The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 11)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Yesterday, we were observing the holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. To carry that one step further, I have placed a portion of his August 28, 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC following:
Let us not wallow in the valley
of despair. I say to you today, my friends,
so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a
dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this
nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold
these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on
the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave
owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even
the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice,
sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of
freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four
little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by
the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day, down
in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips
dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there
in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with
little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every
valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough
places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the
faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew
out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able
to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of
brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray
together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom
together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of
God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis
of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great
nation this must become true.
And when this happens, when we
allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet,
from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all
of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro
spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at
last!"
Putting this into the context of K-State Research and Extension, I hope
you will think about what we can do to help fulfill that dream both as part of this organization and as a personal commitment. Thanks for all you do in treating one another with honor and respect, seeking to understand different, and being an ally to someone feeling oppressed.
I look forward to this week in Partnership Meetings in Southwest and Southeast Kansas. Have a great week. --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
CONNECT TRAINING - JANUARY 19, 20
We are offering more training on the new interface for the KSRE Connect web conferencing system. At the start of 2011, we upgraded Connect to a new version.
This interface is completely new and includes several additional features.
If you are new to Connect, this free program is being used for on-line
webinars, research, educational classes, collaboration, and even KSRE District meetings.
Next training dates are offered January 19 and 20 at 10 a.m. This is a
good overview for both new and experienced Connect users. No
registration is necessary. Simply go to http://connect.ksre.ksu.edu/connecttraining/ during the training time.
For more information, visit the TechWeb site, www.ksre.ksu.edu/techweb/, or contact Gerry Snyder, gsnyder@ksu.edu, IET, 785-532-6270. --Gerry Snyder
GET IT - DO IT! APPLICATIONS DUE FEBRUARY 1
Get
It - Do It! begins its fourth year of supporting youth and adult
partnerships to promote health. Applications are also available on the
Kansas PRIDE website at http://www.kansasprideprogram.ksu.edu/PRIDE/prideresources/funding.htm#State.
Since
2008, Get It - Do It! has provided PRIDE communities with $3,000 grants
to engage youth in local health promotion planning and project
implementation. In order to successfully compete for funds in 2011,
PRIDE community groups will need to:
* work with local Extension agents and youth to prepare their applications,
* submit their applications by February 1, 2011, and
* meet with Get It - Do It! staff between February 15 - 25 for a pre-funding visit to their community.
Applicants
are also encouraged to involve schools, youth organizations (e.g, 4-H
clubs, FFA, Scouts, FCCLA, recreation groups) in their applications.
Selection of the 2011 Get It - Do It! communities will be announced March 1, 2011.
For more information about Get It - Do It! 2011, contact Jamie Menon in the Kansas PRIDE office, 785-532-5840; Nadine Sigle, nsigle@ksu.edu; or Elaine Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu, 785-532-7720.
Get
It - Do It! is a program of Kansas PRIDE, K-State Research and
Extension and
the K-State School of Family Studies and Human Services. --Elaine
Johannes
WEBINAR SERIES: COMMUNITIES WORKING TOGETHER FOR LASTING SOLUTIONS
Not only are the demographics and financial picture of counties changing but, the way things get done at the local level is also being transformed. Driving this change are specialized activity, strained finances, and fragmented relationships. To get something done, community leaders have to deal with more individuals and more groups, each with their own take on things. This can be viewed as a leadership challenge or a source of creativity and strength.
The challenge is finding ways to manage these differences so that individuals and groups work together to create lasting solutions for the community. The creativity and strength comes with better relationships among all people and as they strive for lasting solutions that support the goals for the entire community. What ultimately gets done depends on the quality of human relationships. These relationships can be strengthened through increased understanding, public participation, and diversified leadership.
The following webinars, which are part of the National Association of Counties (NACo) leadership series, Communities Working Together for Lasting Solution, are designed to assist county officials as they strive to involve local residents in creating lasting solutions to emerging issues.
Increasing Civic Understanding-February 2, 2011 https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/237283930
Explore tools you can use to connect with your residents through an interactive process that will build positive relationships and generate innovative problem solving.
Increasing Public Participation-February 9, 2011 https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/629186275
Tools will be shared to help communities tackle problems using a creative and strategic process for educating and engaging community members.
Building Effective Leadership-February 16, 2011 https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/557476282
Explore ways you can diversify your leadership base, as you prepare new leaders for future responsibilities.
