Cohort 6 Projects

Strategic Planning!
Projects for Cohort 6 were all strongly tied to strategic planning, unit operational redesign, creation of new programs with aspects related to how they fit into the unit’s overall vision while keeping clear sight on fulfilling the mission with increased revenues or at least maintaining the present level of funding. Several projects note that the present operational structure cannot be maintained. Past and present budget cuts have resulted in low enrollment program eliminations. With several major federal funding programs putting more emphasis on interdisciplinary, multi-component larger projects, many Fellows looked at way to better encourage these types of co-operations by changing or creating new administrative structures. New areas examined include Creating a Division of Nutritional Sciences, an International Food Technology Center, enhancing a Child Development Education Center, and Extending the Cooperative Extension Model to non land-grant in-state schools.
Empowering change included developing focused faculty cluster hires, moving from an extension program five year review process to a scanning review system which incorporates county-based scanning, statewide scanning, real-time review and public, web-based portals with instant feedback. At one university the functions of teaching, extension and research were still mainly administered as independent silos. A single umbrella administrative structure was created yielding highly improved operational units. Crosscutting themes included curriculum redesign to bring multidisciplinary approaches into the classrooms. Also possible critical thinking skills were used as well as the incorporation of entrepreneurial or enterprising skills sets.

John Arthington, University of Florida

Jean Bertrand, University of Georgia
“University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 2020 Strategic Plan”

Caula Ann Beyl, University of Tennessee
“Development of the Strategic Plan for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Revision of the College Staffing Structure, and Completion of a Five-Year Self Study”

Michael Boehm, The Ohio State University

Doug Britton, Georgia Institute of Technology
“Poultry Production & Processing for a Resilient Future”

William Brown, University of Tennessee

Shirley Hymon-Parker, North Carolina A & T University
“Redesigning the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences for the 21st Century”

David Jackson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
“Increasing the Impact of Nebraska’s Hatch-Multistate Funding”

Rodney Johnson, University of Illinois
“Vision 20/20: An interdisciplinary research program for the Division of Nutritional Sciences”

Matthew Kuchan, Abbott Nutrition
“Improving the Speed and Quality of Innovation through Industry-Academic Partnerships”

Stacy Livisay, Manager Taste Applications, Hill’s Pet Nutrition

Dirk Maier, Kansas State University
“Review of and recommendations regarding non tenure-track faculty titles at Kansas State University”