Hopefully students have settled in nicely and are excited about the new semester. On Friday, I had a chance to meet a prospective student and the 2025 Maryland Dairy Princess, Leah Spurrier, at the Governor’s luncheon during the Maryland State Fair. The event was a good chance to meet more of our partners and supporters and say hello to a few I have already met.
Did you see that Monica VanKlompenberg will be a recipient of the Provost's Excellence Award for Professional Track Faculty at this year's convocation ceremony on September 17? Congratulations, Monica, and thank you for your hard work! I hope we have a strong turnout at convocation to cheer on Monica! Nominations are open for the next round of campus faculty and staff awards. Let’s show our support for AGNR talent by nominating our colleagues!
If I had slow moments over the summer, they seem to have disappeared with the reduction in humidity. This week holds a number of committee meetings, including a Hughes Center board meeting, a Maryland Ag Commission meeting, and the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Foundation meeting. On Thursday I will visit the Turfgrass Farm. In addition, the week holds a number of meetings to touch base with team members. After last week’s leadership team retreat, the conversations will be a good chance to brainstorm a bit more with individuals as well as get updates on things going on in units.
The Meet & Greet series begins this week as well. I was at the Wye Research and Extension Center on Monday and will be in Waldorf on Thursday. I appreciate everyone taking the time to stop by! The events don’t offer time for in depth conversations however the introductions are important to me as the first step in productive partnerships, sort of the first steps before we start to run with ideas and opportunities.