Tuesday Morning Notes

January 6, 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome back!

NEW PLANT SCIENCES DEPARTMENT HEAD:

I’d like to give an Extension welcome to Dr. Ken Feldmann who is the new Department Head for Plant Sciences as of yesterday. He can be contacted at 520.621.1945 / 520.621.1977 / feldmann@cals.arizona.edu.

FOCUS ON FACULTY:

On December 15, one of our former CALS faculty, Ralph Price, passed away. I attended his funeral on December 22 as did many others. Ralph was a Professor in the Nutritional Sciences Department and began his career at the University in July 1969. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.
Our condolences go out to the family of LeMoyne Hogan, age 82, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on Christmas Eve. His passion for growing plants led to three degrees in Ornamental Horticulture and in 1962 he joined the faculty of the Plant Sciences Department and taught classes, conducted research on plants for arid climates, and served as head of the Plant Sciences Department for several years. A graveside service was held on Friday, January 2 at the Green Valley Mortuary.

EXTENSION COUNTY PEER REVIEW UPDATES (for Extension County Faculty only):

Besides making sure your position description is up to date, there are a few changes this year to the evaluation form that is used by the peer review committee, and also the evaluation form used by your County Extension Director when you have your overall performance evaluation review. The section on 'Major Commitments and Plans' has been moved lower on the peer review evaluation form, since you are not evaluated on this by the committee. However, it is a normal part of the CED evaluation. Also, a new category of "Collegiality" has been added to the CED evaluation form, for discussion purposes. The Professional Development Web site (cals.arizona.edu/extension/profdev/) has been updated to reflect these changes. The definition of collegiality (cals.arizona.edu/extension/profdev/CALSCollegialityDefinition.pdf) is at the bottom of the updated form (cals.arizona.edu/extension/profdev/appointedpersonnelevalform2008.pdf) . The Professional Development Web site offers information for assisting you in completing your APR. Notably, 2003's "How to Score a 5" - although lengthy - is well worth the effort. Contact Patti B. (pattib@cals.arizona.edu) if you have questions.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

The 21st annual conference of the Southwest Indian Agriculture Association "Growth of Indian Agriculture Thru Tradition and Technology" will be held at the Aquarius Resort and Casino in Laughlin, NV on January 20-22. The meeting agenda is forthcoming, and will be posted on their Web site soon. Registration and hotel information is available at: www.swindianag.com/.

James A. Christenson, Ph.D.
(jimc@cals.arizona.edu)
Associate Dean and Director
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Forbes, Room 301
Tucson, Arizona 85721
520/621-7205
520/621-1314 FAX

TMN submittal: http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/tuesday/submittal_form.html