Inside IFAS September 2005

Welcome to the September issue of the “INSIDE IFAS” faculty and staff newsletter. It’s hard to believe UF’s Homecoming weekend is just around the corner, Oct. 7-9, so get ready to enjoy fellowship, fun and – of course – football, as the Gators meet the Bulldogs of Mississippi State in the Swamp Oct. 8.

In case you’ve missed our past three online issues, they are available on the “INSIDE IFAS” archives Web site, at http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/inside_ifas/index.htm.

Speaking of our archives, please accept our apologies if you recently visited the archived versions of the May or July issues and tried to access any of the online stories – due to a technical error, the links were not functioning properly. We’re working to correct the problem.

As always, we need your help to make this newsletter the voice of UF/IFAS faculty and staff. Please send brief news items to insideifas@ifas.ufl.edu, including all the essential information – who, what, when, where, why and how.

Produced by UF/IFAS External and Media Relations, the online “INSIDE IFAS” is a work in progress, so please let us know if you have any suggestions for improvements. We look forward to hearing from you!

ONLINE STORIES

09.27.2005 Nick Place Receives NACTA Teacher Fellow Award

http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.php?id=460

09.22.2005 Growth Management Issues to Be Emphasized at 2006 Florida Leadership Training Institute

http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.php?id=458

09.22.2005 New Orleans Boys’ School to Reopen at UF 4-H Youth Camp

http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.php?id=457

09.13.2005 Dempsey Sapp Receives Distinguished Alumnus Award from UF

http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.php?id=453

FEATURES

IUFRO Honors Nair, Former Grad Student

The International Union of Forest Research Organizations recently confirmed the strength of School of Forest Resources and Conservation research programs by independently selecting P.K. Nair (agroforestry, international forestry) and his former graduate student John Bellow for major awards.

At the 22nd IUFRO World Forestry Congress in Brisbane, Australia, Aug. 8-13, Nair received the Scientific Achievement Award, presented every five years to recognize distinguished individual achievements in forestry research, and Bellow received the Outstanding Doctoral Award, which recognizes path-breaking doctoral dissertations.

Nair is known worldwide as a pioneer of agroforestry, the practice of growing trees and other crops together to achieve greater benefit than would be possible if they were farmed separately. He is a UF distinguished professor and director of the UF/IFAS/SFRC Center for Subtropical Agroforestry.

Bellow received his doctoral degree from the School of Forest Resources and Conservation in 2004 and is currently employed by Florida State University as an agricultural meteorologist at the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies in Tallahassee.

The event marked the first time in IUFRO history that an academic adviser and the adviser’s student were selected independently to receive this level of recognition for separate scientific accomplishments at the same world event.

INFORM

UF/IFASpeakers Offers Public Speaking Help

Ever find yourself preparing to give a presentation and thinking “I wish I were more comfortable speaking to groups of people?”

A new club called UF/IFASpeakers may be just what you need. Affiliated with the world’s largest public-speaking organization, Toastmasters International, UF/IFASpeakers can help you improve your skills, poise and confidence, using proven methods.

The group meets from 5:35 p.m. to about 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday in Room 1031 of the Entomology-Nematology Building and is open to all UF personnel. A typical meeting includes a round of impromptu speaking, followed by several prepared speeches that are evaluated by the members.

In addition to public speaking, the club emphasizes leadership development. Each member has the opportunity to help officiate at the club’s meetings, and a different person serves in each officiating role every week.

Since its launch in June, UF/IFASpeakers has grown to16 members but needs 20 to qualify as a chartered chapter of Toastmasters International. The only requirement for new members is that they be at least 18 years old. Visitors are welcome to attend meetings.

For more information, contact UF/IFASpeakers President James Kocher at (352) 392-1901 Ext. 121 or jskocher@ifas.ufl.edu. The club is developing a Web site that should be available soon.

NEW ARRIVALS AT UF/IFAS

Carrie Reinhardt Adams Named Assistant Professor with Environmental Horticulture

Carrie Reinhardt Adams has been named an assistant professor with the department of environmental horticulture. Her appointment became effective August 1.

Adams will have both teaching and extension responsibilities. She will teach courses in restoration ecology and provide training programs and direct assistance to the industry in ecological issues and land development.

Before being appointed to this position, Adams was a visiting assistant professor at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.

Adams holds a doctoral degree in water resource science from the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minn.

Leslie Baucum Named Multicounty Extension Agent

Leslie Baucum has been named a multicounty extension agent for Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee Counties. His appointment became effective August 12.

Before being appointed to this position, Baucum taught agriscience at LaBelle Middle School in LaBelle, and served as the manager for technical services for the United States Sugar Corporation, in Clewiston. His duties as an extension agent will include planning, developing, implementing and evaluating educational programs concerning sugarcane, forage grasses and other agronomic crops.

Baucum holds a master’s degree in agriculture and extension education from Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss.