What an exciting evening we had honoring the accomplishments of our Spring 2023 class last weekend! Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making CAFNR Commencement a wonderful celebration. We had more than 450 graduates this spring. In addition to our CAFNR graduates, we also celebrated the accomplishment of an outstanding alumna of our college, Kristy Weber. Kristy (BS Animal Sciences ’87), who is the Abramson Family Professor in Sarcoma Care Excellence, Chief of Orthopaedic Oncology and Abramson Cancer Center Sarcoma Program Director at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Science at the Mizzou School of Medicine Commencement. I enjoyed visiting with Kristy during the festivities in her honor that weekend!

Also this month I have:

• Attended the MU Celebration of Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Lecture and Reception
• Participated in an MU Emergency Planning Exercise
• Attended various IFT meetings
• Conducted faculty interviews
• Joined Academic Programs staff for the CAFNR Senior Sendoff
• Listened to the Advanced Landscape Design capstone project presentations
• Met with Provost Latha Ramchand
• Joined CAFNR Staff Advisory Council for their “Hit it out of the park” social with ballpark food, snacks – and a ticket giveaway!
• Participated in a meeting with our CAFNR Foundation
• Celebrated CAFNR alumnus Blake Hurst at the Kansas City Agribusiness Council’s awards luncheon
• Conducted performance evaluations for my direct reports

Still to come this month, I will attend various meetings in Jefferson City; visit with Chad Higgins, interim vice chancellor for extension and engagement; give a welcome at the annual IPG Symposium; participate in a photo session with the Mizzou Torq’N Tigers quarter-scale tractor pulling team along with MU Engineering Dean Noah Manring; and visit with Bruce Smith, associate vice chancellor for development, MU Advancement.

Memorial Day is a day to remember those who have died in service to our country. I hope the holiday weekend is for you a time of remembrance and, also, rest!

CAFNR Proud,

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

Help me get to 500 followers on LinkedIn! I’m excited to post more on this platform and connect with all of you. Here I will showcase all of the great research, student achievements, program impact, awards and honors and much more!

Vicki Bryan, program coordinator in plant science and technology, has received the 2023 Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award. These awards represent those who best reflect honor upon the University and the community through a combination of job performance, job-related personal qualities, relationship with their associates, and the ability to relate their work to the missions and values of the University. One award is given to a staff member in each of the five job categories: Administrative/Professional, Clerical/Office, Crafts/Maintenance, Technical/Paraprofessional, Temp and UM System. Bryan was recognized in the Administrative/Professional category.

Robert Sharp, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Plant Science and Technology, received the UM System President’s Thomas Jefferson Award for his research. The award recognizes one outstanding faculty member annually who has been nationally or internationally recognized for and demonstrated clear distinction in research, scholarship, teaching and public service. Sharp, also former director of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group (IPG), received the award for his stellar reputation as an international collaborator furthering the field of plant science, his work overseeing key joint hires at MU and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, helping with the development of the new East Campus Plant Growth Facility, hosting the International Society of Root Research symposium and leading the effort to expand the IPG’s engagement with the MU South African Partnership program.

Staff Performance Evaluation Workshop: Note Date Change for Last Workshop!
As a reminder, annual evaluation forms are now live for staff in myHR and staff supervisors in PeopleSoft Manager Self-Service. Supervisor evaluations for staff should be completed by no later than June 16, 2023, so that the rating can be considered in the merit process. This process, if conducted effectively, can improve employee performance and engagement as well as help inform leadership during the merit process.

To assist you with this process, we will be hosting virtual workshops to accommodate as many schedules as possible. If you plan to attend the last session, to be held Tuesday, May 30, 2-2:45 p.m., please register here. Time will be spent learning about the overall performance evaluation process, the purpose of the process, and best practices for delivering effective and valuable feedback to staff employees. Please also feel free to bring any questions you may have about the process!