The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
(Vol. 17 No. 1)
IN THIS ISSUE...
NEW KCARE/KWRI DIRECTOR STARTS WORK THIS WEEK
In early October, Gary Pierzynski announced that Dr. Daniel Devlin has accepted the position of Director of the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment (KCARE) and Kansas Water Resources Institute (KWRI). Dan brings a wealth of experience to the KCARE/KWRI Director position, based on his very successful service as Professor and Extension Specialist and Coordinator for Environmental Quality in the Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University.
Dan officially began his new duties yesterday, on November 1, 2010. We are looking forward to Dan's leadership of KCARE/KWRI.
I have enjoyed my past 15 months as Interim Director of KCARE/KWRI and want to thank all of you I worked with for making it a fun and very interesting time.
Please help me in congratulating Dan as he begins his new career as Director of KCARE/KWRI. --Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
DIVERSITY PROGRAMS OFFICE UPDATE
The Diversity Programs Office has been extremely busy this semester! Over the last month we had the pleasure of participating in a number of events on and off campus. Some of the activities were Unexpected Destinations in Wichita, and Multicultural Pride Day.
The DPO helps host Unexpected Destinations every semester. Unexpected Destinations is an event where high school students get the chance to meet with College of Agriculture and College of Veterinary Medicine professors, current students, and representatives from Cargill and other agribusiness and animal health companies in the Kansas City and/or Wichita area. Students receive information about scholarships and placement opportunities specifically for multicultural students. These programs are a great way for high school students and parents to see how K-State can get them started on a career. Every semester one student is selected to receive up to $250 worth of textbooks for his or her first semester. Our next Unexpected Destinations event will happen on November 4, 2010.
The Diversity Programs Office and the College of Agriculture have joined together to participate in Multicultural Pride Day hosted by the office of admissions. High school students and their parents are invited to attend this event, spend a day exploring K-State’s campus and learning about college life. This event helps high school students find out about majors, scholarships, housing options, sororities and fraternities, and more. Additionally, students get to learn more about multicultural organizations and opportunities at K-State.
On November 5, 2010, the College of Agriculture, with the help of the DPO, will host a Cargill College for a Day. Each year the College of Agriculture hosts College for a Day programs sponsored by Cargill, aimed toward under-represented high school students in Kansas and Missouri. These one day programs help students in grades 7-12 explore academic disciplines within agriculture through hands-on activities. The purpose of the program is to educate under-represented high school students about college, its importance and what the College of Agriculture has to offer.
The Diversity Programs Office hopes to see you at some of our upcoming events! Continue to have a successful semester. Zelia Z. Wiley, Ph.D- Assistant Dean of Diversity, Sabrina Urquhart- Graduate Assistant, Jocelyn Clemons-Undergraduate Assistant and Tyler Warta-Undergraduate Assistant, would like to thank everyone who has assisted us in having a great school year. --Zelia Wiley zwiley@ksu.edu
2011 DOD/USDA FAMILY RESILIENCE CONFERENCE: FORGING THE PARTNERSHIP (CYFAR CONFERENCE)
2011
DoD/USDA Family Resilience Conference: Forging the Partnership
April
27-29
Hyatt
Regency Chicago
Jointly planned
by the Military Community and Family Policy, Department of Defense (DoD) and
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the 2011 DoD/USDA Family
Resilience Conference: Forging the Partnership, will provide information on research,
curricula, needs assessment, strategic planning, coalition building, staff
professional development, administration of programs, resource development,
diversity, technology and program integration, marketing impact, and
evaluation--all within the context of these six (6) content areas: Early
Childhood, School-age (K-8), Teens, Parents/Families, Community,
and Physical
and Mental Health/Fitness. The 2011 Conference Committee invites your
proposals for workshops, computer labs, research posters, and Program Showcase
exhibits.
Call for Proposals: http://fycs.ifas.ufl.edu/call/
Conference website: http://www1.cyfernet.org/partnership2011/
Proposal deadline: November 12, 2010
If you have any
questions about proposal submission, the presentation formats/options, or some
other aspect of the 2011 Conference, please contact Carol Fink, cfink@ksu.edu; or June Mead, jm62@cornell.edu. --Carol Fink
SUSTAINABLE AG CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 20 IN EMPORIA
Connecting Cows, Carbon, & Carrots: Making Sense of Our Food Future, is the theme of a one-day sustainable agriculture conference sponsored by the Kansas Rural Center and the KSRE Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops (KCSAAC). The conference begins at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, November 20, at Flint Hills Technical College, 3301 W 18th Avenue, Emporia. Registration cost is $20 and limited to 150 participants. Registration deadline is November 15.
