Problem viewing this email? See it here »
College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
Dean’s Monthly Newsletter // September 2020
Month in Review
 (click to read)

It’s wonderful to see our campus bustling with students again, even masked and socially distanced! I enjoyed meeting many of our new students, as well as our dedicated club and organization representatives, at CAFNR Fall Round-up last week. I was also invited to participate in some of our CAFNR clubs and orgs’ first meetings this fall, including COMPASS (CAFNR’s Opportunity for Minorities: Promoting and Achieving Student Success) peer mentoring group and MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences).

Virtual events have become the new norm, and I appreciated the very meaningful MU Remembers Ceremony memorializing students, faculty and staff we lost over the past year on Friday, Sept. 4. I look forward to participating in the Mizzou: Our Time to Lead Campaign Celebration Sept. 24 and the MU Promotion & Tenure virtual reception Sept. 29.

I will be meeting with many of you through our Divisions’ fall faculty meetings. So far I have visited with Plant Sciences and Animal Sciences faculty, and will attend the Food Systems and Bioengineering fall faculty meeting before the end of the month. I will also meet virtually with our AES Research Center staff this fall. Thank you to CAFNR Staff Advisory Council for inviting me to speak at their kick-off of the Mizzou IDE curriculum “Race, Racism, and the American Experience.” I appreciate your participation, as well as Staff Council for organizing it.

Thank you to DASS for hosting the webinar on “A Possible Path Forward for the Show-Me-State Food, Beverage and Forest Products Manufacturing Initiative in a COVID-19 World,” presented by Scott Brown, our CAFNR director for strategic partnerships, and the CAFNR Research Council for hosting the webinar with Dr. Parag Chitnis, acting director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. I also met with Missouri agriculture leaders to talk about how we can initiate the MO-5 (Missouri Food, Feed, Fiber, Fuel and Forests) Consortium as part of our Show-Me-State Food, Beverage and Forest Products Manufacturing Initiative. In the next week I look forward to attending the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City’s Ag Outlook Forum and a special APLU webinar on “The Role of Public & Land-Grant Universities in Strengthening & Advancing U.S. Global Interests.”

It was a pleasure earlier this month to meet our new MU Vice Chancellor for Advancement, Jackie Lewis. She brings a wealth of knowledge to this position, and I know she will enjoy working with our CAFNR Advancement team!

Today I am pleased to serve as a judge for the Missouri Leopold Conservation Award Program, and tomorrow I look forward to meeting with our CAFNR Foundation.

Last week Dr. Pat Market, interim director for the School of Natural Resources, interviewed for the permanent directorship, and today we bring the first of four finalists to campus to interview for the director position in the Division of Plant Sciences. I appreciate all of you who have participated or will participate in these interviews. Your attendance and feedback is very important to this process.

The energy of the fall semester on a college campus is always something I look forward to. I know this fall semester has taken a lot of work and dedication from all of you, and I appreciate all of your efforts to serve our students and our partners around the state!

CAFNR Proud,

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

@CAFNRDean
CAFNR Dean
@CAFNRDean

The @Mizzou @cafnr is pleased to virtually welcome the Acting Director of @USDA_NIFA, Dr. Parag Chitnis, to learn about the future of NIFA as they continue transitioning operations to Kansas City, Mo!

3:53 PM - Sep 17, 2020
Tiger Roars!

Congratulations to our faculty who were promoted and/or received tenure this fall:

  • Dae-Young Kim, Professor (Division of Applied Social Sciences)
  • Teng Teeh Lim, Extension Professor (Food Systems and Bioengineering)
  • Hua Qin, Associate Professor and Tenure (Division of Applied Social Sciences)
CAFNR ReGenesis Update

CAFNR ReGenesis is considering three initiatives to boldly prepare the college for a post-COVID world as part of our Drive to Distinction. Each month, we will update you on the progress on these initiatives:

  • Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station Restructure (Associate Dean Shibu Jose, lead):
    A self-evaluation of the current structure and operation of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station (MOAES) is currently underway. The AES Resource Allocation Committee, established last year to propose a new budget model for the AES, has concluded their work and submitted their final report as of Sept. 15.
  • Nine-month Faculty Appointment Conversion (Associate Dean Rob Kallenbach, lead):
    An 11- to 9-month appointment committee composed of Rob Kallenbach, Joe Parcell, and Michael Chapman met twice to discuss current shifts – once as a committee and once with CAFNR Chief Financial Officer Kathy Haynes. Discussions focused on fiscal implications for the college, divisions, and for individual faculty. The 11- to 9-month appointment team is especially conscious of new faculty, those near retirement, and those with appointments split with other colleges. The committee intends for any new policy to align with CAFNR’s strategic plan.
  • CAFNR Reorganization (Senior Associate Dean Bryan Garton, lead):
    As part of the reorganization initiative, we’re working to fine-tune our guiding principles, identify potential reorganization opportunities, and the pros and cons of reorganization.
Of Note

Help us welcome new leadership roles and new faces in CAFNR International Programs, and say congrats to recent award winners:

  • Mawuli Asigbee, director of UMAP (University of Missouri Assistance Program) in Ghana
  • Mazino Dickson-Amagada, journalist, is being hosted by Africa Hub
  • Summer LaRose, program/project support coordinator, Deaton Scholars Program
  • Corinne Valdivia and Lisa Flores, interim co-directors of Cambio Center. Previous Director Steve Jeanetta has taken a position as Associate Dean for the Center of Community Vitality at the University of Minnesota. 
  • Angie Zapata, Cambio Center fellow and associate professor in the College of Education, received the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence