April 11, 2003

EXTENSION COUNTY CHAIRS' CONFERENCES COMPLETED
All indications are the recent gatherings of the county chairs' was informative and productive. The Westside gathering was April 3-4 in Olympia and the Eastside gathering was April 10-11 in Clarkston. In addition to updates on the state and federal budget issues, training on the new online county budget guidelines, the chairs received information on newly revised child protection and volunteer/staff screening policies. Ask your chairs for information they received appropriate to your job, whether program delivery, volunteer training, or office management. The next meeting of the chairs will be a statewide meeting September 29 - October 3 in Seattle, in conjunction with the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) and Washington Association of County Officials (WACO).

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
April 2003 marks the 20th anniversary of the first presidential proclamation of Child Abuse Prevention Month. In an effort to promote greater visibility of child abuse prevention activities for 2003-2004, a Prevention Month Web site was developed. The Web site features informational resources designed to help promote child abuse prevention activities, including the following newly released publications:

2003 Child Abuse Prevention Community Resource packet and accompanying poster were designed to promote child abuse prevention activities in April and throughout the year. The packet describes the scope of the problem and identifies what individuals and organizations can do to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Emerging Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect presents the outcomes from a 2-year project to identify programs and initiatives for the prevention of child maltreatment. The publication includes a literature review and a peer review of selected programs.

Child Maltreatment 2001 is the twelfth annual publication of data collected from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System for calendar year 2001. It provides complete national information about child maltreatment including information about victims, perpetrators, fatalities and services.

To order free copies of any of these publications, contact the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information via telephone at (800) 394-3366 or e-mail at prevention@calib.com.

BIOTECHNOLOGY: SCIENCE AND SOCIETY AT A CROSSROAD
NABC 15, the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council conference entitled, "Biotechnology: Science and Society at a Crossroad," co-sponsored by Washington State University and Oregon State University, will be held in the Seattle Westin Hotel, Sunday through Tuesday, June 1-3, 2003. I encourage you to attend this meeting which will explore the intersection between revolutionary advances in biotechnology and impacts -- positive and negative -- on society.

Register before April 18. For more information, please contact us at nabc15@wsu.edu.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: NATIONAL INITIATIVE TO INTERNATIONALIZE EXTENSION
Extension units are invited to submit proposals to a mini-grant program sponsored by the "National Initiative to Internationalize Extension", a three-year investment by CSREES-USDA to strengthen state extension efforts to address global and international education needs. The purpose of the mini-grant program is to encourage innovations and partnerships within 1/us national extension system in the pursuit of self-designed "internationalization" initiatives. Proposals are due on June 1, 2003. Only Extension units affiliated with 1862, 1890 or 1994 Land Grant Institutions can apply (although they may be partnering with outside organizations). A state Extension organization can serve as the lead institution in only one proposal, although it can be a partner in other proposals. A letter of support from the Extension Director must accompany the proposal to indicate state concurrence in the pursuit of the effort. Projects should be planned to achieve substantial progress within one year, although grant funds can be used for a 12-15 month period, depending on the beginning date. Final reports arc due by Oct 31, 2004. Grants in the range of $5,000-$10,000 will be awarded based on the scope of the effort. A 50% match is required. Watch your email for the complete proposal announcement.

CSREES SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING: WATCH FOR RFAs
Later this spring, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) will publish a supplemental Request for Applications (RFA) for the National Research Initiative (NRI). In its Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 appropriation, Congress added approximately $46 million above the FY 2002 level to the NRI. It also expanded the programmatic authority, allowing the Secretary of Agriculture-through the competitive process managed by CSREES-to use as much as 20 percent of the program resources to support activities authorized under Section 401 of the 1998 Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Reform Act, the IFAFS program.

The new and expanded areas of research and integrated programs in the Supplemental RFA focus on issues for which the Administration sought competitive funding in the FY 2003 budget. These include genomics, behavioral nutrition and obesity, air quality, and biosecurity. I encourage you to carefully review the RFA when it is published in the next month. There are many new opportunities in research, education, and extension that CSREES seeks to support.

COLLEGE OF SCIENCES DEAN CANDIDATES BEGIN INTERVIEWS
Three final candidates have been named for the dean of the College of Sciences position, with campus visitations and interviews beginning April 18. Candidates and visitation dates include:

* Gordon Gordh, Jr., director for the Center for Plant Health Service and Technology, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in Raleigh, N.C. Gordh has held that position since Dec. 2000, supervising 285 scientists, technicians and administrative support personnel, and oversees a budget of $22.1 million. He earned a B.A. in history from the University of Colorado, an M.S. in entomology from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. from the University of California Riverside. He will visit WSU April 17-18, with an open seminar 3:30 5 p.m. Friday, April 18, Murrow Hall, Room 53, ICN 166, WSUS SIRTI 317, WSUTC 209W, WSUV CL 117.

* Laura J. Jenski, professor and head of the division of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, since 2000. From 1996 to 2000, she was the associate chair of the department of biology, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Jenski has a B.S. and M.S. in biology from Northern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in oncology from the University of Wisconsin. She will visit May 1-2, with an open seminar 10:30 a.m noon Thursday, May 1, Murrow Hall, Room 55, ICN 214, WSUS SIRTI 350, WSUTC 209W, WSUV CL 130.

* Paul F. Agris, professor of biochemistry, and chairman of the RNA biology faculty, North Carolina State University. Agris has a B.S. in biology and chemistry from Bucknell University, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He will visit campus May 5 6, with an open seminar 10:30 a.m. -- noon Monday, May 5, Murrow Hall, Room 53, ICN 166, WSUS SIRTI 317, WSUTC 209W, WSUV CL116.

All open sessions will be broadcast via live videostream. To connect to the live broadcast, go to the WSU Experience site and click on the date.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEWER CAMPUSES
In the past dozen years the newer campuses of Washington State University have successfully expanded educational opportunities in the three important urban areas where they are located: Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver. They have also been instrumental in creating a sense of what is expected of WSU in these areas and have enlisted strong and active support for expansion and enhancement of those campuses. After more than a year of study, which included community and university-wide participation, a report was drafted and submitted by a study committee appointed by the president and chaired by Dean James Zuiches. The report was published January 8th. It includes a number of specific recommendations, descriptions, and goals. Hal Dengerink, CEO and Dean of WSU Vancouver has been appointed as special assistant to the president to work on the recommendations for WSU's newer campuses. He will fill the position on a half-time basis while continuing in his Vancouver campus leadership role.

CE CALENDAR OF EVENTS
One of the links from the CE webpage is the "Calendar of Events" link. We urge you to take the time to list your events taking place in your county, region or department so others can find out about these events and possibly take part or help you in promoting them.

SCHEDULE
Next week, Mike and Linda will be in Pullman.

Mike Tate
Dean and Director
Linda Kirk Fox
Associate Dean and Associate Director
Cooperative Extension
PO Box 646230
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6230
Ph 509-335-2933
Fax 509-335-2926
lkfox@wsu.edu