The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
(Vol. 18 No. 33)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
I want to point you to an article highlighting the importance of community, adult and teen relationships, and creating positive social capital. Click here for the link to the article. While the story doesn't mention 4-H, it certainly points to the foundational principles of positive youth development and how employing such principles can have a positive influence on teens, adults, and an entire community! It represents some great value statements with respect to the work that does go on in 4-H and community PRIDE programs throughout the state. Congratulations to Elaine Johannes for the recognition she has received for the work that has gone on in several Kansas communities.
And on a second note, I've had many discussions with Extension faculty on the cross-cutting training needs that build skills as an Extension professional beyond your subject matter expertise. Much like learning techniques for classroom teaching, facilitating group discussions in all kinds of settings is a great skill for the Extension profession. Such a workshop has just been announced and registration for the next ICDD Public Issues Facilitation Workshop is available at the following website: http://icdd.k-state.edu/OlatheFacilitation. Links to registration and hotel information are on that webpage.
The Center for Engagement and Community Development, along with KSRE, is offering scholarships to cover registration for up to 4 Extension professionals for this training. Please contact David Procter or myself to qualify for the scholarship. There are two registration options:
Online - https://outreach.ksu.edu/etrakWebApp/Registration.aspx?MeetingCode=231309 and
Printable form (for mail/fax registrations) - https://outreach.ksu.edu/ksumailinfax/default.aspx?Meetingcode=231309.
Registration deadline is July 16. This
event will pack a lot into two days. It may be a good refresher for
you and the perfect training for others with some facilitation
experience. If you have any questions, please contact Myles Alexander, Center for Engagement and Community Development, http://icdd.k-state.edu.
Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
BIOMASS TO ENERGY WEBINAR
There is much interest in developing ways to harvest, collect, and transport biomass for use as energy. Once this material is collected, a number of ways to utilize it for energy exist. A webinar series has been put together to explain some of ways the biomass can be utilized for energy.
The third presentation in this “Biomass to Energy” will be presented by representatives of Konza Renewable Fuels of Meriden, Kansas. The topic for this presentation will be on Torrefaction. This presentation will be Friday, June 29, 10 to 11 a.m. CDT. The torrefcation process is a thermochemical process that reduces biomass to a more biologically stable and energy dense product. Konza Renewable Fuels is a company that is working on processes related to torrefying biomass materials for co-firing and other applications. The company provides torrefaction systems equipment for US and European clients. The company has the in house capacity to develop technology, provide equipment design, and fabrication services for torrefaction systems. Konza Renewable Fuels will also provide facility startup, maintenance, and operator training services.
How To Connect:
Start connecting 5 minutes prior to the start time. You need a computer with Internet access and speakers. At the meeting time, copy and paste this URL into your browser to enter the meeting:
https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/agenergy/.
At that URL you will find a login page. “Enter as a Guest” with your name, and business or institution and click “Enter Room.” The audio portion of the meeting will come through your computer speakers. Any time before the meeting you can visit the following URL to confirm your ability to connect:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/testconnect/.
If you missed the first two installments of this web series, they have been archived and are available for viewing at your convenience. The first on webinar, “Biomass for Commercial Heating,” can be viewed at: http://learn.extension.org/events/510. The second webinar on “Thermochemical Conversion to Biomass Fuel” can be viewed at: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p28gqm69z9z/?launcher=false&facContent=true&pbMode=normal. --Ed Brokesh ebrokesh@ksu.edu
DIVERSITY PROGRAMS OFFICE JUNE 2012
It’s going to be a busy and exciting summer this year
for the Diversity Programs Office! This
year there is the addition of the Transfer Student
BRIDGE program for the summer session. This new program serves the purpose of
reaching the underrepresented populations of women and minority students to
help them succeed during their transition into Kansas State
University. The BRIDGE
program allows students that are attending Kansas
community colleges and who are considering transferring to the College of Agriculture
at K-State to move to campus during the second semester of their sophomore year
for a full-semester experience at a university.
Throughout their experience, the students are paired with a faculty
mentor in one of the College
of Agriculture academic departments
to take courses, participate in career development and recruiting events,
conduct research, and prepare a written paper and presentation. In addition, the students have the
opportunity to develop a network among their peers, faculty mentors, local
community leaders, and potential employers to successfully transition them from
a community college to a four-year institution.
Currently, there are two students participating in the BRIDGE program
and they are both from Seward
County Community
College. Orientation
began June 4 with Roberto Sanchez who will be working with his faculty mentor,
Dr. Hikaru Peterson; and Socorro Martinez, who is paired with Dr. Teresa
Douthit.
