Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The meeting was called to order by Dave Benfield, Co-chair SERA 42. Dave welcomed all attendees and invited speakers and also informed the group that Benjy Mikel, Mississippi State University the other co-chair has left the university for private industry. Dr. Benfield then reviewed the program and agenda for the meeting and introduced the first speaker Dr. Ken Swartzel who spoke on Feeding the World in 2050 Will Take Strong Leadership. Dr. Swartzel shares many of his career and administrative experiences with the group and related these to the future leadership needs in the Food Systems. Dr. Benfield then introduced the second speaker Dr. Mike Boehm, The Ohio State University, who spoke to the group via video link from Columbus. Dr. Boehm shared many of the details and purposes of OSUs strategic research and faculty building program under the title of Discovery Themes. Dr. Boehms talks was a continuation from the 2012 meeting that addressed the concept of breaking down disciplinary silos and moving research to cross disciplinary problems. Following a short break, Dr. Benfield introduced Dr. Mark Erbaugh, The Ohio State University, and he introduced a panel of speakers that addressed the topic of International Program in Agriculture. Each of the panelists introduced a different aspect of International Programs in research and teaching. After much discussion on the panels comments, the group convened to the annual business meeting. We discussed how to sustain the efforts of the group and possible future topics. An election was held for a new Chair and Vice chair/Secretary. Dr. Teferi Tsegaye from Kentucky State University agreed to become Chair of SERA 42 and Dr. Gary Thompson from Pennsylvania State University was elected Vice Chair/ Secretary. The meeting dismissed at 5:00 P.M. Washington Marriott Wardman Park Room  Madison A 1:00  1:15 = Opening remarks, Dave Benfield Chair SERA 42 1:15  2:00 = Feeding the World in 2050 Will Take Strong Leadership Dr.Ken Swartzel, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Departments of Food, Bioprocessing, Nutrition Sciences and Biological and Agricultural Engineering. Former Director Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI). 2:00  2:45 = Transition to University sponsored interdisciplinary research: The Ohio State University Discovery Themes Concept Dr. Mike Boehm, Associate Provost, The Ohio State University. This presentation will be video linked. 2:45  3:00 = Break 3:00  4:00 = Panel Discussion in International Programs in Agriculture Chair: Dr. Mark Erbaugh, Director of International Programs in Agriculture, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University and current Chair, International Agriculture Section. Dr. Gretchen Neisler, Director, Institute of International Agriculture, Michigan State University, and Chair-elect, International Agriculture Section Dr. John Ferrick, Director of International Programs in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin and IAS representative to the Board on Agricultural Assembly Dr. Mark Varner, Senior Counselor, APLU and Professor Emeritus Animal Sciences, University of Maryland. 4:00- 5:00 = SERA 42 Business Meeting Election of officers for 2013-2014 - Topics for next years program Website development for SERA 42 Other

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 Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, DC in conjunction with the 126th meeting of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. The meeting was organized by a committee of Dave Benfield (Ohio State University), Teferi Tsegaye Kentucky State University, Jean Bertrand University of Georgia, Patrick Proden, Oregon State University and Wes Burger, Mississippi State University. Three broad topics related to Food Systems were addressed at the annual meeting: future leadership in the Food Systems (Ken Swartzel); program in cross disciplinary research (Mike Boehm) and International Programs in Agriculture (Mark Erbaugh, Gretchen Neisler, John Ferrick and Mark Varner). There were several minutes of discussion following each keynote presentation. Suggested for future that these sessions be recorded via Carmen or other resource and offered on SERA 42 Website. The agenda of the meeting follows: 1:00  1:15 = Opening remarks, Dave Benfield Chair SERA 42 1:15  2:00 = Feeding the World in 2050 Will Take Strong Leadership Dr.Ken Swartzel, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Departments of Food, Bioprocessing, Nutrition Sciences and Biological and Agricultural Engineering. Former Director Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI). 2:00  2:45 = Transition to University sponsored interdisciplinary research: The Ohio State University Discovery Themes Concept Dr. Mike Boehm, Associate Provost, The Ohio State University. This presentation will be video linked. 2:45  3:00 = Break 3:00  4:00 = Panel Discussion in International Programs in Agriculture Chair: Dr. Mark Erbaugh, Director of International Programs in Agriculture, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University and current Chair, International Agriculture Section. Dr. Gretchen Neisler, Director, Institute of International Agriculture, Michigan State University, and Chair-elect, International Agriculture Section Dr. John Ferrick, Director of International Programs in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin and IAS representative to the Board on Agricultural Assembly Dr. Mark Varner, Senior Counselor, APLU and Professor Emeritus Animal Sciences, University of Maryland. 4:00- 5:00 = SERA 42 Business Meeting Election of officers for 2013-2014 Topics for next years program Website development for SERA 42 Other Objective 2: Create and disseminate information that is useful beyond the immediate audience of the forum The topics discussed at the 2013 annual meeting definitely provided information and take home messages that can be used by the attendees. Two initial products are still 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 was to 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 2014. Website development began in 2013 and will launch in March 2014. 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. This objective has not been implemented and should be a part of the 2014 meeting. 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 30 attendees at the conference from 14 states. Both 1862 and 1890 universities and colleges were represented.