I was in Washington, D.C., for a couple of days this week to meet with our federal partners and members. I had a chance to make Hill visits with our longtime CARET member, Mike Miller, as well as Jacob Dowd and Geordy Bryant Greene from the WSU Government Relations team. It is fun sharing the good work and impact that results from federal investment in Extension and agriculture research, including competitive grant programs.
We met with our USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) partners, too. I am excited to see the “options” being added into the plans for the new ARS building on the Pullman campus. I also spoke with a CAHNRS Advisory Council member to learn what he has been up to and do some planning.
Our students are our best CAHNRS advocates! Emily Libey, a student in the human development department who wants to be a home economics teacher, proposed a monthly CAHNRS student ambassador takeover of the CAHNRS Instagram account. Be on the lookout for Emily; she is quite convincing! And be sure to check out her own Instagram takeover about a day in the life of a CAHNRS student and watch her happy dance.
I will spend the next couple of days working on annual reviews. Aside from the obvious, I do enjoy the opportunity to learn about the impressive accomplishments across CAHNRS as well as plans for the current year. Next month, I will start reading through impact statements. This will give me new information to share with our friends and those on the Hill when I am back in Washington, D.C., in early June.
The deans had a productive meeting with President Schulz and Provost Chilton on Monday. I appreciated the conversation. Dialogue, not one-way communication, is essential — particularly when difficult conversations need to be had. I hope we can increase that dialogue.
We talked about town halls that were held with the colleges before COVID-19. Some of our CAHNRS leaders have expressed a desire for regular town hall Zoom meetings amongst CAHNRS members. It might be time to consider this while finding a way to make sure they’re beneficial and not adding a tremendous workload. Imagine if we each took a step every day toward making WSU a great place to work and learn. Even small steps, like the meeting, could lead us each to our own happy dance.
There are signs of spring in Pullman. I wasn’t expecting to see the crocus in bloom near the Lighty Student Services Building, but there they were! I know it is likely they will be buried in snow before May, but they are safe for the moment.