This week seems like “summer” despite the fact that temperatures dipped low enough over the weekend that the heat came on. The meeting schedule is a bit light this week, but I am not complaining. I am hopeful that many are jumping into the long weekend early. Temperatures in the 70s would be perfect.
Some departments are holding retreats before the end of the month. Last week, the Department of Horticulture met and discussed curriculum, among other topics. Scot Hulbert, Jim Smith, and I joined the group early in the retreat agenda, and the creative ideas were already flowing. This week, Scot Hulbert, Leslie Edgar, Jim Smith, and I are spending a day at the Prosser Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center. We will meet with the WSU team and our Prosser partners: USDA-ARS and WSDA. Grower partners will join us in the afternoon. The meeting’s purpose is to share research updates, learn about grower needs, and devise a plan to collectively meet those needs.
The strategic planning committee, led by Scot Hulbert and facilitated by Becky Dueben, is making good progress! Scot shared a draft of that progress with me late last week. There are lots of ideas to operationalize the programmatic goals to achieve a Resilient Washington and more. I am eager to review strategies and metrics for the strategic plan as they develop. We will share the plan with partners and others in CAHNRS for review soon.
Becky was one of the four facilitators that worked with us at last week’s chairs and directors retreat, where we built out two of the goals of the programmatic plan for a Resilient Washington: ensuring access to safe, healthy food for all, and building a qualified, adaptable workforce. The associate deans are synthesizing the ideas that came from the retreat and pulling out action items to bring back to the next meeting with chairs and directors. These plans, too, will be shared for broader feedback. Summer will be anything but slow.
Be sure to take a moment this weekend to acknowledge the bravery and selflessness of those who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe. I am so grateful.