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Southern Administrative Heads and CARET

Mini Land-grant Conference, Fayetteville, AR

June 9 – 12, 2025

Minutes

Participants:

Usman Adamu
Marcus Bernard
Olga Bolden-Tiller
Keith Coble
Jeff Edwards
Deacue Fields
Garey Fox
Shirley Hymon-Parker
Renita Marshall

Jayson Lusk
Ralph Noble
Laura Stephenson
Calvin Walker
Eric Young
Doug Steele
Jane Carpenter
Mike Salassi
Dexter Wakefield

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Plenary Session 1 – Strategically Communicating the Land-grant Mission in the 21st Century

Moderator: Marianne Smith Edge, CARET, University of Kentucky

Keynote Presentation – Advancing Your Mission through Strategic Communications

Blake Woolsey, Chief Communications & Development Officer, Heartland Forward (PowerPoint)

Facilitated Panel – Communicating Across Generations

  • Kelli Russell, Assistant Extension Professor, Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology, Auburn University
  • Latasha Ford, Research Communications Manager, College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology, Fort Valley State University
  • Nick Kordsmeier, Director of Communications, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

Southern AHS Business Meeting – Deacue Fields, Chair, S-AHS

  • Welcome and Introductions – Deacue Fields
  • Items from March CARET/BAA Washington Conference – Doug Steele
    • Chris Daubert is AHS Chair
    • AHS newsletter is sent out periodically, let Doug or Eric know if you’re not getting it
    • Lots of changes going on, most appointee positions are not finalized yet
    • REE Undersecretary not yet confirmed, but is on track
    • Jay Hamby named new NIFA Director
    • APLU is part of three lawsuits regarding Federal F&A levels from grants
      • Currently under court considerations
    • APLU wrote two letters; on AID elimination and defunding Department of Education
  • Salary Survey debrief – Eric Young
    • Add average Assistant Professor Starting Salary by Department and average Start-up Package
    • Consider asking for 2024 and 2025 in next survey to get a better baseline
  • Nomination for Southern AHS Secretary (election at winter meeting) – Deacue Fields
    • Garey Fox was nominated as S-AHS Secretary by Jayson Lusk, and Garey accepted
    • Election will be held at Winter meeting in Feb 2026
  • Discussion – Potential actions to address federal funding decreases (position shifting, restructuring, program elimination, downsizing, etc) – All
    • Which will be permeant vs temporary?  Response will be different
    • Slow hiring vacant positions
    • Protect graduate student funding
    • Make it clear how important communication is
    • Need to use good data that shows effectiveness of programs
    • Need alternative models for covering F&A expenses
    • Federal administration seems to think the private sector should be doing more research
      • Have to show how we’re doing foundational research that privates can’t afford
    • Strategically releasing vacant positions that have key importance to programs
    • Develop scenarios for different budget cuts so cuts can be strategic rather than across the board
    • What about state funding, can it fill in some gaps? Some states are cutting budgets or holding them steady
    • Faculty funding is being reduced which is having a big impact
    • Donations from private sector is still really strong, industry donations are being reduced due to uncertainty in economy
    • Grants and contracts coming in are still readdy strong, but showing signs of slowing
    • Trying to help young faculty find new non-federal funding sources
  • Future Southern AHS meetings – important Eric Young
    • 2026 Winter AHS, Monday, Feb 2, Louisville, KY, Omni Louisville Hotel
    • 2026 Summer AHS/CARET, July 24 – 26 or July 31 – Aug 2, hosted by Georgia

Southern AHS Business Meeting – Deacue Fields

  • Discussion – Industry impacts from tariff and international trade changes- All
    • Livestock sector not too much impact
    • Row crops industry has been built in exports, so they will need help adjusting
    • Rice is more of an export product than a food product
    • Screwworm in imported beef is a problem in TX
    • Trading partners will find other suppliers
    • Programs need to shift to more value added products
    • Make food products more accessible to in-state consumers
    • Grain breeding programs are shifting to end traits rather than yield
    • Commodity groups and state governments are still focusing on export markets
    • Need to becomre more self-sufficient in more product areas
    • Foreigh graduate students future is unknown
    • Lot of international students are applying to other countries
  • Institution Updates – All

