Colleagues,
It was wonderful to see everyone gathered for AgriLife Connect on January 11 and 12! Let me recap a few things we covered, because these concepts set our direction for the coming year and beyond.
During the State of AgriLife Address on January 12, the agency directors and I came together to give updates on where we are and where we are headed. We are all incredibly thankful for the support of The Texas A&M University System. We welcomed Chancellor John Sharp to kick things off and discuss how AgriLife received an unprecedented amount of support from the state of Texas in 2023. This is due to AgriLife’s continued commitment to serving the people of Texas and increasing collaborations across the A&M System.
You may have heard me say that “we’re in the people business.” I repeat this because our people always have been, and always will be, the driving force of our organization. I spoke about three goals that our leadership team is focusing on for AgriLife’s continued success:
- Investing in our people — investing in you. This means enabling things like professional and leadership development through formal programs such as AgriLife Aspire, LEAD AgriLife and AgriLife Grow. But more than that, we are continuing the priority for AgriLife to invest in our employees. You are the reason this organization makes an impact on the world. I believe in strong units and strong unit leadership, and for every leader to put our people first.
- Investing in the next generation. As we think about the people who propel this organization forward, we must also think about the next generation. Beyond investing in the experience of students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, this means supporting new hires and early-career professionals throughout Texas A&M AgriLife. It also means investing in youth development work such as Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s 4-H programs.
- Investing in facilities means providing infrastructure and tools for our people to do their best work. In different areas of our organization, that may mean good greenhouses, top-notch labs and buildings, firefighting aircraft, or classrooms that inspire.
Also on January 12, we got a chance to share the synergy among the directors of our four state agencies: Al Davis at the Texas A&M Forest Service, Amy Swinford at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, Rick Avery at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and Cliff Lamb at Texas A&M AgriLife Research. We are also grateful to have a partner in Jennifer Ann Scasta’s team at the Texas A&M Foundation to help us attain our goals.
On January 11, we presented the Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence to people throughout our organization and a Special Recognition for Impact to the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Program. You can read more at AgriLife Today.
Please feel free to watch recordings of all the events at https://agrilife.tamu.edu/agrilife-connect/. Photos from the events are now posted on the same page.
Finally, let me say that the way we succeed is by collaborating. We are truly the best team on the field when we bring our minds together. I hope we planted some seeds that will grow into new collaborations among you.
Thank you again for all you do!
Gig ’em!
Jeffrey W. Savell
Vice Chancellor and Dean, Agriculture and Life Sciences