I’m using an expanded space in this issue to talk about some of the progress the SAES made this year. Last year we unveiled a new five-year strategic plan, “Planning Our

Preferred Future.” The plan, orga-nized around 11 primary themes, represents a balance between the expectations that stakeholders have for the SAES, and the emerging issues that the SAES must address if it is going to continue to lead the University’s land-grant com-mitment to instruction, research and Extension. For each of the 11 themes, two-to-four goals were identified as major milestones or measurable objectives. The plan has made it easier to see where we are going, and we all have a clear road map for how to get there. It’s also a reference tool for members of the SAES faculty and staff as they chart their individual plans of work and professional goals. Whenever a new project or responsibility is under consideration—and when new directions for long-stand-ing responsibilities and projects are on the table—“Planning Our Preferred Future” is the first place to turn for guidance. Although “Planning Our Preferred Future,” is a five-year plan that is beginning its second year, many accomplishments from the 2005-06 academic year deserve high grades for how well they mesh with strategic plan goals: especially those goals that repre-

sent measurable objectives. But we don’t just have a plan to say we have a plan, we have a plan that we will use to measure and report our successes. I don’t just need to know our progress. I want all of us, internal and external stakeholders, to know where we are and what progress we are mak-ing. This is the first of our annual strategic plan report cards. In some places we’ve made tremendous progress, in others we have laid the groundwork and in still others, much work remains to be done. But this is as expected. We created a plan that forces us to stretch and grow, and that is exactly what’s happening. Here’s a look at where we are after one complete year. The first two themes in the SAES strategic plan put the stu-dent learning environment at the forefront. The SAES gets high marks for an 8 percent enrollment increase, a 14.4 percent increase in credit hours generated and a 17 percent increase in student internships. The groundwork for several new programs of study was also completed. These new programs promise to increase the recruiting base. The strategic plan’s third, fourth and fifth themes address minority health, food safety, and family and community develop-ment. The Cooperative Extension Program was a major contributor to these themes. Although major impacts haven’t been recognized, the groundwork for change has been cultivated and the yield could be an overhaul of organizational marketing, programming and

evaluation that will give the SAES potent new connections for help-ing families and communities. The Agricultural Research Program (ARP) scores the most points for technology and resource base expansion themes. The research faculty and staff generated 72 proposals, 46 received fund-ing, and this led to an increase in overall research funding from $3.3 million in 2004-05 to $4.4 million in 2005-06. Research expertise helped line up three important new facilities for the University Farm. Through added employment opportunities for grad students, expansion of its summer program for high school students and growth in research opportunities for undergraduates, the ARP also helped the SAES chalk up passing marks for progress toward goals for student recruitment. Extension and the ARP both had additions to their programming and project rep-ertoires that were spot-on for goals in addressing emerging issues in small-scale agriculture and environmental stew-ardship. Extension specialists opened up new communica-tions channels for connecting campus resources and their own expertise to farmers and land-owners, while research into new enterprises for small farms also found its way directly to farmers in record time.

Agricultural Communications and Technology (ACT) and the University Farm were here, there and everywhere on the first report card. Benchmark improvements in the SAES’s IT infrastructure were the underpinning for the high marks academic units receive for smart classrooms, computer labs and specialized software. Extension’s annual report, Solutions for North Carolina©, and the ARP’s annual magazine, Re:search, continue to showcase and highlight SAES efforts, people and programs. These publications are calling cards that assist with recruitment, fund-raising and marketing. Inside this report card you can see additional details on the progress made to date. It’s a good start, but it’s not the end. I expect to see us continuing to move for-ward and in some areas to exceed

the goals we’ve outlined. Let’s celebrate where we’ve been. But much work remains to be done. Let’s remain on the move.

Preparing. Finding. Implementing solutions.

Dr. Alton Thompson

Dean, SAES

Drs. Thompson and Guochen Yang of the SAES

capped international networking with a trip to China

to sign memorandums of understanding.

on the move North Carolina A&T State University

School of Agriculture and

Environmental Sciences

Newsletter

August 2006 • Vol. V, No.4

Dr. T takes moment to review 2005-06 academic year

Theme 1: Maintain a Responsive Learning Environment

• There was a 17 percent increase in the number of SAES student internships this past academic year, with 63 students interning with private sector firms or government agencies.

• The SAES organized its first-ever Student Professional Day, where students learned resume writing, interviewing and net-working strategies, which they then put promptly to use in meetings with repre-sentatives from potential employers.

• The Landscape Architecture Program was reviewed and reaccredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects, and all six programs in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences were reaccredited to 2014 by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

• The Agricultural Research Program’s employment opportunities for undergrad-uate and graduate students grew to 130 students and a payroll of $438,475.

