Congratulations to Chuck Schuster who is the inaugural recipient of the Landscaping Contractor’s Association’s new Industry Partnership Award! This award recognizes exceptional service and support that elevate industry standards and contribute to long-term success in the region. Chuck was presented the award on October 23rd at LCA's Annual Networking Dinner and Awards Celebration in Bethesda.
Be sure to check out Plant Science and Landscape Architecture faculty member Vijay Tiwari and his team who recently had the cover in PNAS. Congratulations to this team for discovery of the gene responsible for a mutation in wheat that makes a wheat plant capable of producing three times the typical amount of grain. This discovery provides wheat breeders a powerful new tool to boost yield without the need for more land or other resources!
You probably saw the story that celebrates the Terrapin Soils Judging Team and their considerable victories at the Northeast Regional Soil Judging Competition. The first and second placement by the A and B teams, respectively wasn’t the result of luck but rather a reflection of excellence in knowledge and real-world application of that knowledge. Congratulations to Coach Martin Rabenhorst and the entire team!
It was nice to catch up with faculty, staff, and students during the Cornerstone event last week. The event itself and our speaker, Secretary Sanjay Rai, gave us much to think about in terms of how we harness AI as a tool to advance our excellence in student outcomes. I appreciated the Secretary’s use of examples such as the graphing calculator to illustrate how we have moved beyond concerns about ‘cheating’ in the past to embrace technology as a valuable asset in the classroom to the benefit of students and teachers. I would have liked more conversation as a college for peer sharing and discussion. The poster session was a success. Repeatedly I heard about the quality of the posters this year not for a few, but in all 88 posters. Thanks to each of the presenters and their mentors for illustrating excellence in research throughout AGNR!
This week started by meeting with the Board of Regents Finance Committee to share the Wye Research and Extension Center’s opportunity to receive a land gift, the result of a strong relationship with a center neighbor. The gift will be reviewed and voted on by the entire Board of Regents at the end of the week.
Also on the schedule this week is a meeting with the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association, time with West Africa Crop Improvement team members, the New Employee Orientation event, a trip to the eastern shore to visit UMES and the Somerset Extension office, a campaign launch event on Thursday evening, and the Board of Trustees meeting most of the day on Friday. In between, I have a few more first-time meetings with different offices and other onboarding meetings. The week promises to be busy with hopefully lots of opportunities for AGNR as a result.
I hope you enjoy your week and get out into the sunshine while it is here!