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I’m glad the polar vortex is behind us here in Missouri and across the rest of the country (you can learn more about the weather phenomenon via our own Tony Lupo, professor of atmospheric science). I am looking forward to warmer temperatures for some special CAFNR events this week. On Wednesday we will dedicate our new Plant Sciences Learning Laboratory in the Agriculture Building in honor of Henry Kirklin. Mr. Kirklin is thought to be the first African American to teach at the University of Missouri, although in an informal capacity. His expertise was noted while working as a greenhouse supervisor in the late 1800s, and he was asked to teach grafting and pruning to plant sciences students. I hope you will plan to join us to learn more about Mr. Kirklin and how his legacy lives on in the hands-on nature of our plant sciences program. The livestream of the event will begin at 2 p.m. Feb. 24, and will be available at cafnr.missouri.edu/henry-kirklin. I hope you will also join us for another virtual event later this week – CAFNR Unlimited Reimagined! Kaleigh Summers, our alumni relations coordinator, and team have put together a fun evening, with music, auctions and a few surprises. See more information and register today at cafnr.missouri.edu/alumni. The free event kicks off Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. I enjoyed hearing from industry experts about trends and technology at the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City’s 2021 (virtual) Ag Innovation Forum last week. Our own Jared Decker, Wurdack Chair in Animal Genetics, was part of a panel discussion at the event. This month I attended the Pork Industry Banquet, met with the Mizzou News Bureau to discuss media placements and reach, started our annual meetings with our Research Center advisory boards, and finished up interviews as part of the search committee for the Dean of the College of Engineering. Tomorrow I am pleased to host our friends at Missouri Soybean for a luncheon here on campus. Thank you to Shibu Jose and Kerry Clark for presenting at our first spring faculty/staff meeting last week – and thank you to all of you who joined us! I enjoyed hearing about their progress and plans for the coming year and beyond. We have two additional meetings on the calendar for this semester: March 25 and April 21. Please make plans to join us. The Dean Team and I had a lot of fun starring in our own “Super Bowl commercial” as part of a wager with CAFNR alum Scott Angle, vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Unfortunately, the game was not quite as fun for us Chiefs fans, but I am sure Scott and team enjoyed the Kansas City BBQ I sent to them as part of the wager! We are very close to sharing our proposed plans as part of CAFNR ReGenesis. Please keep an eye out for these announcements soon. I invite everyone to help CAFNR celebrate Black History Month by learning more about notable African Americans in the fields of food, agriculture and natural resources, as well as sharing on social media what Black History Month means to you. Use the hashtags #CAFNRcelebrates #BlackHistoryMonth so we don’t miss your post! CAFNR Staff Advisory Council is hosting a Black History Month presentation this Friday, Feb. 26, at 11 a.m. The talk by Dr. Alissa Warren, executive director, Missouri Commission on Human Rights, will focus on and recognize Black History Month from a historic Missouri perspective. Join the Zoom event by clicking on this link. I hope you will plan to join us for the many virtual events we have scheduled in the coming week. I am grateful that we can come together in a virtual format right now, although I am looking forward to when we can all meet again in person! CAFNR Proud, Christopher R. Daubert, Ph.D.
CAFNR Vice Chancellor & Dean |
