MEETING SUMMARY, JPC ADVISORY BOARD, MAY 7, 1998

MEETING SUMMARY, JPC ADVISORY BOARD, MAY 7, 1998

As amended 8/11/98

This meeting of the Joint Policy Council on Agriculture and Higher Education (JPC) Advisory Board (AB) was held in the Alumni Center on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus on May 7, 1998, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Attending: Mark Burrell, Chair; William Allewelt, agribusiness consultant; Don Camp, D. M. Camp & Sons; Michael Fitch, agribusiness consultant; Ann Kraemer*, vineyard consultant; Tim Lindgren, Fruit Growers Supply Company; Ken McCorkle*, Early California Foods; Loyd McCormick, McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enerson; Ed McGrew*, US Filter; Cindy Myers, Golden Maid Packers; Bob Nottelmann, Nottelmann Orchards; Bob Scofield, agribusiness consultant; Bob Vice, BLV Agribusiness Consulting; Richard Wilson*, Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection.

*Signifies new AB member

JPC Liaisons present: Warren Baker, JPC Co-Chair; W. R. "Reg" Gomes, JPC Co-Chair.

Guest present: Charlie Crabb, UCCE South Central Region Director.

Staff present: John Gutierrez, JPC Coordinator.

Report on JPC Reorganization

It was reported to the Advisory Board (AB) that, at their March 25, 1998 meeting, the JPC accepted all of the AB recommendations regarding reorganization of the JPC (formulated by the AB at the October 2, 1997 AB meeting). The following specific actions were taken by the JPC to implement these changes.

1) The JPC accepted the major AB recommendation to refocus the JPC's efforts--and the committee system--around issues that are cross-cutting and critical to the future competitiveness of the California agriculture industry. In the future, the JPC intends to create and fund task forces--which are temporary by nature--composed of experts on the specific issues they are to address. The task force’s charge may be to do research, to propose a research program, or to recommend policies or initiatives to help resolve the issue; the charge will be determined by the nature of the issue and the state of progress towards resolution.

2) The previous JPC Committees on Instruction, Research, Outreach and the ad-hoc committee on Natural Resources were dissolved.

2a. In order to preserve and build on the work of the former JPC Instruction Committee, the JPC created the new Committee on Cooperation in Education, to be composed of all the agriculture deans of the JPC member

institutions. They were given the following charge: Among those issues that are primarily matters of cooperation among the educational institutions themselves, to recommend to the JPC the creation of task forces for those issues which promise to yield real, measurable progress from the JPC’s support and funding. And, if the JPC elects to create the task forces, the committee shall identify for them who should serve on those task forces. Obvious issues for the committee’s consideration are the related issues of articulation and transfer among systems, institutions and ag programs.

2b. To ensure that the JPC’s efforts do not duplicate but complement the work of the Agricultural Issues Center (AIC) and the California Food and Fiber Future Project (CF3), the JPC will monitor their progress and maintain lines of communication with those projects, through contacts among themselves, their deans, the advisory board, and through the JPC Coordinator.

3) To capture a broader base of input from the agricultural community on the priority issues around which the JPC shall form task forces, and to increase awareness of and communication with the agriculture industry, the JPC will solicit the input of agriculture industry leaders throughout the state, working through the JPC Advisory Board, and starting with the leading ag industry associations. The JPC plans to do this in part by hosting a conference to bring together industry leaders with agricultural deans, department chairs and professors from all three systems in the fall of 1998. The meeting’s purpose will be to provide a forum around issues of concern to the agriculture industry, and for exchange of information on current and future efforts to address those issues with the JPC’s support. The meeting will be on a statewide basis and patterned after the successful annual "Deans and Department Chairs Meeting" hosted annually by the Friends of Agricultural Extension in the Fresno area.

4) The JPC members made financial commitments to back up their plans to reorganize, solicit broad input from the ag industry, and address important issues for California agriculture. Those commitments are as follows.

4a. The JPC reiterated their commitment to share equitably the cost of funding the JPC coordinator position and other expenses of the JPC for the current fiscal year.

4b. The JPC agreed to provide a budget of $200,000 for the 1998-99 fiscal year, and to divide the amount equally between each higher education system, $66,667 each system. As part of the agreement, the JPC agreed to accept two more community college presidents among its membership, as appointed by Chancellor Nussbaum, to bring the community colleges into equal representation on the JPC. The $200,000 includes the coordinator position and expenses for all its activities including, specifically, the work of JPC task forces to be created.

4c. The JPC agreed to take the steps necessary to seek foundation grants to

augment their budget. Mark Burrell accepted leadership for this initiative.

