Capital opportunity

USDA agricultural experiment station directors are coordinating a two-day grant writing workshop in Washington, DC, Sept. 7 - 8. The focus the first day will be up-to-date information on USDA's competitive grants program, and the second day's sessions will cover the basics of organizing and writing proposals. The workshop is open to Extension as well as research faculty. There are a limited number of travel stipends available for faculty from 1890 Land-Grants and other minority institutions. For a look at the complete two-day workshop agenda, visit http://www.conted.vt.edu//usdagrant/agenda.html#. To go directly to the travel grant application, try the .pdf. The application deadline is Aug. 1.

Posted 5:06 PM | Comments (0)

Doc to explain what's up

Dr. Andreas Schieber of the Institute of Food Technology at Hohenheim University in Germany has been invited to present a seminar on the "Recovery, Characterization and Application of Valuable Compounds from By-Products of Fruit and Vegetable Processing" on Thursday, July 21. Dr. Schieber's seminar will begin at 2 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

Schieber's recent studies include potential uses for apple, carrot, grape and mango by-products. There's an interesting article on the history of carrots that mentions Dr. Schieber's work to develop a new, natural food colorant from an ancient variety of carrot at http://www.separationsnow.com/basehtml/SepH/1. Before you leave that Web site, take a second to follow the World Carrot Museum link in the fourth paragraph.

Posted 5:05 PM | Comments (0)

District directions

On Friday, July 29, the four finalists to fill the positions of eastern and western district regional coordinators for The Cooperative Extension Program will be presenting seminars on "Managing Extension: A Vision for Enhancing Economic Prosperity, Environmental Issues and Quality of Life for Limited Resource Audiences in North Carolina." These seminars are open to all SAES faculty and staff, and they will take place in the Godfrey Multipurpose Room at Coltrane Hall.

Please remember that the doors for the north entrance to Coltrane Hall (facing the School of Nursing) open directly to the Godfrey Room, and that the reflective glass in these doors makes it impossible to determine if a seminar is already in progress before the door is opened. As a courtesy to presenters, please use the south entrance to Coltrane (facing Market Street) whenever you are attending a program or presentation in the Godfrey Room.

Candidate presentation times on the 19th are:

9 a.m.: Linda Howe, Extension Water Resources Specialist and Associate Professor for Extension at the University of Vermont. Howe has an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, an M.S. in Water Resources Management, and a B.S. in Biology.

11 a.m.: Shirley McNeill, Interim Regional Coordinator, The Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina A&T. McNeill has a Ph.D. in Human Environmental Sciences/Home Economics Education and Business, an M.S. in Adult Education, and a B.S. in Clothing Textiles and Related Arts.

1:30 p.m.: Ellen Smoak, Interim Regional Coordinator, The Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina A&T. Smoak has a Ph.D. in Home Economics Education, an M.Ed. and a B.S. in Clothing & Textiles.

2:30 p.m. Stephanie Tatum, Associate Expanded Foods & Nutrition Education Program Coordinator, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Tatum has an M.S. in Human Sciences and an M.S. in Home Economics Education.

Posted 5:00 PM | Comments (0)

Spore Group

Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen's research into the potential for nurturing edible and medicinal mushroom production in North Carolina has provoked interest in the international scientific community, and generated a tremendous amount of enthusiasm among mushroom producers in North Carolina. So much enthusiasm, to be exact, that The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T is now working with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences to establish a growers association for technical and marketing support. There will be an organizational meeting Thursday, Aug. 11, at the Guilford County Extension Center at 6:30 p.m. Mushroom producers who are on Extension Agribusiness and Marketing Specialist Theresa Nartea's mailing list have received a letter with complete details, but the charter meeting is open to all involved and committed mushroom growers. The registration deadline is Friday, Aug. 5. For complete details on the goals and details for the organizational meeting, contact Theresa Nartea at tjnartea@ncat.edu.

Posted 4:57 PM | Comments (1)

Five options

The deadline for nominations for North Carolina A&T's Employee of the Year is Aug. 5. There are five categories for nominations. In addition to the general "Outstanding State Government Service" category ("for unselfish devotion to duty far and above the normal requirements") there are also Employee of the Year Awards for:

• Innovations ("fruitful study and investigation ... pioneering or research")

• Public Service ("community and public service projects")

• Safety and Heroism ("courage in an emergency")

• Human Relations ("contributions enhancing the quality and morale of the workplace or public image of state government")

SAES faculty and staff who know of a colleague meriting consideration for A&T's Employee of the Year Award in one of the five areas are encouraged to take a few minutes to fill out the form. SAES faculty and staff who take the time to nominate a deserving colleague should note that eligible employees may be nominated for more than one award.

Posted 4:54 PM | Comments (0)

RAP wrap-up

The SAES's 27th annual Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) came to a conclusion on Friday, July 15. The 16 high school students who were selected for the program went home with a taste of college life, and a month of guidance from the SAES research faculty. The closing ceremony project presentations were:

Gregory Baskett of Louisburg High did "A Comparison of Nutrient Content of Whiting, Grouper and Cultured Salmon" under the direction of Dr. C. W. Seo, and Sarah Williamson, research associate Amber Brown of Charles Herbert Flowers High (in Springdale, MD) researched the "County-Level Impact of Hog Production in North Carolina" under the direction of Dr. Godfrey Ejimakor.

Stephen Fails of Andrews High School (in High Point) researched the "Separation of Liquid and Solid Waste Using PAM" under the direction of Dr. Arona Diouf, and Parvaneh Asefi-Nouri, research assistant.