The Kansas State Research and
Extension (KSRE) Multicultural Fellowship Program began on Saturday, June
2, and is expected to continue over the course of the summer for eight
weeks. KSRE program is designed to
expose students to research within agricultural related fields. The students will be paired with faculty
mentors in their chosen fields of interests and will engage in ongoing research
studies. The following students will be
a part of the KSRE program for the summer of 2012:
Adrian Craft is a junior from Prairie View
Agricultural and Mechanical
University and an Agricultural
Economics major who will be researching under the guidance of Dr. Ted
Schroeder, professor of Agricultural Economics.
Victoria King is a senior in Agricultural Economics from Fort Valley
State University
and will be researching with Agricultural Economics professor, Dr. Andy
Barkley.
Briony Miller is a senior from University of Texas
at San Antonio
and studying public relations. She is going to be paired with Dr. Lauri Baker,
professor of Communication and Agricultural Education.
Finally, Bradley Nzinga, who is a senior from Tuskegee University and majoring in Animal
Sciences, will be working under the lead of Dr. James Drouillard, professor of
Animal Sciences and Industry.
The Nicodemus Educational Camp will be held June 18 – June
22, this summer and will focus on helping under represented students learn
about agriculture programs in education and careers. The Camp students will be on campus Monday,
June 18, to enjoy lunch and take their pre-test as well as attend an
agricultural presentation at 4 p.m. Additionally, the Jr. MANRRS chapter will be on campus this summer as well as Upward Bound.
Project IMPACTS, Multicultural Academic Program Success
(MAPS), began this year on Friday, June 15, with the students arriving
for their orientation. MAPS is in its
fourth year here at Kansas State University
and will be hosted by the College of Agriculture, College
of Business and College of Engineering. MAPS is a six week structured academic and
residential summer program in which students participate to earn five or six
college credits in courses that apply to their respective major. The program is
designed to help challenge and support students as they make the transition to
college by preparing them for the academics of a university, helping the
students familiarize themselves with K-State campus and community, providing
exposure to companies that hire K-State graduates, and interactions with
top-level company executives. MAPS
students will be joined by six K-State peer mentors and will be residing in Moore
Hall. For the month of June they will participate in Thursday night’s various
College Activities, K-State Recreation Ropes Course, Ag/Biofuels Farm tour and
Brown vs. Board Tour in Topeka, and a tour of the
Professional Development/Industry in Blair, NE, and a tour of the Flint Hills
Discovery Center. They will also be participating in a collaborative
Biofuels research project that integrates all three colleges in their research.
If you need anything from the
Diversity Programs Office please do not hesitate to contact us. In the office
this summer you can find Daja Menefee, Graduate Student Assistant; Lizbeth
Alcantara, Graduate Student Assistant; and Jeremy Scott, Undergraduate Student
Assistant. Give us a call at 785-532-5793 or email Dr. Zelia Wiley at zwiley@ksu.edu. --Zelia Wiley
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
This week my picks are outcomes and success stories from Dana
Belshe, Sunflower District; and Chris Long, Walnut Creek District.
Evidence:
**A
review of the 2009-2011 Leadership Sherman County class members shows that 12
of 30 graduates (40%) of the participants are now serving in leadership
capacities within the community. The current Leadership Sherman County Board of
10 is made up of six elected members, two for a 3-year term from each
graduating class and four community volunteers. This year, for the first time,
all four at-large members have participated in the leadership program.
The
community has more than 100 graduates of the Leadership Sherman County
remaining in the community and working within many organizations to better the
community. An example of this is the city commission. The commission has five
elected members--four are graduates of the program. The city manager is also a
graduate; he was hired last year and took the program to learn about the
community.
**Through
the Walnut Creek Extension District Ag and Industry tour, individuals from the district and several adjoining counties experienced
agriculture and industry related businesses and locations from areas they don't
normally see. Stops on the tour ranged from large business corporations to
small family owned businesses and included Agritourism business in Kansas and Oklahoma.
After
attending the WCED tour, a few Agritourism meetings were prompted from individuals
on the tour and also the Economic Development group.
Success story:
Last fall the WCED held the 52nd annual Ag and Industry tour and traveled to
the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. As a result of the tour, more than 20 of the 45
participants signed up on an early bird list to ensure that we will have a 53rd
annual tour. The tour began in Rush County and has continued since the formation of WCED. This year the committee for the tour has planned a trip to the
Lincoln, Nebraska area. The three-day tour will cover a wide variety of stops
from the industry sector and also Agritourism. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
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