The conference is designed for people interested in learning more about climate change and its challenges for agriculture, the budding “food movement” of local and regional production and business opportunities, how to approach the transfer of land to the next generation, plus many more ways of “connecting cows, carbon, and carrots” to reach an understanding of practical approaches and strategies to adapt to the future.
Register on line at www.kansasruralcenter.org or, for more information, contact the Kansas Rural Center at 785-873-3431 or e-mail ksrc@rainbowtel.net. --Kerri Ebert kebert@ksu.edu
2012 NORTH CENTRAL VOLUNTEER FORUM PLANNING COMMITTEES
There’s no place LIKE 4-H! North Central Regional Volunteer Forum, October 11, 2012, Kansas 4-H.
Kansas 4-H Volunteers are excited to host the 2012 North Central Regional 4-H Volunteer Forum that will be held starting October 11, 2012 (10-11-12) at the Hyatt in Wichita, Kansas. We invite all 4-Hers, 4-H Volunteers and agents to join us in planning and conducting the Forum for the twelve North Central states. Kansas last hosted in 1999. We look forward to showcasing our Kansas 4-H Programs.
We need 4-Hers, 4-H Volunteers and agents to join NOW in the planning of this event. Check out the website: http://4-h.k-state.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=314, and join us on a planning team. Committees are, Workshops, Registration/State Packets, Publicity/Promotion, Meals/Breaks, Technology/Audio Visual, Social Networking, Hospitality Room, Speakers/Entertainment and Budget/Finance/Fundraising. Applications and committee roles and responsibilities are on the website.
Please check out the website, http://4-h.k-state.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=314, and let us know if you can join us in planning the 4-H Forum (get an application filled out and sent in). First round applications are due by November 19, 2010. Please share the information and opportunities with local volunteers. Much help is needed.
Mark the dates of October 11, 12, 13, 14, 2012 on your calendar so you may join a great group of 4-Hers, 4-H Volunteers, agents and extension personnel at the 2012 North Central Regional 4-H Volunteer Forum. --Donna Maskus, Ellis County 4-H Volunteer, Kansas 4-H Volunteer Association President; Rod Buchele, State Liaison rbuchele@ksu.edu
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
This week my picks include outcomes and a success story from Susan Krumm, Douglas County; Nichole Burnett, Johnson County; and Ethel Schneweis, Ford County.
Evidence of knowledge gain -- More than 180 college students who prepare and serve food to their peers at the 11 University of Kansas Scholarship Halls learned how they can effectively reduce the risk of foodborne illness by proper handling of food.
Evidence of knowledge gain and behavior change -- By lesson six (of eight) in the nutrition kit lesson, students knew about thorough hand washing. At lesson eight, one student commented that her dad never washed his hands before preparing or eating food. Since participating in Kids a Cookin’, she now makes him wash when she notices he hasn’t.
Success Story – A local restaurant provided employee ServSafe training for their staff. After learning proper ways to use thermometers, employees told their manager they plan to clean and sanitize thermometers after each use to store them clean and ready to be used the next time. They will also calibrate the thermometers on a routine basis. This was a change from their previous practice. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
THE PEPSI REFRESH PROJECT GRANT FOR SHAWNEE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS
The Shawnee County Master
Gardener Greenhouse Project
We are still in the running! Because we finished the month
in the top 100 vote getters (we finished 49th) we automatically are
re-entered in the voting process for the month of November. (This saved me from
sitting at my computer at midnight;
thank you everyone.) Last month with all of you voting we moved from 323rd to
49th. We can do this! With your continued voting we can finish this
month in the top 2 and receive funding for an Extension program benefiting the
county and the region.
Please continue to help us help others. There are still
3 ways to vote each day: www.snco.us/greenhouse,
on Facebook (search for the Pepsi Refresh Project), and by texting 103438 (the
message) to 73774 (the phone number).--Jamie Hancock jamiehan@ksu.edu
COMMUNICATIONS MINUTE: VANISHING FOOTNOTES
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently posted an article on vanishing footnotes. See http://chronicle.com/article/Hot-Type-A-Modern-Scholars/124870/.
The article estimates that footnotes in the form of web links
have a half-life of less than four years.
If web addresses are important sources
in documents you write: • Save an electronic file, or even a
paper copy, in case someone wants the reference years later. (It is possible to create a .pdf file from a web page with Acrobat.) • If you have links on your web pages, check them regularly,
particularly those to .org, .com, or .info sites.
• If you must rearrange or redesign your
web, make it easy for people to find the new web address of your document. --Amy Hartman ahartman@ksu.edu
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