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College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
Dean’s Monthly Newsletter // August 2022
Month in Review
 (click to read)

Welcome to the Fall 2022 Semester! I am energized by the excitement I feel on campus at this time of year, and enjoyed meeting and speaking with our students at Academic Day in Trowbridge on Friday! I am honored to be entering my sixth academic year as the dean of our college and look forward to working together with all of you to advance our Drive to Distinction.

This month I have been involved in ongoing discussions and planning regarding the Farm Bill, meetings of the Institute of Food Technologists Taskforce, faculty interviews, and divisional meetings.

On Aug. 8, I participated in the Missouri Food Manufacturing Initiative Planning Meeting; later in the week I attended a reception for new faculty, hosted by President Choi and Provost Ramchand, as well as a new faculty orientation lunch.

I was glad to get to attend so many great events with alumni, friends and stakeholders at the Missouri State Fair, including the Missouri State Fair Foundation Gala, CAFNR Alumni Ice Cream Social, Governor’s Ham Breakfast, ALOT Meeting, and the Ag Advisory Council Meeting hosted by Sens. Blunt and Hawley. I also was able to take time to volunteer at the Pork Place, as well as attend a meeting of the MO-FEN at State Fair Community College.

Also last week I participated in the Chairs Retreat Reception, the BRIC (Biotech Regulation Immersion Course) Welcome Reception, and a Staff Leave Program Change Information Session.

Later this week we kick off our Field Day season with the Fisher Delta Research, Extension and Education Center Field Day events, followed by the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station Statewide Advisory Committee Meeting and the Northern Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center Field Day.

Before the month ends, I will also attend the President and Provost’s Welcome Back Faculty Social; Molecular Imaging and Theranostics Center (MITC) Open House at Research Park; and the Missouri 100 Fall Reception, in addition to speaking at the Agricultural and Environment Extension End of Summer In-Service Education event at Bradford Research Farm.

It’s been a busy month, and I look forward to a productive semester! Let’s make it another great one in CAFNR!

CAFNR Proud,

Christopher R. Daubert, Ph.D.
CAFNR Vice Chancellor & Dean

@CAFNRDean
CAFNR Dean
@CAFNRDean

Always excited to visit with our great @Mizzou @cafnralumni! See you in Sedalia! #Mizzou @MoStateFair

2:29 PM - Aug 11, 2022
Tiger Roars!

Over 100 organizations have registered to attend our Fall ’22 CAFNR/Arts & Science Career Fair, scheduled for Monday, Oct. 3, in the MU Rec Center from noon to 4 p.m. Go, Tigers!

Of Note

IT Notes: Support During Start of School
With the influx of students on campus, you can generally expect an impact in the performance of the network and other systems. Please visit the IT System Status website to check on system wide outages before contacting CAFNR IT: status.missouri.edu/. There is an option to subscribe to system announcements for system outages that may directly affect your job such as Canvas or Peoplesoft. This system also allows for the use of an outside email address for notification in case of email outages.

Please be patient. Same day support, outside of classrooms, will be limited until we are through the first week or two of classes. If you have an emergency situation, please point that out when requesting support.

HR News: Leave Program Modernization Information Sessions
As a reminder, information sessions will be held to provide an update on the proposal and to answer your questions. Sessions will be held via Zoom on the dates provided below; links will become accessible shortly before the meeting is scheduled to begin. This information can also be found at https://www.umsystem.edu/ums/hr/modernizing-leave.

Tuesday, Aug. 23, 3-4 p.m., Attend via Zoom
Thursday, Aug. 25, 9-10 a.m., Attend via Zoom
Monday, Aug. 29, 3-4 p.m., Attend via Zoom

If you are unable to attend and wish to provide feedback, you are encouraged to contact Kimberly LeCompte, Associate Director of HR, at klecompte@missouri.edu.

HR News: Annual Compliance Training
It’s that time of year again! On Tuesday, Aug. 16, annual compliance training was launched, and modules are now available in Percipio. The training modules should take about an hour in total to complete and should be completed by Sept. 16. It is important to complete all training modules as incomplete training may impact future performance evaluations or merit increase decisions. The four training modules include:

  • Campus Emergency Alert
  • Code of Conduct
  • Electronic Data Protection
  • Equity in the Workplace: Eliminating Discrimination and Harassment

Please contact the IT Help Desk if you encounter trouble logging into Percipio. Any questions relating to training assessment or content should be directed to the HR Service Center at (573) 882-2146, toll free at (800) 488-5288, or at HRServiceCenter@umsystem.edu.

HR News: Coming Soon! Best Practices for Managing and Leading People
Are you new to managing people or just need a refresher? Then this workshop is for you! This session will focus on strategies that managers can utilize over the course of the employee lifecycle to improve satisfaction and retention for a more productive workplace. CAFNR HR will be hosting several one-hour sessions during the months of September and October. Stay tuned for additional communication with specific workshop dates and times!

HR News: CAFNR HR Staff Announcement
Dr. Kim LeCompte has recently joined CAFNR as an Associate Director for Human Resources. This position is split with MU Extension to provide HR leadership in strategic planning, organizational design, employee development and implementation of HR structure to meet the needs of both CAFNR and MU Extension. She and CAFNR Business Services will work together to provide elevated HR support to the College, Divisions, and REECs. Elizabeth Grissom will continue to handle the academic recruitment process for the college, and Becky Werhman will continue to handle staff recruitment processes, as well as other HR tasks as needed.

Kim was previously our shared HR professional, and in her new embedded role, will continue to have strong ties to UM System and MU Campus Human Resources. Kim will generally be in CAFNR several days per week and will have an office in Whitten Hall as well. She can be reached by email at klecompte@missouri.edu or through Microsoft Teams.