Join Trudy Rice, 2010-2011 NACo Tabor Fellow, on loan from Kansas State University Research and Extension, as she shares her expertise in educating the public about county services, tools to involve the public in the decision making process, and strategies to diversify your county leadership base.
These webinars are free to local county officials across the nation and, as a bonus, faculty of K-State Research and Extension!
Please consider personally inviting your local government officials to participate in this webinar series with you, the local Extension Professional, and then discuss ways that county government and KSRE, at the local level, could mutually benefit from a process to engage the local people in the decision making process as everyone strives to build a better community.
To register, follow the links above or contact Trudy Rice at trice@ksu.edu and the direct links will be sent to you. --Trudy Rice
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
My picks this week are short and medium term outcomes reported by Laura Marks, Flint Hills District #13, and a success story from Karaline Mayer, Wabaunsee County, about their Sericea Lespedeza work.
Producers, especially new landowners and absentee landowners, are
becoming more aware of the long-term effects of Sericea Lespedeza on
their grasslands. Several landowners and managers have come into the office to report or
receive confirmation/identification of plants they have identified or
believe to be Sericea Lespedeza in their or neighboring pastures.
One of the medium term outcomes of the Sericea Lespedeza action plan is
for producers to identify plants, check and recheck stands. We want that
plant identification imbedded in their minds because Sericea Lespedeza does have the opportunity to
take over native pastures. During our June plot tour, a producer brought
a plant sample he noticed in a roadside ditch on the way to the tour.
He read the articles and publications, visited with Extension and
Noxious Weed personnel, and was in fact looking for this noxious weed. This is
exactly our goal! --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
UPDATE FROM COA/KSRE DIVERSITY PROGRAMS: WELCOME BACK
We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday break, and are now ready to dive in to another semester.
We would like to congratulate Sabrina Urquhart. Sabrina received a Graduate Teaching Assistantship with the Political Science department. We wish her the best of luck in her new position. As a result, we hired Corene Brisendine to take over as Graduate Assistant. Corene is working on her MA in English. Please welcome her to our team.
We also need to congratulate Dr. Zelia Wiley on receiving the Commerce Bank Presidential Faculty and Staff Award for Distinguished Service to Historically Under-Represented Students at Kansas State University. Congratulations Dr. Wiley. A presentation and reception will be held Tuesday, January 25, from 3 -5 p.m. in the KSU Alumni Center Banquet Rooms A & D. We invite everyone to attend and congratulate the winners.
Due to the snow we received on Monday, January 10, the COA Teaching Workshop, “Navigating Difference in the College of Agriculture,” scheduled for the 11th was postponed to be rescheduled for a later date in the spring.
The College of Agriculture Diversity Programs Office, under the direction of Assistant Dean for Diversity, Dr. Zelia Wiley, and the students of the office would like to remind everyone about Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Week, January 25-28, 2011. Here is what to expect this week:
After over 40 years, a tape of Dr. King's January 19, 1968 speech at K-State has surfaced, and it will be debuted as part of the 2011 MLK Observance and Celebration. In addition, we have located and invited back to K-State the three gentlemen who shared the platform with Dr. King: Dr. William Boyer, former Head of the All-University Convocations Committee; the Honorable George Haley, former Kansas State Senator; and Mr. Homer Floyd, former Director of the Kansas Human Relations Commission. The MLK Observance Week Planning Committee could not be more excited to bring you these historic events and all the others as our celebration of the King legacy continues with "The Dreamer Speaks Again."
Our celebration will begin on Thursday, January 20, with the 3rd Annual College of Architecture, Planning and Design Diversity Lecture. The speaker will be Mr. Curtis Moody, President and CEO of Moody/Noland, Inc., a noted design firm with locations throughout the United States. The topic of Mr. Moody's address will be, "The Challenges of an Architectural Firm."
On Tuesday, January 25, the College of Agriculture will sponsor its 7th Annual Diversity Student Leaders Luncheon. The speaker at the luncheon will be Mr. Rodney D. Somerville, Executive Immunology Specialist with Centocor Ortho Biotech. The topic of Mr. Somerville's address will be, "A Crossroad at Midnight." Also on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., the Commerce Bank Awards Reception will be held in the Alumni Center. This year's awardees are Samuel Brinton, senior in mechanical engineering; and Dr. Zelia Wiley, Assistant Dean for Diversity in the College of Agriculture. The reception will honor these outstanding individuals who have done so much to advance K-State diversity, to contribute to the success of historically under-represented students, and to promote inclusion.