Large Joint Session (all groups) – Federal Updates

  • Lewis-Burke Update on Legislative and Related Activities (Zoom) – Bridget Krieger, Lewis-Burke Associates (PowerPoint)
  • NIFA Update – Rubella Goswami, Deputy Director, Institute of Youth, Family and Community, NIFA
    • Personnel changes
      • Dr. Jaye Hamby is the new Director for NIFA
      • Dr. Rachel Melnick is currently Acting Associate Director for Programs
      • Brent Elrod has been appointed as the Chief of Staff for NIFA
      • Dr. Rubella Goswami, is the new Deputy Director for the Inst of Youth, Family and Community (IYFC) and will be serving as the liaison for the Southern Region along with Dr Robert Godfrey, Division Director for Animal Systems
    • Operations
      • Almost all NIFA staff are back to office in-person. Those within 50 miles of our Kansas City or Washington, DC offices are back at those locations and others across the country have been placed in USDA offices in their area
      • Reviews for capacity projects and Plans of Work are being conducted, and Project Directors may be contacted for revisions as needed
      • We have started requesting information to process continuations for some existing grants that are funded through continuations
      • Panel activities for previously closed RFAs have resumed, and we would appreciate it if you would encourage your faculty to serve as reviewers

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Plenary Session 2 – Faculty Hiring and Retention

Moderator: Carmen Agouridis, Senior Associate Dean, Food and Environment and Extension Professor of Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, University of Kentucky

  • Overview of Challenges for Institutions – Deacue Fields
  • Creating a Supportive Environment for Faculty Retention Chancellor Randall Woodson, North Carolina State University (PowerPoint)
  • A View from Industry on Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
    • Kim Beatty, VP of People Operations, Tyson Foods (PowerPoint)
    • Vaden Spurlock, VP of Talent Management, Tyson Foods

Southern AHS/CARET Joint Business Meeting – Deacue Fields

  • Welcome and Introductions – Deacue Fields
  • FANR Update: Personnel, initiatives, international, & advocacy – Doug Steele (PowerPoint)
    • Biggest issue in DC now is fear of uncertainty
    • Reconciliation, Hatch, and SNAP Ed are three priorities currently
    • Will keep us informed, but be ready for a quick call-to-action
    • RFA funds will be distributed based on numerous criteris
    • Asked NIFA to hold stakeholder sessions to get LGU input on process
  • Communicating societal impacts to Congressional members and staffers – Frankie Gould, Director of Communication, LSU AgCenter
    • OK State – Scott Senseman and Lyndall Scott
      • Talked with Senator Boseman on site about turf grass that was developed at OSU and used all over, including Senate Office Building lawnFirst connect something personal with stakeholder, then add the information you want them to haveWant to leave a lasting impressionGet person to talk about themselves to learn more about their interests
      NC A&T – Shirley Hymon-Parker and Kenwyn Caranna
      • Brightleaf to Berkshire program is helping tobacco farmers transition to swineGraduates have a been very successful and it’s having an economic impactUse information to create very brief material with link to more info
    • UGA – Michael Toews (Interactive PowerPoint)
      • Have done a lot of printed info, but it’s too static, expensive and can’t track use. Redesigned website to be very interactive allowing user to go whatever direction they’d like. Leave a link on a card with QR code.
    • UAPB – Henry English and Deseray McKinzy
      • New forest owners program that offers education and management assistance
      • Highlight personal success stories and individuals
      • Tie impacts to national goals
      • Use a lot of in-person visits and field days

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Plenary Session 3 – AI in Agriculture and the Environment

Moderator: Alton Thompson, Executive Director, ARD

Keynote Presentation – Farms, Images and Diagnosis

Olga U. Bolden-Tiller, Dean for the College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences, Tuskegee University, and 1890 Research Director (PowerPoint)

Keynote Presentation – AI and Specialty Crops

Dana Choi, Assistant Professor of Precision Ag and Agricultural Robotics, Department of Ag and Bio Engineering, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, University of Florida (PowerPoint)

Keynote Presentation – Extension Bots and More Complex Decision-making Tools

David Warren, AI Program Leader, The Extension Foundation and Senior Director of Integrated Digital Strategies, Oklahoma State University (PowerPoint)

Facilitated Panel – Academics and Workforce Development

Moderator: Rich Bonanno, Executive Director, ASRED

  • Bruce Erickson, Agronomy Education Distance and Outreach Director, Purdue University
  • Robert Gilbert, Dean for Research and Executive Director for Academic Affairs, University of Florida
  • David Warren, AI Program Leader, The Extension Foundation and Senior Director of Integrated Digital Strategies, Oklahoma State University