• A new relationship with the N.C. State University School of Veterinary Medicine was established to give SAES students the advantages of an early-acceptance option when applying to the N.C. State veteri-nary school.

• A proposal was submitted to the SAES curriculum committee to establish a Commodity Merchandising Certificate program.

• Three horticulture courses and one pathology course were developed.

Theme 2: Attract and Graduate Outstanding Students

• The SAES was a full partner in University Day, homecoming, academic fairs, and “Aggie Nite” recruitment coordinated by the Office of Admissions and Enrollment Management.

• Design and production work were com-pleted on brochures, displays and other materials for a new SAES recruitment campaign, “Cultivating Potential.”

• Agricultural Research provided 10 addi-tional research assistantships of $12,000 each for SAES graduate students.

• Enrollment in the SAES for fall semester 2005 was 757 students, up 8 percent from the 698 students for the 2004-05 academic year. Programs leading the way with

the highest enrollments were child development and laboratory animal science.• New curricula for certificate pro-

grams in family financial planning and commodity merchandising were submitted to University administration and approved.

• Approval and financial commit-ments were received to institute a year-round program in the Child Development Laboratory.

• The Research Apprentice Program was expanded to two sessions, doubling the summer program’s capacity for introducing highly motivated high school students to SAES resources and academic programs.

• Student credit hours generated in the SAES jumped from 11,989 in 2004-05 to 13,721 during 2005-06 — a 14.4 percent increase. Family and Consumer Sciences had an increase in student credit hours from 2,503 to 2,932.

• Sixty percent of graduating Animal Science majors were honor students.

• Faculty secured $796,300 in competitive capacity building funds to support recruit-ment and retention.

Theme 3: Improve Minority and Environmental Health

• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health announced a $504,0000 award to university-based agricultural safety and health research centers, and this funding will have an extensive impact on the N.C. Agromedicine Institute — a coalition established by A&T, East Carolina University, and N.C. State University.

• The Cooperative Extension Program secured additional funding to develop a nutrition education outreach for youth growing up in public housing and eco-nomically disadvantaged communities. The outreach will include North Carolina’s fast-growing Hispanic population.

Theme 4: Ensure a Nutritious, Safe and Secure Food Supply

• Two SAES faculty members, Drs. Ipek Goktepe and Mohamed Ahmedna, were part of the trio of editors for a new reference book covering Probiotics [beneficial bacteria] in Food Safety and Human Health.

Theme 5: Empower Individuals, Families and Communities

• Extension specialists and agents work- ing together in eight counties assisted 3,066 limited-resource families and 1,036 families with sounder financial footings in acquiring skills in basic money management.

• New Master’s of Art in Teaching (MAT) programs for both Family and Consumer Sciences Education and Child Development Early Education and Family Studies (B-K) were established.

• The Cooperative Extension Program’s “Parenting Matters” curriculum was used in 41 counties by the Extension field staff to fulfill court-mandated training in cases of child neglect or abuse. As a result,

on the move Preparing. Finding. Implementing solutions.

338 children avoided foster care, which costs taxpayers $69.90 per day, per child.

• Extension specialists assisted 223 com-munity organizations with community economic development, which had an esti-mated economic impact of $251,217.

• The SAES chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association and the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education conducted a series of entrepreneurship workshops in south-eastern North Carolina.

Theme 6: Advance Biotechnology and Biodiversity

• A micro-array laboratory was added to the resources for studies in genomic diver-sity in the Animal Sciences Department at Webb Hall.

• An SAES food scientist, Dr. Salam Ibrahim, was selected to serve on the 12-member advisory board for the International Probiotics Association, which has offices in 16 countries.

• Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design was named to the editorial board of Sydowia, an interna-tional journal of mycology.

• A team of Bioenvironmental Engineering students was awarded $5,000 by the American Public Power Association for a project proposal for work with biodiesel fuels derived from canola, soybeans and other renewable resources.

• The “Dole Foods Think Tank,” a team of 11 SAES faculty and staff, came up with a plan for involving the SAES in the North Carolina Research Campus—near Kannapolis—a forthcoming $1 billion biotechnology center.

Theme 7: Ensure the Viability of Small-scale Agriculture

• More than 100 farmers across the state were trained in production of shiitake and other medicinal and culinary mushrooms, as an A&T researcher teamed up with Cooperative Extension personnel for a series of seven comprehensive training programs that brought current research developments from Carver Hall to a half-day’s drive of every resident of the state.

• Members of the Animal Sciences faculty added a new feature to Small Farms Day at A&T, as they coordinated workshops for farmers interested in goat herd man-agement that covered genetics, breed

selection, marketing options and health management strategies.

