Minutes of the Faculty Meeting -- June 5, 2002

Present were: Drs. Capinera (JLC), Adams, Barfield, Boucias, Butler, Cuda, Foltz, Frank, Hoy, Liburd, Leppla, Lloyd, Maruniak, McAuslane, Oi, Stimac, Webb, Yu, Danny Colvin, Tom Fasulo, and P. Howell.

The meeting was called to order at 10:03 AM.

Dr. Capinera introduced Dr. Danny Colvin, administrator of the Plant Science Research and Education Unit at Citra. He is also head of the Surplus Property program and is director of the Hastings Research Center. Dr. Colvin handed out a map of the PSREU, then gave a short presentation of how UF came to own the land on which the center is located, and how it has progressed to become what it is today. He mentioned that the land was originally acquired in 1972, at which time it had been part of the Bedford Estate and had been part of a working cattle operation. He said the center today comprises about 1100 acres.

Phase I of the center has been developed. On the western side of the land are blocks 1-6, with each block broken into sub-blocks a and b. At the northernmost boundary, between sub-blocks 1a and 5a are located the administrative and plant science buildings. More buildings are anticipated, or are in the planning stages. In the middle of the property, between Phase I and Phase II, is located Hawthorne Prairie. This is a dry lake bed that becomes wet with overflow from Orange Lake during rainy seasons. (Orange Lake is a 10,000 acre lake which is currently down to about 1,300 acres due to the ongoing drought.) When dry, the prairie can be used for research.

Last year, which was the first year of research at PSREU, there were only a few faculty members doing work there. This year there are approximately 46 faculty doing research there. The unit is being used not only by IFAS people, but also by other departments, such as Civil Engineering and Pathology. For further information, go to the PSREU website at http://plantscienceunit.ifas.ufl.edu.

Dr. Colvin also mentioned several items that would be helpful to know for research purposes. Some of these are: (1) Complete soil analysis samples have been taken to a depth of 1.5 meters every 100 meters over the entire property. (2) Block 4 is being assigned to those who need to "contaminate" or make additions to the soil for their research. (3) Blocks 7 and 8 will be certified organic and have had no chemicals added to the ground for the past 30 years. (4) GPS listings can be found on the PSREU website noted above. (5) For researchers who are doing work with forage and need to have their plots grazed, a complete cattle facility with catch pens is available on site. (6) Block 5a will be allotted to the turfgrass program and will feature a 3-hole golf course for training turf workers. (7) Block 9 will be allotted to tree fruits and small fruits. Citrus will be planted here in a cold tolerance study. Tree fruits will be planted in this block because Phase I has "walking" irrigation which will damage trees. Phase II will have other types of irrigation to allow for the height of trees.

Dr. Colvin mentioned that it is possible to conduct labs and classes as well as equipment training at PSREU. They do not actually have a classroom or auditorium at this time, but they do have a Faculty Support Center that can seat about 25 people. Should a larger place be necessary to accommodate up to 200 people, they can move equipment out of some of the bays and hold seminars or short courses there. When new buildings are built, classrooms and an auditorium, as well as a pavilion, are planned.

Dr. Colvin noted that all the IFAS heavy equipment is located at PSREU. The equipment is "owned" by PSREU and is available to anyone so long as the proper forms requesting use are filled out. He also said that he and his crew take care of the planting and growing of the research crops so that the researchers can spend their time doing research on the crops. There is a minimum per-acre charge that handles all growing, fertilizer, seed, water, etc. He said to keep in mind that most researchers use only a one-quarter to one-half acre plot. (Dr. Colvin clarified the pricing with the following: "The charges range from $300 to $2,400 per acre according to the crop and conditions required. Most row crops are in the $300 to $500 range with vegetables requiring plastic culture and intense hand labor running close to the $2,400 range. Scott Taylor is in charge of negotiating charges with individual faculty members according to their specific needs.") He also said that there are five semi trucks available to move equipment anywhere. The cost is $1.50 per loaded mile, which is less than most trucking companies charge, and this is to cover fuel and upkeep on the trucks.

Dr. Colvin also mentioned that Hawthorne High School has an agriculture magnet program and he has seven students from that program working at PSREU this year. He also mentioned the Federal Excess Property Program and said that he and his screeners are able to get almost anything anyone could need. He did clarify that he cannot get "war machines" such as helicopters, but just about anything else is obtainable.

Dr. Colvin also mentioned that there will be an Open House on June 26 and invitations to attend should be arriving shortly.

Dr. Webb mentioned that she has been doing some work at the Hastings REC for the past couple of years and said that she measures out the treatments for her plots and the personnel there make sure the treatments are done. She asked if the same type of service will be provided at PSREU. Dr. Colvin said that they will be closing the office in Hastings but will keep the field station. He said that they will accommodate all researchers in any way they possibly can. He did say that he's unsure at this time if treatments will be done for researchers since it's very easy to do treatments incorrectly.

Dr. Cuda asked about where he could do some of his weed research. Dr. Colvin asked him to come to PSREU and look the place over and they would decide together where the best place to do the weed research would be.

Dr. Colvin mentioned that he has lost his scout and that he is trying to hire a new one. He's unable to give scouting reports until he hires someone to do them. He also mentioned that he'd love to have everyone come check out the PSREU and he'd be delighted to have involvement with students.

JLC stated that the PSREU is an excellent area and has helped prevent some of the problems previously experienced at Green Acres and other sites.

The faculty was asked to vote on whether to recommend Dr. Roxanne Rutledge for Graduate Faculty status. He mentioned that Dr. Rutledge has been reviewed by the Graduate Committee and approved. Dr. Butler said that she should become a Graduate Faculty member since she has a graduate student under supervision. JLC said that she's a very capable entomologist. The faculty present voted and there was a unanimous decision to recommend her for the Graduate Faculty.

The faculty was asked to vote on whether to recommend Dr. Richard Lobinske for a courtesy faculty appointment because he will be teaching the general entomology course at Apopka. He mentioned that Richard recently received his Ph.D. in this department and that his application has been reviewed and approved. Dr. Stimac said that he was on Richard's committee and that he's very capable. Dr. Cuda said that he has done some work with Richard and he's very accomplished. The faculty present voted and there was a unanimous decision to recommend him for a courtesy appointment.

Dr. McAuslane, who is the Entomology/Nematology coordinator for the CALS Honors Program, spoke about the program. This is an upper division honors program, and is different from the UF Honors Program, which is a lower division honors program. We currently have four students in the honors program, two of which are doing a thesis with Dr. Frank, and two of which are doing non-thesis coursework. Dr. McAuslane explained that the students must have a 3.5 GPA in their first 60 hours of coursework. To graduate in the CALS Honors Program, they must maintain a 3.5 GPA in the last 60 hours of coursework, complete 9 credits of approved Honors coursework and take the Honors Colloquium (3 of the 9 credit hours). Accomplishing these goals will allow the student to graduate with honors in Entomology/Nematology, in CALS and in UF. To graduate with High Honors or Highest Honors, the student must maintain a minimum 3.75 or 3.85 GPA, respectively, in the last 60 hours. A thesis must be completed, approved and presented orally.

Dr. McAuslane said that the student should have a good idea by the end of their junior year which professor they want to work with and what they want to do so that they can write a proposal (not required, but a good idea) and get underway with the experiments by the beginning of the senior year. She will ask Debbie to give her a list of students eligible to enter the program and she will contact the students directly. Dr. McAuslane also pointed out the URL of the CALS website where further information can be obtained about the program. Also on this website is further information about writing the thesis.

Dr. McAuslane asked the faculty if there were any suggestions or if anyone thought that a committee should be appointed to review the theses. Dr. Stimac said he felt the student's mentor would be the best person to judge the thesis. Dr. Maruniak said he felt that a committee might put too much pressure on students already burdened to complete the thesis by the deadline. Dr. Hoy asked if there are guidelines for the students to use to prepare an adequate thesis. It was decided that the mentor should be the judge of the thesis and that there are guidelines for preparation of the thesis. It was mentioned that the thesis should be a shorter version of a M.S. thesis. Dr. McAuslane again mentioned that a proposal would be a good idea because it would make sure that the topic would not be too broad to complete as an Honors thesis. It was also mentioned that copies of the theses should be kept in the department and Dr. McAuslane said she was going to make certain that all future honors students leave a copy in the department.

JLC discussed a newly adopted policy for use of slides and photographic images owned by the department. The policy states that UF/IFAS faculty have unlimited use of the images so long as the photographer and UF are acknowledged. It is proposed to develop CD-ROMs for use by county faculty with the restrictions basically the same as above. However, it is proposed that there will be no use of UF images in advertising without prior written consent. The bottom line is that it is hoped that the images will not be used for commercial purposes, and will be used for educational purposes only. Also, images produced with the Department's auto-montage photography system become part of the Department's image database, and users will be required to sign that they understand that the Department has the right to use the images.

JLC mentioned that the Reading Room copier has been losing money for Xerox and will be removed. Xerox has said they will pull the copier but have not said when this will happen. Another copier will have to be purchased to be put in that room, but at this time, it's unclear what exactly will be done.

JLC mentioned that the budget situation is still bleak, with a projected $8 million shortfall from last year at this time. According the Dr. Martin's presentation, the target is to reduce staff and not lay off any faculty. Each unit will be given a new level of support for staff, with a projected 5-25% reduction in staffing funds. JLC said at this time, the plan is to take staff from permanent state lines and put them on time-limited positions. He said that it appears that any actual layoffs will be "last in, first out". Dr. Webb asked if there is a possibility for a less-than-full-time position. JLC said Dr. Martin is seeking to have one-week furloughs (time off without pay). However, he said that all the rules may change when we go from State of Florida employees to University employees, so it's a wait-and-see situation right now. JLC said that should it become necessary to impart critical information, he will call a special faculty meeting.

Tom Fasulo stated that Angela Brammer can do some PR work and articles using her journalism and copy editing background. Get in touch with him if anyone wants to use her services.

JLC said Dr. Smart will revise the Graduate Handbook this summer, so anyone with changes or additions and deletions should get in contact with him.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.