The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service

  
Vol. 11, No. 37  July 26, 2005

IN THIS ISSUE...

...Word from the Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research
...Status of Faculty Positions
...K-State IPM Mini Grants
...Kansas State Fair Book Change
...Kansas State Fair 4-H Volunteers Needed
...PDIS Login Clarification
...Dr. Phil Sloderbeck is New Extension Entomology State Leader
...Please Welcome Three New Agricultural Economics Faculty Members
...Rodney St. John Joining Horticulture, Forestry & Recreation Resources in January
...Master Schedule

...Tuesday Letter Archives

WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Are you one who looks at leadership development opportunities, and says "no way am I going into administration, so I sure don't need that!"? Let me persuade you to think differently about leadership development opportunities. When I hear others talk about a leadership development experience, it's most often talking about who they came to know through that experience, and seldom do I hear about how they plan to make use of the experience to gain a position or move into a new role. Leadership development is about becoming familiar with yourself, your personal values, strengths, goals, capacities, and desires in your professional and personal life. It's about understanding others, and how to use proven process in organization, facilitation, and motivation of others around you. But, most of all, it's connecting with others who have similar professional interests and a desire to improve themselves to be better equipped to work with people. In an organization where "knowledge for life" is our motto, working with people is critically important. As professionals, seeking opportunity to improve ourselves in our abilities to work with others should be a very high priority.

With that, I hope you will seriously consider nominating a colleague or friend to apply for the 2006 North Central Extension Leadership Development Program (NC NELD). Application deadline is September 1. So, turn in nominees to Marie Blythe, mblythe@ksu.edu , now! We will follow-up to get applications from those individuals. Better yet, if you would like to participate, go directly to the web and complete the application at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/prev/neld%20application%20form.doc . Send the completed application to Marie Blythe.

Throughout Kansas State University and K-State Research & Extension specifically, numerous opportunities are available for leadership development experiences. I hope you will take advantage of such opportunity and apply for that development. I know of no better way to connect with others across the University community and across the nation in such a personal and professional growth experience. --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu

STATUS OF FACULTY POSITIONS
To check the status of faculty positions that are currently in the search process, see the K-State Research and Extension Job Opportunities website at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/main/jobs.asp . Click on "Employment Status of KSRE Faculty Positions." Search committee chairs - contact Dorothy Ireland in the Extension Operations Office at direland@oznet.ksu.edu , or 785-532-5787, to keep the information updated. --Stacey M. Warner swarner@oznet.ksu.edu

K-STATE IPM MINI GRANTS
The 2005-2006 Mini-Grant applications are due Monday, August 1. The RFP is available at: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/pesticides-ipm and click on 'Mini-Grants Program Announcement'. One electronic copy and one hard copy are required. These mini-grants can be applied for by researchers, extension agents, or students. If you have any questions, please contact Sharon Dobesh at 785-532-4748, or by e-mail at sdobesh@oznet.ksu.edu . --Sharon Dobesh

KANSAS STATE FAIR BOOK CHANGE
Please change your Kansas State Fair book on page 212, 4-H Family and Consumer Sciences Judging contest to Class #5962 for Intermediate Family and Consumer Sciences Judging Team and Class #5963 for Intermediate Judging Team member.

The current class numbers conflict with the senior meat judging classes. --Cheryl Thomas cthomas@oznet.ksu.edu

KANSAS STATE FAIR 4-H VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We need your help! The assistance provided by Extension staff, teen and adult volunteers is absolutely vital to the 4-H Division at the State Fair! Last year, volunteers and staff helped process and display over 9,000 exhibits! This year, with a newly remodeled exhibit building, new locations for exhibit areas, new display equipment, new processes for unloading, and new contests, it's going to be even more important to have lots of people helping!

We truly appreciate your assistance in recruiting and entering teen and adult volunteers, (and yourself) in the KSFAIR entry system by August 15. In order for you and your potential volunteers to know where help is needed, a list of exhibit areas and the number of individuals needed is available with the State Fair Packet on the 4-H website.

