June 19, 2018
Making the Best of It
I will start off with a “my bad.” I need to mention an omission from last week. No, not the John C. Pair Center, but we will touch base on that in a minute. The faculty position at the Kansas State University Experiment Farm in Hutchinson is open due to retirement. It was a 40% Extension position, and it will also be lost to the budget reduction. The Department of Agronomy has a plan to provide interim coverage, and they are examining more alternatives to provide longer term coverage.
Now, let’s move on to making the best of it…
People have wondered why I have not talked much about the announced closing of the John C. Pair Horticultural Center. Simply put, with the exception of a portion of a faculty member’s salary, we do not have any Extension investment in the facility. Nevertheless, our Extension horticulture programs are a big beneficiary of the work that goes on there. Thus, it will be a big loss for Extension.
That is why I want to discuss making the best of it. Sometimes life hands us really unpalatable things that are hard to digest. The pending closing of the John C. Pair Horticulture Center is one of those unpalatable things.
When things like this happen, most people just complain but accept it. Others ask for a reversal of the decision. Yet, a few sometimes ask to be creative and entrepreneurial. They request a chance to propose an alternative plan that will make the closing entity more viable.
With regard to the closing of the John C. Pair Horticulture Center, there were examples of all three reactions, but the third held the most promise for K-State Research and Extension. A team of our colleagues asked for the opportunity to develop a plan. A plan that would hopefully make the John C. Pair Horticulture Center an even better and more financially viable research and extension center. This group wanted a chance to take a bad situation and make the best of it.
People who try to make the best of it are often rewarded. This team will get that opportunity. This doesn’t mean that the John C. Pair Horticulture Center will not close, but it does provide hope for its survival. They may fail, but who knows? They may succeed. They may even make the John C. Pair Horticulture Center the standard by which all similar centers are measured. Let’s hope so. I believe we all like to root for people who make the best of what life hands them.