Summer is slipping away! It wasn’t just the cooler temperatures this weekend that hinted at fall. Fair season is in full swing and tomatoes are ready to be made into sauce. I am hopeful that the 30 lbs of Roma tomatoes I turned into pasta sauce and pizza sauce this weekend is the start and end of it for me this season. If you asked me if I liked canning, that would be a hard ‘no’. Fortunately, my role was to make the sauces, and my husband does the actually canning. I still don’t see a winner in the deal – at least not until it’s time to make lasagna, then we all win.
I seemed to have quite a bit of road time last week with two days at the Clarksville REC and an evening in DC. This week, I spend Tuesday at the Wye REC working with the Hughes Center Board to develop a strategic plan. This is timely given that we are getting ready for second round interviews of candidates for the new Center director.
Next week our new chair, Ji-Young Lee, starts in the Nutrition and Food Science Department. She has already been busy with the department, working with Margaret Slavin, Ryan Blaustein, and Rohan Tikekar to submit a proposal for the USDA Research Facilities Act call.
Next week, August 9th, is the ‘start day’ for new faculty hires – another sign that fall is quickly approaching and too soon for most of us. We are winding down interviews for our AI cluster hire faculty positions. I don’t anticipate these faculty starting before January 2027. It seems like most may be available to begin at that time if we are able to get offers out in August.
The Leadership Team meets this week. We will review how the AGNR budget, in aggregate, is spent as a means of getting us all on the same page with understanding and planning. We will confirm some numbers and how they are presented before sharing further. Jessica Vernon and her team have been busy doing FY26 closeout while pulling things together for the meeting.
Enjoy your week and be sure to take advantage of summer, whether it’s a trip to the beach or the garden!