A sign-up form is available to collect information about volunteers, but the information needs to be entered in the KSFAIR Entry System under class #1234 no later than August 15. Additional entries should be made for each exhibit area or responsibility a volunteer is willing to assist with. This data will be used to provide an admission ticket for each day a teen, adult or Extension staff volunteer works. The Kansas State Fair will provide a meal ticket for volunteers who work at least four hours and are not receiving reimbursement from other sources. Parking in the public lots will be free again this year and hangtags are not needed to park there.

If you have questions about helping with a specific exhibit area, please contact the 4-H specialist or chair. If you need assistance with the registration/entry process, please contact Cheryl Thomas, cthomas@ksu.edu  --Justin Wiebers jwiebers@ksu.edu

PDIS LOGIN CLARIFICATION
All K-State Research & Extension personnel are changing their e-mail addresses from "@oznet.ksu.edu" to "@ksu.edu". HOWEVER, this will not change your PDIS Login until October. Continue to use your oznet e-mail address as your user ID for PDIS until you are advised to change it. --Ward Upham wupham@ksu.edu

DR. PHIL SLODERBECK IS NEW EXTENSION ENTOMOLOGY STATE LEADER
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Phil Sloderbeck as the State Extension Entomology Leader. He has served in this role in an interim basis for the last almost three years.

Phil serves as an entomology specialist in the Southwest Research and Extension Center in Garden City, Kansas. His e-mail address is psloderb@oznet.ksu.edu  and his telephone number is 620-275-9164. --Sonny Ramaswamy sonny@ksu.edu

PLEASE WELCOME THREE NEW AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS FACULTY MEMBERS
Mike Woolverton joined the faculty as a Visiting Professor in Agricultural Economics in May 2005. Dr. Woolverton received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, his B.S. in Agricultural Economics and M.B.A. in Financial Management from Kansas State University. After serving on the faculties of The Ohio State University and Arizona State University, he became the Continental Grain Professor of Agribusiness at the American Graduate School of International Management, where he now has emeritus status. Dr. Woolverton’s research interests include structure and performance of the grain and oilseed marketing system, overseas market development and commodity promotion, risk management in marketing and purchasing grain and oilseed commodities, agribusiness marketing management, and strategic leadership.

Alexander Saak joined the Agricultural Economics faculty as an Assistant Professor in June 2005. Dr. Saak received his Ph.D. in Economics at Iowa State University and his M.S. in Economics and Management at the Taganrog State University in Russia. Prior to joining Kansas State University, Dr. Saak was an Assistant Scientist at the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University. Dr. Saak’s research interests focus on the role of information and spatial externalities in farm-level production decisions, agricultural markets, and food supply chains. He has studied the efficiency of land uses in the presence of distance-dependent externalities arising due to potential contamination among incompatible crops. Most of Dr. Saak’s research is concerned with the development of agricultural grading systems, production differentiation, and transmission of information along the food supply chain.

Tian Xia joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in Agricultural Economics in July 2005. Dr. Xia received his Ph.D. from University of California at Davis, his M.S. from University of Delaware and received his undergraduate degree from Wuhan University in China. Dr. Xia was an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University prior to joining Kansas State University. His research interests are industrial organization, applied econometrics, and international agricultural trade. He conducts research on contracts and vertical coordination, food retailing, market structure and competition, international agricultural trade and policy, and food and agricultural marketing. --Sean Fox seanfox@agecon.ksu.edu

RODNEY ST. JOHN JOINING HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY & RECREATION RESOURCES IN JANUARY
Rodney St. John will be joining the Horticulture, Forestry & Recreation Resources Department in January 2006 as the State-Wide Turfgrass Extension Specialist. He will be located at the K-State Research and Extension Center at Olathe.

Rodney, who is completing his Ph.D. at Iowa State University, is also presently the Superintendent of the ISU Turfgrass Research Farm. He also has significant industry experience in the greater Kansas City area.

Rodney will conduct turfgrass research at both the Olathe Center and the John C. Pair Center in Wichita and will provide state-wide extension programming in support of the turfgrass industry in Kansas and the K-State Extension System. --Thomas D. Warner

VIEW THE MASTER SCHEDULE OR ADD NEW ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS. 

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