A Message from Dean Shane Burgess, Spring 2023

April 26, 2023
Shane Burgess

Dear CALES alumni and friends,

I was privileged to join our CALES family in 2011. I was honored and fortunate in my first six weeks to drive the state and meet you where you live. I heard how deeply connected you are to our part of the University of Arizona, and how invested you are in how we should continually improve on how the University should deliver on its land-grant legacy and mission of integrated world-class teaching, research and Extension.

After listening to you, I established our division’s four strategic intents:

  • Be a leading economic development engine for Arizona.
  • Produce employable graduates, who can do jobs that do not yet exist and create new jobs.
  • Be the most effective, efficient, responsive, flexible, and financially sustainable enterprise-wide.
  • Be the most sought-after place to be a part of.

In this issue, you’ll read stories about what those intents look like in action, focused on the theme of Growing Community. I can’t think of anything more timely or important today.

For example, UArizona President Robert C. Robbins called on the expertise of four members of our division when he formed the Presidential Advisory Commission on the Future of Agriculture and Food Production in a Drying Climate this past December. The university-wide taskforce will be chaired by our Yuma Center for Excellence in Desert Agriculture (YCEDA) Executive Director Paul Brierley.

You’ll learn about an innovative collaboration between our School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness and Tucson Village Farm, as well as efforts to expand educational opportunities for students at the University of Arizona’s Yuma campus.

I truly appreciate the contributions all of you have made as CALES alums and friends, through volunteering, advocacy, and gifts that support our programs and students.

Shane C. Burgess

Vice President for the Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension and Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences

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