jana - (hawleyj)" <<a href="mailto:hawleyj@email.arizona.edu">hawleyj@email.arizona.edu</a>>,
"Marsh, Stuart E - (smarsh)" <<a href="mailto:smarsh@email.arizona.edu">smarsh@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Schumaker, Karen S - (schumake)" <<a href="mailto:schumake@email.arizona.edu">schumake@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Tabashnik, Bruce E - (tabashnb)" <<a href="mailto:BruceT@cals.arizona.edu">BruceT@cals.arizona.edu</a>>,
"Thompson, Gary D - (gdthomps)" <<a href="mailto:GaryT@ag.arizona.edu">GaryT@ag.arizona.edu</a>>, "Torres, Robert Matthew - (rtorres1)" <<a href="mailto:rtorres1@email.arizona.edu">rtorres1@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Wright, Andre-Denis Girard - (adwright)"
<<a href="mailto:adwright@email.arizona.edu">adwright@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Antin, Parker B - (pba)" <<a href="mailto:pba@email.arizona.edu">pba@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Burgess, Shane C - (shaneburgess)" <<a href="mailto:sburgess@cals.arizona.edu">sburgess@cals.arizona.edu</a>>,
"Silvertooth, Jeffrey C - (silverto)" <<a href="mailto:Silver@ag.arizona.edu">Silver@ag.arizona.edu</a>>, "Staten, Michael E - (statenm)" <<a href="mailto:statenm@email.arizona.edu">statenm@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Alves, Joyce L - (alvesj)" <<a href="mailto:jalves@ag.arizona.edu">jalves@ag.arizona.edu</a>>,
"Brandau, William K - (wbrandau)" <<a href="mailto:wbrandau@cals.arizona.edu">wbrandau@cals.arizona.edu</a>>, "Braun, Hattie - (hbraun)" <<a href="mailto:hbraun@cals.arizona.edu">hbraun@cals.arizona.edu</a>>, "Campbell, Stephen J - (campbel5)" <<a href="mailto:campbell@ag.arizona.edu">campbell@ag.arizona.edu</a>>,
"Dixon, Darcy L - (ddixon)" <<a href="mailto:ddixon@ag.Arizona.EDU">ddixon@ag.Arizona.EDU</a>>, "Gibson, Richard D - (rdg)" <<a href="mailto:rdg@email.arizona.edu">rdg@email.arizona.edu</a>>, "Martin, Edward C - (ecmartin)" <<a href="mailto:ecmartin@email.arizona.edu">ecmartin@email.arizona.edu</a>>,
"McDonald, Daniel A - (mcdonald)" <<a href="mailto:mcdonald@cals.arizona.edu">mcdonald@cals.arizona.edu</a>>, "Mcreynolds, Kim H - (khm)" <<a href="mailto:KimM@cals.arizona.edu">KimM@cals.arizona.edu</a>>, "Megdal, Sharon B - (smegdal)" <<a href="mailto:smegdal@email.arizona.edu">smegdal@email.arizona.edu</a>>,
"Parrott, Amy M - (aparrott)" <<a href="mailto:aparrott@ag.Arizona.EDU">aparrott@ag.Arizona.EDU</a>>, "Schalau, Jeff W - (jschalau)" <<a href="mailto:jschalau@ag.arizona.edu">jschalau@ag.arizona.edu</a>>, "Tickes, Barry R - (btickes)" <<a href="mailto:btickes@ag.arizona.edu">btickes@ag.arizona.edu</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> <b>Bridging the communication gap - new year's resolution</b><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">I had the privilege of speaking with the Cooperative Extension and Experiment Station business officers at their in-service training on December 13. The topic was effective communication.
It may be a platitude to say that academia is a challenging place to effectively communicate. Each person and group has their own definitions, perspectives, paradigms, and outcomes. Add to this the wide disciplinary diversity we have within our college –
from sociologists to engineers – and communication can be doubly challenging. I certainly have made one (or two</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Wingdings">J</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">) missteps.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">This article from
<i>Inside Higher Education</i> resonated with me in light of the conversation with business officers. It paints an instructive picture of how communication can go awry:
<a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/28/communication-issue-college-administrators-and-faculty-during-era-financial-change#.WizAChQX5Bc.linkedin">
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/28/communication-issue-college-administrators-and-faculty-during-era-financial-change#.WizAChQX5Bc.linkedin</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">The December 6 budget retreat, bringing together ~35 academic, Extension, research, shared governance, and business leaders, is one way we invest in shared communication. While
I believe our communication has improved through deliberate effort over the last year, it is such a critical investment that we should never neglect it. Borrowing from the
<a href="https://cals.arizona.edu/sites/cals.arizona.edu/files/documents/communicationvalues.pdf">
CALS’ Communication Values</a>, we can:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">be aware of and appreciate our collective situation,
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">hold one another accountable for our strategic intentions,
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">listen to understand,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">be honest, timely, and clear,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">be respectful to one another,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">transmit messages throughout the organization clearly and with fidelity, and
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">seek the best intentions in one another.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">Effective communication, in this framework, is a mission-critical resource to our shared success, and worthy of our investment to support its improvement. The Greek orator Demosthenes
wrote, “All speech is vain and empty unless it be accompanied by action.” Therefore, I challenge us to use our interactions as deliberate moments to improve the clarity of our communication and understanding; to keep communication as a top of mind project
in our organization.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">This is my suggestion for an organizational new year’s resolution. Happy holidays! Thank you for all you do to bring the land grant vision to Arizona.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black">Jeffrey Ratje</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black">Associate Dean, Finance and Administration | Treasurer, Arizona Experiment Station</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black">College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) | The University of Arizona</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black">PO Box 210036, Forbes Building, Rm 314C</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black">1140 E. So. Campus Drive | Tucson, AZ 85721</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black">Phone: (520) 621-1468 | Fax: (520) 621-8558<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black"><a href="http://www.cals.arizona.edu/cbs">www.cals.arizona.edu/cbs</a>
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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