On Wednesday, January 26, the College of Business Administration will host its 12th Annual Diversity Lecture featuring Mr. Tunde Odunayo, CEO of Honeywell Flour Mills of Nigeria. Mr. Odunayo, who is a frequent visitor to our International Grains Program, will be talking about his experience building this world-class company in the Nigerian private sector. Also on Wednesday, the Alphas will hold their annual Candlelight Vigil followed by a hot chocolate social sponsored by the School of Leadership Studies.
On Thursday, January 27, the MLK Fellowship Luncheon will feature "The Dreamer Speaks Again." The tape of Dr. King's January 19, 1968 speech will be debuted followed by the reactions and recollections of the 1968 platform guests: Dr. William Boyer, Mr. George Haley, and Mr. Homer Floyd. This is a not-to-be missed, historic event and a true milestone in our journey to recapture all of K-State's connections to Dr. King.
Admission to "The Dreamer Speaks Again" is free and open to the public. Luncheon attendees are encouraged to make their reservations early by filling out and submitting the reservation form at http://www.k-state.edu/ddcd/MLKLunchReservationForm.htm by January 21. This form asks for your name, department, meal choice, and contact information for billing.
The week's observance continues on Friday, January 28, with three events. The first is the 3rd Annual Brown Bag Luncheon for Diverse Faculty and Staff. The second is the Reception for Patrons and Friends of the MLK Bust featuring the installation program for the "I Have a Dream" poster in Room 212 of the Student Union. Then, the week's celebration will end with the "Laying of the Wreaths" ceremony at the MLK Commemorative Bust. Those who are part of the processional to the Bust, or those who wish to join the processional are requested to report to the Multicultural Student Organization office on the First Floor of the Student Union at 1:45 p.m. The processional this year will be led by Dr. Boyer and Mr. Haley.
As you can imagine, many people have worked very hard to bring this line-up of King celebrations to the K-State campus. The Planning Committee is especially grateful to all the supporters of the observance week activities, to the K-State Libraries for its assistance with important archival materials, to all those providing wreaths, to the President and Provost's Excellence Fund for making the visit of the 1968 platform guests possible, and to the speakers traveling far and wide to be with us. We hope you will join us as often as possible for the entertainment, receptions, lectures, meals, fellowship, vigils, processional, and ceremony of laying the wreaths. Let's make the 2011 MLK Observance and Celebration a time of coming together, reaffirming our values, embracing our diversity, and strengthening inclusion as "The Dreamer Speaks Again."
The 2011 MLK Observance Poster can be found at http://www.k-state.edu/ddcd/2011mlkweekposter.pdf. Please pick up hard copies of the poster for display in your area(s) and address any questions to the Office of Diversity at 785-532-6276.
Best wishes for a productive Spring 2011 Semester as we observe Martin Luther King Jr. week in the month of January! --Diversity Programs Office
4-H DISCOVERY DAYS CLASS INSTRUCTORS NEEDED
Kansas 4-H Discovery Days is coming up soon and we are
looking for those interested in teaching class sessions. This college
experience held on the K-State campus gives youth, 13-19, the opportunity to
learn in a variety of classes, tours and activities. Discovery Days is an
excellent opportunity for our young people to explore potential careers, degree
programs, personal development, hobbies, sports, and other interests. The time you invest has great potential to impact
these young people for their entire lives!
The dates will be May 31-June 3,
2011 with class sessions scheduled for Wednesday, June 1, and Thursday, June 2,
from 9:30 -11:30 a.m. and 1:30 -3:30 p.m. We are now accepting
class proposals to ensure we have enough spaces for the nearly 500 delegates we
expect to attend this summer!
We would love to have you lead a class session this year! If
you, or anyone else you know, are interested in teaching a class, hosting a
tour, or leading a service project, please fill out the class proposal form (an on-line form is available this year) at http://www.Kansas4-H.org/DiscoveryDays.
We really need your proposal no later than Friday, February
11, so information can be compiled and sent to Extension staff for promoting it
to their 4-H members. We plan to open on-line registration March 1.
If you know someone else who might have something fun to
share with these youth, we would appreciate if you would forward this message
to them! If you have any questions
please feel free to contact me.
Thank you so much for considering the opportunity to share
your expertise with youth from across Kansas. --Justin Wiebers jwiebers@ksu.edu
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