Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

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 entitled “Leading through Partnership Development” was held at the Hilton Bonnet Creek Hotel Orlando, Florida in conjunction with the 127th meeting of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. The meeting was organized by a committee of Teferi Tsegaye (Kentucky State University), Gary Thompson (Pennsylvania State University), Maifan Silitonga (Kentucky State University), Marshall Stewart (North Carolina State University), and Carol Reilly (North Carolina State University). A panel of notable speakers on the “Power of Partnerships” in the context of Food Systems was presented to the FSLI Fellows. A leadership seminar that actively engaged the Fellows on the topic of “Resiliency” was conducted by Claudia Fernandez. The business meeting focused on ways forward to ensure the continuation of this important forum for the FSLI and LEAD-21 fellows. Several proposals were discussed including the continuation of the SERA-42 multistate project or terminating the project and having future meetings organized by the graduating cohort each year as a class project. An electronic poll will be conducted to determine which of the two alternatives are supported by the fellows. The agenda of the meeting follows: 1:00 – 1:15 Opening Remarks, Dr. Maifan Silitonga, Program Moderator 1:15 – 2:45 The Power of Partnerships Dr. Joe Dipietro, President, University of Tennessee System Dr. Alton Thompson, Provost and VP for Academic Affairs, Delaware State University Dr. Walter Hill, Dean and Director, Tuskegee University Dr. Beverly Downing, Provost and VP for Academic Affairs, Kentucky State University 2:45 – 3:00 Break 3:00 – 4:30 Leadership Seminar - Resiliency Dr. Claudia Fernandez, FSLI and North Carolina State University 4:30 – 5:00 Business Meeting 5:00 Adjourn Objective 2: Create and disseminate information that is useful beyond the immediate audience of the forum. The topics discussed at the 2014 annual meeting provided information and “take home” messages that can be used by the attendees. Two initial products 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 Issues have not been developed as anticipated in the original proposal. Objective 3: Provide specific individual and organizational leadership development training towards excellence for dealing with critical issues in our food systems. The 2014 SERA-42 Pre-conference Leadership Seminar provided attendees with both organizational and individual development training. The Power of Partnerships panel discussion focused on organizational development and involved four speakers with a variety of experiences in leading their institutions in successful partnerships. Each speaker provided an overview of their experiences in developing productive partnerships followed by a discussion that engaged the audience. Topics of discussion included: using the right connections; having a university program-mission based partnership; knowing and having the mission, market, and margin investment; and building trust between partners. Individual development training conducted by Claudia Fernandez focused on the importance of resilience in leadership. This interactive presentation reviewed the four components of resilience: mental health, physical health, well-being and sufficient skills. This included a discussion of the pitfalls that leaders can encounter when dysfunction occurs in the 5-C Functions of clarifying, crisis, comforting, celebrating, and confronting. An interactive support mapping and matrix of the 5-C Functions engaged the attendees in understanding their individual personal, professional, and organizational support networks. Finally, an interactive exercise involving all of the attendees provided a tool that can be used to develop group dynamics in moving from an atmosphere of uncertainty and distrust to one of engagement and reward. 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, Campbell’s Soup), and several U.S. Government agencies (USDA, ERS, State Departments of Agriculture) related to food systems. There were 32 attendees at the conference from 21 universities in 17 states. Both 1862 and 1890 universities and colleges were represented