TopicsDecember 12, 2023
- Message from the Associate Vice-President and Director of Extension
- WRRC Photo Contest
- Completing Your APR Using Faculty Portfolio
- Extensionist of the Year Nominations Open
- Soil Health Workshop
- CCT Workshop, Bayesian Learning Group
- Job Openings
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Message from the Associate Vice-President and Director of Extension
This is my last Director’s Notes for 2023 (please keep your applause to a low rumble). Those of you who work for Cooperative Extension have a gift; a gift to educate, a gift to help others, and gift to sit through a two hour meeting and idenifty the three things you needed to learn from that meeting. A gift to welcome a community partner into your building or office, and let them know we’re here to assist.
And please, don’t keep that gift to yourself, share it with others, help others learn what you have learned, and bring them along with you. This is for all of us, staff and faculty alike. We recently had a candidate who told me that we “all” treated him so nicely. I was so proud of everyone, from the faculty and staff on the search committee to the folks who rode in the vehicle showing him around. We might all take it for granted, but believe me, I know, it is a gift. Given the holiday season, I thought I should let you all know, you’ve already received your gift - a long time ago!
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Entries Due Friday The deadline to submit photos for the annual Water Resources Research Center photo contest is rapidly approaching. Send photos by December 15. This year, the theme is Water Scarcity & Extreme Weather. We invite you to showcase your talent by capturing the essence of Arizona's climate challenges in images in four categories - People, Built Environment, Nasuture, and Arid/Semi-arid Lands Outside Arizona.
One winner, one runner-up, and one honorable mention will be chosen from each category. Each entrant may submit up to three photos. Winners will be announced during the 2024 Chocolate Fest in February, and winning photographs will be featured on the WRRC website. Photo Contest images will be used in WRRC publications and other outreach materials. We look forward to seeing your submissions!
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| Completing Your APR Using Faculty Portfolio (formerly UAVitae)
Join Cathy Martinez, Ph.D., interim Associate Director, 4-H Youth Development, for this first webinar in the Onboarding and Orientation series. This presentation will cover the components of the APR that all faculty complete annually, with examples from various Extension programs. We will likely finish in an hour but sheduled extra time for questions.
When: Noon-1:30 p.m., Thursday, December 14
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Nominate Someone for Extensionist of the Year
Each year we recognize strong contributors to Cooperative Extension with the Extensionist of the Year Award.
The Extensionist of the Year Award recognizes and honors a resident of Arizona who has demonstrated extraordinary contributions through UACE to improving the lives of people in their community and state. The award will be presented at an appropriate division-wide event. Letters of nomination from UACE or non-UACE faculty and staff and/or peers should focus on the following criteria:
1. The nature and extent of the contribution provided by the individual (35%)
2. How this contribution has benefited people in the community (15%) and the state (15%)
3. Leadership qualities (25%)
4. Support for UACE (10%).
The submission deadline is January 8
The award will be presented at an appropriate Extension or ALVSCE event. Please read the criteria carefully and submit only the materials noted. Submit your nominations and support letters to kellymontez@arizona.edu. If you have any questions, contact Kelly (520) 621-7145.
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| Soil Health Workshop
Please join us in beautiful Patagonia, AZ January 24th for a free workshop that will highlight speakers providing information about inexpensive and logistically simple techniques you can use to enhance soil health on arid landscapes. See flyer attached. Coffee and lunch are included.
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Workshop: Demystifying APIs for Researchers
A wide variety of data shared on the web (including spatial data, census data, 'omics data, bibliometric data, and more!) are available through some web API ("Application Programming Interface"). In this workshop you'll learn what an API is, how to access data using APIs, and how to write R code to automate downloading data from APIs using the httr2 package.
When: 11 a.m., January 24
Bayesian Learning Group
In this peer-to-peer learning collaborative, we will work through foundational concepts in Bayesian statistics scaffolded around Richard McElreath’s Statistical Rethinking, 2nd edition textbook and video lectures. Our meetings will be split between book-club-style discussions and working through statistical examples in R and Stan. Familiarity with R and the foundations of probability will be extremely helpful.
When: Noon-2 p.m., every other Friday beginning January 19
For more information about the CCT-Data Science team and our offerings, including workshops, drop-in hours, our Data Science Incubator program, and our work collaborating on funded projects, please see our website.
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| Job Openings
Assistant/Associate Agent, Family Consumer & Health Sciences, Pinal County – Cooperative Extension is seeking a self-driven, hard-working, creative, cooperative and dynamic person to serve as Assistant/Associate Family, Consumer and Health Sciences (FCHS) Agent. The FCHS Agent is part of a dynamic team of professionals developing and delivering community outreach programs that provide research-based, objective, informal education. The person in this position will be required to develop, implement and evaluate effective outcome-based FCHS Extension programs in the areas of Nutrition, Food Safety, Parent Education, Financial Literacy, Early Childhood Screenings, and other health-related issues. The agent will work collaboratively with FCHS and other Extension faculty and staff, AZ Health Zone, First Things First, Pinal County Health Department, and other partners in the county of assignment; acquire both financial and human resources through grants, contracts and gifts to support the development and delivery of these programs; build capacity to sustain and grow programs through empowerment and/or leadership development; and engage in professional development regularly and redirect efforts, as needed. Position is located in Casa Grande, Arizona. For more information, see the job posting on the UArizona talent site.
Food Safety Assistant/Associate Agent, Yuma, Arizona – This continuing eligible Assistant/Associate Extension Agent position will work with colleagues and industry professionals, developing and delivering research-driven outreach and education programs relative to the agricultural community, particularly in the area of Fresh Produce Food Safety. The primary focus of the position will be to develop and deliver research-based education and assistance to the fresh produce industry in the Southwest. In addition to outreach, the agent will work alongside colleagues (Specialists and agents) to develop and conduct applied research, create scholarly Extension publications, present at conferences and meetings, and pursue grant and gift funding to support research and program work. For more information see the posting on the University of Arizona Talent website.
Extension Specialist (Assistant/Associate) – Family Health and Well-being, Norton School of Human Ecology – This continuing status (i.e., tenure-track) position will develop and lead a statewide initiative to address community health and family well-being, particularly emotional-behavioral health, using a family systems and intergenerational life course approach to human behavior, health and well-being. This work will be informed by the Cooperative Extension System’s National Framework for Health Equity and Well-being (2021).The Specialist will work to strengthen and improve family and community health and well-being and the social-environmental context(s) in which family groups interact. Using effective research-based, equity-focused approaches and advancing policies that help families be resilient and thrive, the Specialist will demonstrate impact through rigorous program evaluation and other applied research. The Specialist will maintain a program of extension, research, and scholarly outreach in community-based family health and well-being programs. This position will involve 60% extension, 30% research, and 10% service as a member of the Human Development and Family Science faculty. For more information visit the posting on the UA Talent site.
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