Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Accomplishments: Objective 1: Develop a regular forum/venue to bring together leaders of food systems to Identify, interact on issues of common concern and offer leadership development experience necessary for dealing with the system-wide issues (forum topics) of the meeting. A half-day symposium was held at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Denver, CO from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. on November 10, 2012 in conjunction with the 125th meeting of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. The meeting was organized by a committee of Benjy Mikel (MS), Dave Benfield (OH), and Melissa Newman (KY). The agenda of the meeting follows: 1:00  1:15 = Opening remarks, Benjy Mikel and Dave Benfield discussed the objectives of SERA 42 and the desire of many graduates for FSLI and LEAD 21 to continue to have opportunities to develop leadership skills and network with fellow graduates and other leaders in food systems. A prior survey of graduates from these programs identified potential discussion topics for the meetings and suggested that the meeting be held in conjunction with APLU. 1:15  2:00 = David Shaw, VP for Research Mississippi State University, Breaking down academic and other silos Dr. Shaw shared examples of multi-disciplinary programs developed at MSU and how these partnerships have internally and externally funded centers and institutes. He also provided information on how leaders in administration can foster and build these larger academic research groups. 2:00  3:00= Claudia Fernandez, Director Leadership Core, FSLI, North Carolina Institute for Public Health UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Powerful Apology. How many of us have said things that we regret and need to apologize to our colleagues? Dr. Fernandez presented many helpful suggestions and examples of appropriate and inappropriate apologies and how to best present these apologies to the wronged party. The goal is to mend relationships and collegiality through honest and heartfelt apologies in the workplace. 3:00  3:30 = Break 3:30-4:45 Dean Panel  Future vision of food systems, engaging faculty, developing food systems culture Bobby Moser - Ohio State University Barry Dunn - South Dakota State University John Floros - Kansas State University Each of the Deans was asked to address two questions: What are the three top issues that you feel will have the most impact on the global food system over the next 5 years? Give examples of ways in which your college is addressing or preparing to address these issues through research, extension and education. 4:45  5:00 = Election SERA 42 Officers, topics for next years meeting. Benjy Mikel and Dave Benfield will remain as co-chairs for 2013. The following individuals volunteered to assist with the 2013 program to be held in conjunction with the 126th APLU meeting: Wes Burger (MS), Teferi Tsegaye (KY), Jean Bertrand (GA), and Patrick Proden (OR). The meeting was attended by 50 individuals from 22 different universities. Objective 2: Create and disseminate information that is useful beyond the immediate audience of the forum Two initial products are targeted for outcomes: a series of leadership primers based on the discussion of the selected Current and Emerging Issues at the annual forum and a series of brief whitepapers related to each Current and Emerging Issue as discussed in Objective 1. The leadership primers would consist of PowerPoint presentation and possibly video of speakers at the annual meeting to be disseminated through the SERA 42 annual meeting. This process will begin at the next SERA 42 meeting to be held in collaboration with APLU in 2013. Electronic versions of whitepapers will also be posted on the website for public access. A third possible idea involves developing a leadership course that can be embedded in graduate curricula. The feasibility of creating a Community of Practice for Food Systems Leadership as part of extension will also be explored. These ideas will be discussed and a plan of work implemented in 2013. Website development will begin in 2013. Objective 3: Provide specific individual and organizational leadership development training towards excellence for dealing with critical issues in our food systems. One of the components of each forum discussion will be to develop a set of leadership best practices to be utilized in addressing annual forum topics. We will use the same methods and training used by the most innovative domestic and international companies as well as high impact non-profit organizations; specifically: executive coaching, training instruments, change management and strategic planning tools. Participants will engage in experiential based training and will focus discussions on how to extend their learning back to their home organizations. Linkages: This SERA program links land-grant programs (1862, 1890, and 1994 institutions) nationwide. Graduates of the FSLI and LEAD 21 programs comprise leaders from across the United States and its territories, including food industry (Abbott Nutritionals, Campbells Soup), and several U.S. Government agencies (USDA, ERS, State Departments of Agriculture) related to food systems. There were 50 attendees at the conference from 22 states. Both 1862 and 1890 universities and colleges were represented.