COLLEGE STATION - Strengthening the connection between the Texas A&M System Agriculture Program and the communities it serves is the focus of this year’s annual conference, which will be Jan. 7-11 on the Texas A&M main campus. Program and registration information is available at http://tti.tamu.edu/conferences/apc02/
“This year’s conference, Engaging Our Communities, emphasizes the reality that all of us work collectively within communities….communities of students, colleagues, scientists, industry, business, government and citizens,” said Dr. Ed Hiler, vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences.
“We serve our communities through teaching, scholarship, discovery, outreach and service.”
The Agriculture Program is an organization of statewide agricultural agencies, divisions and colleges of agriculture, life sciences, natural resources, human sciences and veterinary medicine within The Texas A&M University System.
The conference will convene on Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 7-8, with numerous program meetings and workshops.
The keynote session on Jan. 9 will feature Dr. Larry Faulkner, president of the University of Texas at Austin, speaking on, “Serving Texans through Excellence.”
Also, during this session more than 58 faculty, staff members and employees of other state agencies will be honored with the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence.
A discussion entitled “Agricultural Bioterrorism: Global, National, State and System Perspectives” will conclude the morning program with speakers Dr. Floyd Horn from the U.S. Office of Homeland Defense; Martin Hubert from the Texas Department of Agriculture; and other university and agency administrators.
Teaching and extension faculty will convene during a teaching general session that begins at 1 p.m. on Jan. 9, with invited guest speaker Janet Poley, CEO and president of the American Distance Education Consortium. Poley will address “A Showcase of Quality Distance Education Principles and Products.” The session will also include a discussion by Drs. Nancy Simpson and Christine Stanley on models for analyzing learning styles, as well as highlights from the Learning OnLine Team and graduate programs.
Also that same afternoon, faculty and staff will be able to take part in a program entitled “Threats to the Economy and Public Health As It Relates to Animal Agriculture,” a session presented by the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. This program will include updates on the anthrax outbreak in livestock and wildlife in Texas, Johne’s Disease, West Nile Virus and other public and agriculture health concerns. A complimentary program will also focus on poultry diagnostic medicine.
Texas Cooperative Extension faculty and staff will meet in a general session on the morning of Jan. 10. Dr. Ron Brown, executive director of Southern Region Extension, will summarize the recent “Extension in the 21st Century” study commissioned by the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy. Dr. Myron Johnsrud, director of Extension and Outreach with the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, will follow with a discussion entitled, “The Vision for a 21st Century Extension.”
A research general session will be held that same afternoon. Invited speakers are Dr. Floyd Horn with the U.S. Office of Homeland Defense; Dr. Jim Bergan, director of science and stewardship, The Nature Conservancy; and Dr. Mike Metzker, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics from the Baylor College of Medicine-Houston.
Members of the administrative support staff will convene during a mini-symposium on the afternoon of Jan. 9 and all day on Jan. 10.
The conference concludes on Jan.11 with several unit and departmental meetings.
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