• More than 600 people participated in the 4th National Small Farms conference, jointly hosted in Greensboro by A&T and N.C. State University.

• The adoption of risk-reduction strate-gies enabled 4,276 farmers to reduce farm expenditures by 47 percent.

Theme 8: Protect the Environment and Natural Resources

• A new weather station at the University Farm, established by the State Climate Office, signifi-cantly expands researchers’ access to all-important data.

Theme 9: Promote International Trade and Economic Development

• Dr. Manuel Reyes was named principal investigator for a $1.2 million grant for research into new and sustainable agro-forestry methods for developing nations in Southeast Asia. The grant includes fund-ing for student research experiences.

• Significant memoranda of understanding were signed by the SAES dean and leading universities in India and China.

Theme 10: Use Innovative Technologies

• Enhancements for the SAES computer infrastructure included a new electronic SAES Helpdesk, new e-mail protocols, and active directory desktops.

• There was a sweeping renovation of the landscape architecture wing of the second floor of Carver Hall. The wing now has four revamped studio classrooms and a computer lab replete with access to CAD and GIS software.

• The number of online classes developed and offered by the SAES grew to 28. The agricultural education program continued to be an SAES leader in distance educa-tion, with 15 online courses.

• A six-course curriculum for a distance education program leading to a certifi-cate in Family Financial Planning was approved.

• With completion of a smart classroom in Benbow Hall, all SAES classroom build-ings now have smart classrooms.

• Construction was completed on a new $1 million dairy unit at the University Farm, and on an equally state-of-the-art poultry unit for research and instruction.

Theme 11: Expand Resource Base and Maximize Relationships

• Seventy-two research proposals were sub-mitted and 46 received funding, a success rate of 64 percent, These funded proposals

netted the SAES $4,356,017, an increase of 31 percent over 2004-05. There were 10 new research grants to Family and Consumer Sciences faculty that tallied up to $741,354.

• The SAES Corporate Advisory Board announced three initiatives. The board voted to establish a corporate mentorship program, to sponsor a visiting lecture series, and to raise at least $75,000 annu-ally for student scholarships.

• With a print-run increase to 7,500 copies, Solutions for North Carolina©, Cooperative Extension’s multimedia annual report, became the most widely distributed annual report in the history of the SAES.

• Research into new uses for peanut by-products and chives’ antimicrobial poten-tial received national and international media attention—including the Chicago Tribune and the leading consumer health site in South Africa.

• Photos and a story from the SAES’s annu-al magazine on research work, Re:search, set the wheels in motion for five pages of coverage of Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen’s mushroom research in Southern Living, which with circulation of 2.5 million, annually, ranks in the top 25 magazines in the United States.

Although the SAES strategic plan, “Planning Our Preferred Future,” is a five-year plan that is beginning its second year, many accomplishments from the 2005-06 academic year deserve high grades for how well they mesh with strategic plan goals.

Student Shawndolyn Taylor, right, prepares for a class with

Dr. Patricia Lynch of the Department of Family and Consumer

Sciences, which received reaccreditation from the American

Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

New resources at the A&T University Farm are helping small-

scale farmers gear up for goat production.

________________ Nonprofit Org.________________

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on the moveNorth Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences NewsletterProduced by the Agricultural Communications and Technology Unit

Dr. Lloyd V. Hackley, Interim ChancellorDr. Alton Thompson, Dean, School of Agriculture and Environmental SciencesDr. M. Ray McKinnie, Associate Dean, Administrator, The Cooperative Extension ProgramDr. Carolyn Turner, Associate Dean, Agricultural Research StationDr. Donald McDowell, Associate Dean, Academic Programs

North Carolina A&T State University is a land-grant high research activity institution and AA/EEO employer.

Send change of address and correspondence to: on the move NewsletterEditor AgriculturalResearchProgram CHMooreAgriculturalResearchStation Greensboro,NC27411

7,000 copies of this public document were printed on recycled paper at a cost of $879.14 or $0.13 per copy.

Distributed in furtherance of the acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Employment and program opportunities are open to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, US Department of Agriculture and local governments cooperating.

www.ag.ncat.edu

•University-wideopeningdayprogramforA&Tfacultyandstaff:

•SAESacademicyearkickoff:

•Firstdayofclasses,fallsemester:

•A&THomecoming:

CoreyBurgessoftheSAESstaffispartoftheteamattendingtothenewdairyunitattheA&TUniversityFarm.Theunithasfacilitiesforteaching,researchanddemonstrationsofallaspectsofpasture-based,dairyproductionsystems.

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