Cooperative Extension - Tuesday Morning Notes

Edition Topics

August 30, 2022

  1. Message from Interim Director Ed Martin
  2. Call for Case Studies
  3. Nominations are open for ALVSCE Administrator of the Year
  4. Child Care Survey
  5. New Extension Publication
  6. Tip of the Week

Message from the Interim Director of Extension

Road Report #19. Last week, I was able to work in a trifecta of county visits, starting with our La Paz faculty and staff, and then onto Kingman to meet with Mohave County Extension, and finally back down to Prescott to meet with our newest CED, Matt Halderson and the faculty and staff at Yavapai County Extension. I was even honored to meet with the CRIT’s current Chairwoman, Amelia Flores, and Vice Chair, Dwight Lomayesva. All three offices are unique, and it was interesting to see how each office addresses current issues in the communities within their county. They also talked about cross-county programming, working with peers from nearby counties to address regional challenges. It was also a very good lesson in distances for me, as I came to better appreciate the driving time required by staff and faculty to meet with stakeholders. This now concludes my county visits, about two months later than I hoped (I was working to visit all offices within a year). So, I guess it is time to start the process over again. I want to thank everyone from the three counties for taking the time to meet with me. I hope you found our meetings as productive as I did.

Call for Case Studies

The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine define the bioeconomy as “economic activity that is driven by research and innovation in the life sciences and biotechnology, and that is enabled by technological advances in engineering and in computing and information sciences.”

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the circular economy, “is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. It is underpinned by a transition to renewable energy and materials. A circular economy decouples economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.”

The Schmidt Futures Foundation’s Task Force on Synthetic Biology and the Bioeconomy has defined the circular bioeconomy as “an economy that forgoes the traditional linear economic model of “take-make-consume-throw away” for one that uses the power of biotechnology, design for bioproduction, and machine learning/artificial intelligence to create an economic system in which waste products serve as inputs to create highly valued products and materials, that are used as long as possible, and reused.”

As part of the Making Action Possible (MAP) Dashboard White Paper series of the Economic and Business Research Center in the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, the Departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Biosystems Engineering are publishing the report Southern Arizona’s Circular Bioeconomy: Economic Contributions, Applications, and Outlook. As part of this report, we seek short, illustrative case studies of public and private R&D, programs, and education efforts tied to the bioeconomy, circular economy, or circular bioeconomy ongoing in Southern Arizona. 

Guidelines for submitting a case study: 
Case studies should be short, 500 – 750 words.

Questions to address (only if relevant to the particular case study): 
   •  What does the technology or program in your case study do?
   •  What are existing or potential commercial applications of this technology or program? For a
      research-enabling technology, how does it facilitate life science, biomedical, or biotechnology
      research? 
   •  How does this process or program introduce circularity (how does it rely on the 3Rs:
      Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling materials)? 
   •  What are notable potential environmental benefits? 
   •  For an education or training program, how does it contribute to a well-trained bioeconomy
      workforce?
   •  What has been the role of local / state/ federal funding/collaboration?  Private sector partners? 
   •  What are Weblinks for additional information?

Deadline for submission: September 30, 2022

Have questions about whether and how your case study might fit?  
Contact George Frisvold frisvold@ag.arizona.edu


Nominations are open for ALVSCE Administrator of the Year!

The Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension (ALVSCE) Administrator of the Year Award was created to recognize and honor outstanding achievements and contributions by an administrator in ALVSCE.  This annual award consists of a plaque for the recipient and a monetary award of $1,000 to be made to the winner’s administrative unit in honor of the recipient.

Nominations of candidates for this award may be made by faculty, staff, alumni, students or other administrators in ALVSCE. Nominations for administrators who are not selected will be retained for future consideration by the committee for a total of three years.

Deadline for nominations: October 17, 2022

For more information, including award criteria: https://compass.arizona.edu/awards/administrator

Please forward any questions regarding the nomination process to CALS Asst. Dean Jean McLain, mclainj@arizona.edu

Child Care Survey

University students and employees who have a child under the age of 12 or who plan to have, adopt, or foster a child within the next two years, are invited to complete the Child Care Survey by Tuesday, Sept. 6. The survey takes about 20 to 25 minutes to complete. The link below will save your responses and allow you to return at a later time.

Complete The Child Care Survey

To complete the survey, you will need to log in using your NetID to verify that you are a University of Arizona employee or student. Your name and your individual responses will remain confidential.

In support of the University of Arizona’s commitment to being a family-friendly university, this effort is being coordinated by the Office of University Initiatives and the Campus Early Childhood Education and Care Working Group with diverse representation from students, faculty, and staff.

In addition to completing the survey, you are encouraged to explore the University’s existing child care resources including the Childcare Choice program for employees, the Childcare Choice program for students, and Sick and Backup Childcare.

New Extension Publication

How to Find Children's and Young Adult Books That Can Help Caregivers Promote Anti-Racism
Katherine E. Speirs, Jennifer Parlin, Jennifer Argyros, Ashley L. Dixon-Kleibe, Christy Stuth, and
Shevonda Joyner

Books can be a great way to help children, from preschoolers to teens, understand other people's experiences and develop compassion and empathy. Books can also help you start or continue a conversation about what it means to be anti-racist.1,2 Below you will find information about selecting books that promote anti-racism, making sure all children in your community have access to these books, and using online resources to find books. 

Tip of the Week


Could your writing be easier to understand? Try the UArizona-developed writing clarity tool (and other writing resources) at: writingclaritycalculator.com 



 

TEN Submittal Process

Please submit your news by 4:00pm Monday to TMN [tmn@cals.arizona.edu].
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