Vacation’s over. I have racoon eyes from sunglasses, my shoulders are a bit sore from kayaking, and I am covered head to toe in “no-see-um” bites. It was great to spend extended time with family in Virginia. By all measures it was a success, despite the heat and humidity. I can’t wait to do it again next year.
Now it is time to get ready to welcome our new faculty, staff, and students to campus. Student orientations appear well underway based on the number of groups and amount of signage I observed during the latter half of June.
In CAHNRS, we are planning for a mid-August new faculty orientation and some training opportunities throughout the fall for early career faculty. The college Promotion and Tenure Committee has begun its work and formally kicks off in mid-August to plan for review of a couple dozen advancement packages this fall. I need to spend some time this weekend working on a guidance document to help faculty understand advancement expectations across missions and career spans.
Before heading back to Pullman this week, I am spending a couple of days in Washington, D.C., with many of our commodity group partners. The intent is to thank our elected federal partners for their efforts to finalize a Farm Bill, work to secure infrastructure funding, and leadership in fund allocation to construct the new USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) building that will sit where Johnson Hall once stood. Early August will be busy with an official groundbreaking for the new USDA ARS building. It is going to be a bit hectic getting everything in place. Many thanks to the ARS and WSU team that is working on the logistics.
I am in Pullman for a couple of weeks before travel resumes. This will give me a chance to catch up with team members and enjoy parts of town before student traffic returns. Technically, it is my first summer in Pullman. I don’t feel like I have spent much time here, yet. I wouldn’t complain if temperatures stayed below 82 F, though fortunately the humidity is nothing like coastal Virginia.