FOCUS ON FACULTY:
- Dr. Mary Olsen , Division of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Department of Plant Sciences, was selected as the 2007 Faculty Member of the Year by the Ag 100 Council, a community advisory group to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The award was given in recognition of her many contributions to Arizona agriculture through her work on plant disease diagnosis. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Olsen on this well deserved honor.
- About 80 people attended the Annual Retirees BBQ this past Saturday. It was good to visit with Shirley & Jim OBrien , Bill Peterson , Ray Weick , Howard Jones and many, many others. The faculty and staff choir (including Carl Olson and Georgina Lambert ) sang. A wonderful evening.
WEB CASTING PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE:
- The Web casting presentations for the Area Assistant/Associate Agent, Agriculture, Graham County, titled Developing an Extension Education Program That Will Help Cultivate a Wise Stewardship for Water and Land Resources for Producers and Consumers from last Friday, April 13 are available for viewing at http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/webcasts.html. Candidates for April 13 were Sabrina Tuttle and Eric Schwennesen . The final candidates presentation ( Bill Brandau ) will be available on April 18 from 9:00-9:45am and can be viewed at the same Web site above.
- The Web casting presentations for the Assistant/Associate Agent, Urban Horticulture, Yuma County, titled Planning and Implementing an Extension Urban Horticulture Program for Yuma County, will be Thursday, April 19 and can be viewed at http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/webcasts.html. Candidates and times are: 1) Scott Brenkert , 8:15-9:00am, and 2) Ronald U. Berens, Jr. , 10:45-11:30am.
To view the Web casts, you must use Internet Explorer (NOT Netscape) and have Windows Media Player installed on your computer. For more information or questions, contact Glenda Thompson (520.621.3621).
JUST FOR STAFF:
The CALS Staff Council has published Issue 2 of their quarterly newsletter. It is located at http://ag.arizona.edu/staff/newsletter2.pdf. Check it out and see what they are doing for you. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, and thanks for your support, contact anyone on the Council.
NEW PUBLICATIONS:
- There is a new CALS publication that has been posted: Converting from Gallons -- to Inches -- to Runtime Hours for Row Crop Drip Irrigation Systems by Edward Martin .
- The first issue of Backyards & Beyond Rural Living in Arizona has just been released. A subcommittee of the Cooperative Extension Natural Resource Education committee initiated this informative, concise, and timely quarterly magazine. The magazine is targeted to the small acreage landowner, new landowner or backyard enthusiast. The goal is to provide the education and guidance owners need to successfully manage their resources and care for their property and will promote sustainable practices that enhance the ecological, economic and social aspects of the land and its people. It will be sustained through subscriptions, so encourage others to subscribe. In addition, the committee is asking for faculty and staff to contribute articles or serve as a member of the planning/editorial group. Copies will soon be sent to each county office, Extension Specialist and Experiment Station for distribution to all faculty and staff. If you do not receive one or need additional copies, you can request them from Calsmart. For more information, article ideas or if you would like to volunteer to work on planning future issues, contact Kim McReynolds , Susan Pater or Jeff Schalau.
POPULATION DYNAMICS ARE CHANGING THE PROFILE OF RURAL AREAS:
An influx of retirees and ethnic populations brings both challenges and benefits to small-town America. New and diverse residents from abroad are revitalizing small towns economically and demographically. At the same time, their presence signals changes in local economic structure and raises concerns about barriers to assimilation and changing and increasing demands for social services. For more information, go to http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/April07/Features/Population.htm.
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES:
- Arizona Project Wet offers training in water education across the state. Workshops are FREE. Tucson workshops are scheduled for June 18 & 19 . Phoenix workshops are scheduled for May 5 & 12 , June 5 & 6 , and June 13 & 14 . For specific information on each workshop and to register, go to www.ag.arizona.edu/azwater/wet.
- 2007 Organic Certification Workshop, May 9 , 8:00-12:00, Yuma County Extension, 2200 W. 28th Street, Yuma. Applications for 3 AZ, CA and CCA CEUs will be submitted.
- The 16th Annual Desert Horticulture Conference will be held on May 18 at the Tucson Convention Center. The conference presents information for green industry professionals and will focus on distributing timely, research-based information relevant to urban landscapes in the arid Southwest. Program and registration information can be found at http://ag.arizona.edu/deserthort/.
- Members of the Healthy Lifestyles Work Group invite anyone interested in increasing your knowledge of issues surrounding wellness to attend a training session on Wednesday, May 23 at the Pima County Cooperative Extension office from 11:30-3:00. If you are interested in joining the Healthy Lifestyles Work Group, planning begins at 8:30 a.m. that same day. Contact Joyce Alves (928.337.2267) or Sharon Hoelscher Day (602-470-8086 x332) for more details.
- 20th Anniversary of the Environmental Quality Act and ADEQ: Assessing and Protecting Arizonas Water Quality, Hyatt Regency, Phoenix at Civic Plaza, June 5 . The Water Resources Research Center has planned a one-day conference featuring distinguished speakers such as ADEQ Director Steve Owens and Governor Napolitano. The agenda, registration and hotel information can be found at http://ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/conf2007/index.html. Early bird registration (before May 1) is $115. Beginning May 1, registration will be $135 (with reduced rates available for students).
- The joint meeting of the Association for Communications Excellence and the National Extension Technology Conference, which offers something for everybody this year with more than 140 sessions) takes place June 16-19 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Topics range from Podcasting for Virtual Instruction to Finding New Ways to Attract Students and Promoting 4-H Youth Development Using Results from the Tufts University Study. Sessions cover academic programs, research, application development and support, distance education and instructional design, marketing, publishing, diversity, leadership and management, photography, and a lot more. The conference website offers complete descriptions of each offering. Registration is filling fast, so visit http://acenetc2007.nmsu.edu/ for more information. If you have any questions, contact Susan McGinley, ACE state representative (520.621.7182).