I think the weeks are getting busier. That’s a good thing but it sure makes time fly by. I don’t know what happened to September. All of a sudden, the temperatures are down, tides are high, and it is dark before I have wrapped up tasks for the day. I need to get more organized.
This week I am out and about, making a visit to site where there may be opportunities for programming, attending the President’s Retreat in Baltimore for a day and a half, meeting with the Dean’s Student Advisory Council, a meeting with our departmental Directors of Undergraduate Students, an afternoon with a key partner group, and ending the week with a half day volunteer summit led by University Relations that I am a bit blurry on my role. Several other meetings with deans, the provost, team members, and statewide committees round out the week. Admittedly, I prefer the fast pace but get caught off guard when someone says a meeting on October 1 is this week!
While most of my time is spent in Maryland, next week begins a series of trips that entail airports. One is a personal trip and the other three that take us into mid-November are all work. Following, I am back in the state until sometime in the spring, if not later.
All of this travel has my meetings with departments stretching out a bit. I have two meetings remaining. I spent some time in DC last week and will make a few more office visits in the coming weeks. I appreciate the opportunity to meet with our delegation and share the work and impact of AGNR. The departmental meetings are a good way to stay connected with the faculty and helps me educate our congress people about our faculty successes and challenges.
I need to take some time to map out my conversations and determine the connections. Visuals help me see the linkages and the opportunities. I may need a bigger whiteboard.