5) JPC Mission Statement: The JPC to date had never formally adopted a mission statement. In hopes of providing clarity as to the JPC’s purpose and a consistent message for external audiences, the JPC agreed to adopt a mission statement, along with an accompanying vision statement and brief description of the JPC. It was adopted via communications after the March 25 meeting, and is as follows:

The JPC’s Mission

The mission of the JPC is to influence policy that promotes cooperation, collaboration and constructive change among California’s three systems of public higher education in the delivery of agricultural teaching, research and outreach programs, for the benefit of the people of California.

Language describing the JPC and its broader vision was also adopted. A copy of the JPC mission and vision is attached to this summary. This document is intended to be used to introduce the JPC in communicating with the ag industry and other interested persons.

6) Advisory Board replacements: In January 1998, AB Chair Mark Burrell initiated an effort to renew the AB membership by offering all AB members the opportunity to discontinue their service on the board if they felt that other commitments precluded their participation. Eight of 25 members chose to discontinue their service. The JPC nominated a slate of replacement candidates and alternates, and then contacted them to offer them membership. At the time of the meeting, five of the eight new members were in place, and four new members were able to attend this meeting. (They are denoted by an asterisk* in the list of those attending.)

Summary of AB Discussion

1. The AB is pleased not only that the JPC accepted their recommendations to refocus the JPC’s efforts, but also that the JPC members made commitments to fund the JPC’s activities and to seek broader support from appropriate foundations.

2. The AB sought assurances that the higher education systems are committed to improving the health and competitiveness of the California agriculture industry. JPC Co-Chairs Baker and Gomes both replied clearly in the affirmative.

3. The AB stressed the importance of communicating the JPC’s commitment to the ag industry, noting that its existence is little known, much less its goals. Enhanced communication between academia and ag industry in general will do much to advance the JPC’s efforts. Therefore, the AB welcomes the planned conference to bring together academics and industry leaders around pressing issues in California agriculture.

4. The AB expressed vigorous concern that the JPC continue to make it a priority to address industry’s need for high-quality agriculture professionals by cooperating in the areas of

articulation, transfer, ag curricula and research. Ag professionals, the product of higher education, must be prepared for technologically sophisticated ag production and globalized ag markets. Serving students with these requirements in mind calls for seamless articulation and transfer among systems and institutions, and coordinated, high quality instruction and research programs targeted to pressing industry needs.

5. Agricultural literacy from K-12 remains a vital concern to many AB members, and there is a need to reach high school counselors to bring them up to date on the professional opportunities available in agriculture. The JPC can lend credence to efforts to reach them.

6. Funding will provide the incentive for cooperation among the ag programs of higher education systems. The JPC having secured a budget, the AB foresees the use of a competitive grants program to encourage cooperative projects in ag teaching, research, and outreach. There was preliminary discussion about process and criteria to make funding decisions.

7. It would be wise to limit the number of issues focused on to 3 or 4 at the most due to resource limitations, and to choose carefully ones that hold promise of success if addressed. This will help lend credibility to the JPC.

Reasonable Expectations and Timeline

Mark Burrell summarized elements of the day’s discussion under the rubric of reasonable expectations, based on actions taken to date, that the AB and JPC may share as they move forward with the work of the JPC. These are:

1. Funding to do work--both in hand from the JPC, and sought from foundations

2. Coordination--both among the systems and institutions and internally between the JPC and AB members

3. Communication--with the broader ag industry, to solicit their input and secure their support.

4. Coordinated Focus for the JPC’s work

5. Access to Experts through the JPC institutions and industry--this is in relation to task forces and JPC-sponsored efforts to address important issues in California agriculture

6. Creation of Models of cooperation--a hoped-for product of JPC-sponsored work

A rough timeline for action was agreed upon as follows:

By August 1: Obtain input from major stakeholders in agriculture

By August 15: Advisory Board and Deans finalize 3 or 4 issues to focus on at the fall conference.

October/November: hold the statewide conference of academics and industry leaders

After the conference: seek extra-mural funding for the JPC’s work

Actions Assigned

The AB identified the next step to be the solicitation of broader input from ag industry leaders on the issues around which the JPC should focus its resources and effort next year. These same issues will also inform the planned fall conference. Therefore they directed the JPC Coordinator, John Gutierrez, to prepare a letter soliciting this input, and to use the Ag Network board list as the mailing list.

Business Items

1. The AB agreed to structure time for discussion without any JPC members present at their future meetings. Co-Chairs Baker and Gomes readily agreed to this.

2. The AB wishes future meetings to be held in locations convenient for travel, such as Oakland, Sacramento, and Los Angeles.

3. A suggestion was made to have a recent graduate of a JPC institution on the AB. It was noted that Nicole Van Vleck, a new member not in attendance, fits this description.