Jessica Farrar of Southeast Guilford High researched "Mushroom Extract Manipulation in Broiler Chickens" under the direction of Dr. Willie Willis.

Larelle High of Northwest Halifax High (in Littleton, NC) did an "Evaluation of Contents and Activities of Antioxidants in Sweet Potato Peels" under the direction of Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna.

Benjamin D. Hopkins of Kinston High performed an "Evaluation of Free Cell and Immobilized Bifidobacterial longum in Cheese Whey Batch Fermentation" under the direction of Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi and Michele Mims, research assistant.

Jaron Jones of South Central High School in Greenville researched "Carbon Dioxide Fluxes from Terrestrial Ecosystems" under the direction of Drs. M.R. Reddy, and W.A.R.N. Fernando, research assistant.

Wayne Kimball Jr. of Northwest Halifax High (in Littleton, NC) worked on "Estimating Sediment and Nitrogen Losses from Lake Fork Watershed Under Different Management Practices" under the direction of Dr. Manuel Reyes.

Jannety Mosley of South Central High (in Winterville, NC) worked on a "Business Plan Development for Shiitake Mushrooms" under the guidance of Dr. Kenrett Jefferson-Moore.

Lauren Johnson of Marietta High (in Marietta, GA) researched "Amplification of a Bacterial Gene" under the direction of Dr. John Allen and Andrea Byers, research assistant.

Amanda Morgan of Eastern Guilford researched "C. Elegans Eating Genetically Modified Food" under the direction of Dr. Mulumebet Worku.

Amanda Spruill of Northwest Halifax High looked into the "Effects of Unlimited, and Time Restricted Feeding Intervals on Weight Gain in Spargue Dawley Rats," under the direction of Drs. Tracy Hanner, Stacy Branch and Javier Cisneros, and Steven Hurley, laboratory assistant.

Thelton Stringfield, Jr. of Union High (in Clinton, NC) researched "Obesity in the Southern Black Belt of the United States" under the direction of Dr. Benny Gray and Makieisha Foster, graduate assistant.

Starrlett Tillery of Louisburg High researched the "Effect of Feeding Probiotics on Production Performance of Young Broiler Chickens" under the direction of Dr. Willie Willis.

Zellen Williams of East Forsyth High did an "Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties of Rosa Canina Against Foodborne Pathogens" under the direction of Dr. Ipek Goktepe.

Samuel Young of Northwest Halifax High School investigated "Cover Cropping for Increased Infiltration" under the direction of Dr. Charles Raczkowski.

Posted 4:48 PM | Comments (0)

Network within a network

The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T is providing technical support for a network of community gardens across North Carolina this summer. Harvest is already in full swing at community gardens for which Drs. Ellen Smoak and Robert Williamson have provided assistance in Charlotte, Durham, Goldsboro, Salisbury, Whiteville, Winston-Salem and at the Cherokee Reservation. The SAES-assisted community garden closest to home is at the Guilford County Extension Center.

Community gardens receiving guidance and assistance from A&T Extension are also serving as demonstrations for new production methods (such as "grow bags") and an array of vegetables. Guided tours can be arranged by contacting Williamson at robertw@ncat.edu. There's an online tour of four of the A&T Extension community gardens at here.

The North Carolina community garden network is part of a national network coordinated by the Garden Mosiacs program headquartered at Cornell. Garden Mosaics has a rich Web site at http://www.gardenmosaics.cornell.edu/. It's a storehouse of information for educators interested in using a garden as a supplement for classroom science instruction. For anyone interested in establishing a community garden, the resource page at http://www.gardenmosaics.cornell.edu/pgs/links/mainlinks.htm is a great starting point. Smoak and Williamson were part of the team that put together the science pages and action projects, and they are members of the national team that is responsible for the design and development of the online curriculum.

Posted 4:45 PM | Comments (0)

Summer chic

A new of shipment of white golf shirts with the "School of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences" imprint and the A&T logo has arrived, and the new supply also has SAES branding on the sleeves and collars. There is a limited time offer: Buy one of the new golf shirts and a denim shirt, and get 20 percent off the grand total.

Denim shirts are $32 for sizes S - XL; $34 for XX

L; and $34 for XXXL. Golf shirts are $30 (sizes S - XL; $32 for XXL; and $36 for XXXL. An order form is available at here.

Posted 4:40 PM | Comments (0)

Strategic recruitment strategy

Dr. Terrence Thomas of the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education is helping agE-dispatch inaugurate a new interactive feature on the SAES Web page. An SAES online forum has been set up for faculty and staff to discuss topics of concern and top priority issues facing the SAES. Dr. Thomas has some thoughts to share on the SAES faculty's roles and goals in student recruitment, retention and graduation rates. He has identified 10 key issues, and the new agE-dispatch online forum is set up for convenient response to Thomas' observations, and ongoing discussion of the points he raises. To get in on the discussion of student recruitment, retention and graduation rates, simply click here.

The basic guidelines for this forum and those which follow are:

I) The online forum is for SAES faculty and staff only. You will be required to register with your NC A&T User name and email address to access the forums.

II) Please remember to convey your ideas and especially your objections with a respectful tone and inoffensive language.

III) Post only original messages - no attachments, forwarded e-mail or text that has been electronically copied from Web pages or other sources.

IV) The SAES Strategic Plan represents a good tool for determining if a sub-topic or comment is appropriate for the online forum. If you've got an issue to raise that wouldn't be appropriate for the Strategic Plan, then it probably doesn't have enough school-wide interest for the online forum either.

Posted 4:04 PM | Comments (0)