It has been uplifting to attend a variety of in-person events this past month! I have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with all of you. Thanks to everyone who attended CAFNR Unlimited last month. It was wonderful to see so many of our alumni and friends in one place, all supporting one cause – our outstanding students! I had so much fun playing the Mizzou Fight Songs with some of our talented faculty, staff and students to kick off the evening. I hope many of you were able to watch President Choi’s first State of the University address at Jesse Auditorium last week. I felt energized by the forward-thinking initiatives he shared. I also enjoyed seeing CAFNR represented in a variety of ways – especially during the video about the history of research at Mizzou! Last week I also attended the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) board meetings in Chicago; hosted open office hours in the Ag Building to introduce our new CAFNR coordinator of facilities and operations, Matt Fleming; met with our Nutrition and Exercise Physiology faculty; and held our spring CAFNR Greater Leadership Team meeting. On March 12 I enjoyed celebrating six of our outstanding CAFNR students at the Mizzou ’39 awards banquet! Congratulations to all! Earlier this month I also spoke to the Paris Missouri Rotary Club at the invitation of alumnus Chuck Brazeale; met with Mizzou Forward candidates; visited with Ken Goldstein, the vice president of research and institutional policy for AAU; attended the Missouri 100 Reception hosted by President Choi; participated in virtual Association of Public & Land-grant Universities-Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (APLU-CARET) meetings; and met with Sarah Parker-Pauley, the director of Missouri’s Department of Conservation. Not all events have been in person, though, as winter weather did keep me from a couple of travel engagements! I visited virtually with the Southwest Research, Extension and Education Center advisory board March 11. Today I am meeting with the Missouri Food Entrepreneur Network (MO-FEN) leadership team in Jefferson City, as well as with our Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and with leadership at the Missouri Corn Growers Association and at FCS Financial. Tomorrow I will return to Jefferson City to meet with Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins and other constituents at the state capitol. I will also have lunch with Polly Ruhland, the CEO of United Soybean Board, who is serving as CAFNR Professor-for-a-Day. This week I also will travel to the Delta Center to honor local emergency personnel who helped in relief efforts after the devastating tornadoes in southeast Missouri last December; meet with Ben Knapp, chair of CAFNR’s Policy Committee; present at IFT’s Minnesota chapter meeting; and celebrate our CAFNR attendees at the President’s reception for newly promoted and tenured faculty. I hope to see you at our March faculty and staff meeting this Wednesday starting at 3:30 p.m. in 2-16 Ag Building! Shibu Jose, our associate dean for research, and Michael Chapman, director of biochemistry, will share updates. I am pleased to share that we are featuring our outstanding Column Award winners on the web and social media for Women’s History Month during March. Please take time to read their Q&As to learn more about how they are supporting the next generation of women in their fields. Please make plans to join us Tuesday, April 19, to celebrate what makes CAFNR special – our outstanding students, staff, teachers, advisors, researchers, and Extension specialists. We are excited to debut the new Celebration of Excellence format this year, which is now free for all attendees. All CAFNR faculty and staff are invited and encouraged to attend and help celebrate outstanding colleagues as they receive honors including the Mumford Award, the highest honor given by the college! See more details and RSVP online. I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break, whether you are taking time away from campus or just enjoying a quieter week on campus! CAFNR Proud, Christopher R. Daubert, Ph.D. CAFNR Vice Chancellor & Dean |