Last week my partner came home from work with a recognition from his employer for his “entrepreneurial spirit” and commitment to always trying to make the customer experience better. It is my sincere hope that AGNR has this same mindset at its core. While higher education may not be considered a customer-based enterprise, we very much are whether it be our students, our community partners, or the benefactors of our research and Extension programs that represent our clientele/customers.
My underlying assumption, always, is that each person in AGNR is working hard and doing really good work. Any desire to do better comes not from a deficiency lens but from one of continuous improvement as a core value, always asking the question “how can we do this better?” While there is likely no award, the reward is having a bigger or more meaningful impact.
I am in numerous meetings these days where we have to re-think our approach or deliverables because conditions have changed whether it be funding, personnel, or priorities. This presents opportunity for us to drive our future and make improvements because we have all the necessary ingredients for success – namely the talent, expertise, and partnerships. ‘Need’ may have to substitute for ‘desire’ in this recipe but the finished product will remain exceptional. These meetings are with partners across the state, the country, and the world. We all know the saying that change is the only constant. From a continuous improvement mindset, we make the most of changing conditions to do things we were hesitant to do before and innovate to adapt.
This week I am in College Park for most of the time. Wednesday is the new faculty orientation at the Clarksville REC. We’ve changed the approach to the day from past years, opting to stay in one location rather than a bus tour. Those on the planning committee have made sure that while the mileage will be less, the opportunity for new faculty to connect with each other remains intact. I meet with a couple of departments this week and we continue interviews for a number of positions across the college. I wind down the week visiting with the University Scholars who will be learning about AGNR programs and volunteering at the Terp Farm at our Upper Marlboro REC. The new semester is just around the corner and move ins are happening all across town. With it comes renewed energy on campus, perhaps a reflection of our own entrepreneurial spirit. I am excited to see what the semester brings!