Monday, February 5, 2024

Greetings CAFNR Family,

What an eventful past couple of weeks as reflected in the features below! Team IISC assisted by others across the College does a great job participating in and representing at the events, so I want to single them out for special mention and recognition in this week’s edition of DD. Their coverage (including through social media platforms) is growing and leading to more visibility on campus and beyond. Thanks to you all across the College for providing the all-important content! Team IISC (assisted by Team AITC and others) will take care of the curating and “story-telling,” including uploading across relevant platforms.  

I look forward to seeing many of you starting today at the professional development (PD) sessions, thoughtfully planned and organized by Kimbria Worley and her “talent and development” team. I plan to attend as many as possible, reinforcing the priority I place on PD for myself, my direct reports, and indeed faculty, staff and students as well. This is an investment (culminating in our annual joint ARE conference) that has a tremendous return on investment (ROI).   

As you can see at the end of this DD, February and indeed the rest of this Spring semester are going to be tremendously busy with many outreach events in particular, so regardless of your unit affiliation, please participate as your schedule allows and/or volunteer as your interest (and your manager) allow. Your active participation contribute greatly to making these events the great success they are.

Happy Valentine's Day in advance to my entire CAFNR family! The bountiful passion you all display in your day to day activities is absolutely phenomenal, and I applaud you!

Gerard

What a CAFNR turnout! It was absolutely phenomenal to see so many CAFNR colleagues present at the Texas Land Grants Day hosted at TAMU. LG Day is meant to foster opportunities for networking and collaboration between PVAMU and TAMU. The event was initiated by engineering some five years ago; however, thanks to Dr. Erdogan Memili for ensuring that CAFNR is an equal partner in this event. The keynote speaker, Dr. Dionne Toombs, was phenomenal yet again (you may remember her great talk at our ARE conference last summer, a reminder about USDA priority areas); also other speakers, many from CAFNR including Dr. Ram Ray and our new Director of the Integrated Food Security Research Center (IFSRC) Dr. Jennifer Quinlan. Most of all, with Executive Leadership Team (ELT) members Dr. Carolyn Williams and others seeing so many colleagues from all three mission areas, and our four support areas was phenomenal! Thanks to those who couldn't make it in person yet attended virtually. Kudos to Dr. Laura Carson and others for coordinating poster presentations by our students, especially so many undergrads! We are excited to host next year!

It's been great to see more of you coming in person to the weekly Land Grant Seminar Series! If you can't make it in person, please join us online and invite students (undergraduate and graduate) to do the same!

As an avid reader I am excited to see this list of books curated by the John B. Coleman Library to celebrate African American History Month including Up Home: One Girl's Journey by former PVAMU President Ruth J. Simmons. The university has a full schedule of events, take some time to explore and reflect on the many contributions that have helped shape our world.

Congratulations to Dr. Jayant Lohakare and Dr. Md Salahuddin for their contribution to the following publication:

Paneru, D., Tellez-Isaias, G., Bottje, W. G., Asiamah, E., Abdel-Wareth, A. A., Salahuddin, M., and Lohakare, J. (2024). Modulation of Immune Response and Cecal Microbiota by Dietary Fenugreek Seeds in Broilers. Veterinary Sciences, 11(2), 57.

doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11020057

Excited to share a new partnership with Gordon Food Service (GFS), the largest family-operated broad-line food distribution company in North America! They are expanding into the Texas market and have teamed up with us to offer a 10-week paid internship opportunity for students. Representatives were on campus recently hosting a successful Lunch and Learn event. We are looking forward to their continued support!

We have new kids on the farm! The International Goat Research Center (IGRC) is seeking 16 to 20-ounce soda bottle donations to feed our baby goats (kids). We kindly request that you avoid donating water bottles as they are too thin. If you have any soda bottles to spare, please take them to the IGRC or contact Scott Horner at (936) 261-5087 to arrange for pick up. Your generosity is greatly appreciated, and it will help us continue providing the best care for our animals.

WOW! Thanks to IISC Assistant Director Trevior Mays, we are establishing our spot on social media sites like Instagram to engage our students and the community! He produced a trending "I'm an Ag major" video that has over 20,000 views in just a few days! Many of his other videos have thousands of views and counting...impressive stats! Ag is indeed back, excited to see this type of response which can impact all mission areas! For more from our College page on Instagram follow @pvamucafnr and stay tuned!

It's Rodeo gala season! At the annual Black Heritage Committee Western Gala themed "A Black and White Affair", CAFNR along with President Tomikia P. LeGrande and many others hosted tables at the event. As attendees, CAFNR students Robert Thomas and Olivia Greenwood heard from speakers such as United States Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and enjoyed more than just the food and fun of the evening. Olivia summed up the event by saying "attending the Black Heritage Gala provided me with the opportunity to witness and celebrate black success in agriculture. Throughout the night, the event showcased achievements, and contributions that highlighted their role and impact in agriculture while also placing a special emphasis on continuing to invest in the next generation of black agriculturists". It's always great to have our students join us at special events!

Here's another round of gala photos to share! Thanks very much to all who attended and represented PVAMU and CAFNR at the great annual HLSR Go Tejano Gala, including Angela Moore, James Smith, Aundrea Cudjoe-Jackson, Dr. Quincy Moore, and their guests. Special thanks to Chandra Adams for all she does volunteering at the Rodeo and bringing VIPs (Rep Sheila Jackson Lee, HLSR Chairwoman of Board, Pat Mann Phillips pictured) and others to the table to introduce us! It was another successful event and will lead us into the Rodeo kickoff on Tuesday, February 27, 2024!

Our PVAMU Algae Center of Excellence (PACE) has received a generous donation from the Algae Foundation! Close to $1 million dollars in equipment including microscopes, hoods, cabinets, centrifuge, incubators, spectrophotometers and more, along with 30 raceway ponds up to 15 feet long with motors, pumps, paddlewheels...it took three semi-trucks to bring all the equipment on site! Many thanks to our own Dr. Ali Fares and Dr. Atikur Rahman along with Algae Foundation Director Dr. Sachin Gadekar for facilitating this tremendous effort.

Thanks to the farm crew for assisting with the delivery of this massive donation: Dwight Rhodes, Kenneth Garfield, Alec Boulds, and Eric Copeland Jr. (undergraduate student).

Special thanks to Silas Collins who hosted our group at his Circle C Ranch! Such an impressive operation and an inspirational personal success story. We are looking forward to future field experiences with demonstrations for our students and possibly local farmers and ranchers as they would benefit from his best practices. Thanks to colleagues Horace Hodge, Ashley Pellerin James, Dr. Richard Griffin, and Dr. Alfred Parks for joining me on this visit.

Team IISC is getting everyone ready to Experience the Rodeo! I look forward to this community engagement event as a way to connect with people from all over the world including alumni, future students, other stakeholders and discover ways we can continue to strengthen our partnership with HLSR. See you there!

Here is an evolving list* of CAFNR-wide and mission area-specific events. With mission integration at the forefront of everyone's minds, we will continue to collaborate and support each other whenever possible!

Several dates will need volunteers, presenters, guest speakers, etc. Consider volunteering with events or working with one of our many student organizations (Livestock and Rodeo Club, MANNRS, Pre-Vet Club, Meat and Food Science Club, etc.) through mentorship, chaperone on a field experience, or any of the many opportunities that will become available.

*This is not an inclusive list; send an email to cafnrcomm@pvamu.edu to add events.