What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources?
Our office helps faculty navigate the requirements of funding agencies and the university for submission of sponsored activity proposals. While we can’t remove all administrative burden for faculty, we want to reduce the effect of it taking time away from writing their best technical proposal. I see my role as helping to alleviate some of that administrative burden so that the faculty member can spend more of their own time and energy on the actual scientific portions of their grant proposal.
How long have you worked in CAFNR?
I’m coming up on three years soon. Previously, I had been an MU employee for 20 years, spanning School of Medicine (Dean), College of Engineering (Career Svcs, Research Office), back to School of Medicine (Family & Community Med), College of Education (SISLT) and back to Engineering (Engr Research Office).
What do you enjoy about working for CAFNR/Mizzou?
What I love about CAFNR is the people. We have the BEST people. Other colleges I have served spent a fair amount of time on “technology-centric science” and not so much on “helping humans be well-fed, healthy, happy people” science. I am grateful to now be in a college where the focus is feeding people, saving our ecosystem, improving plant crops, and helping educate people enjoying the natural systems we’re all part of. We have the kindest faculty I’ve ever worked with, and my supervisor and coworker are a great team to be a part of.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy cross stitching, and I recently picked up a hobby of making miniatures (dollhouse scale) just to see if I could. Turns out that’s a lot of fun. The most fun thing I have done recently was training for and completing the Bear Creek Trail Half Marathon, sponsored by the City of Columbia. As a person with rheumatoid arthritis for 25 years and the recipient of two hip replacements, I love to move, exercise, stay active and healthy. In fact, I relish the opportunity to do so!
What is something your co-workers/other CAFNR employees don’t know about you?
I am the youngest of a family of 11 siblings. I have dreams to become a personal trainer in my retirement and maybe a heavy-weight power lifter.