Spring 2016 issue of ALEC in Action!
There's a lot going on in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication, as you'll see throughout this issue. Quite possibly the greatest change is that we've moved a big portion of our department (administrative offices, and agricultural education, leadership, and tourism faculty offices) from Agricultural Hall to Filley Hall, where the Dairy Store and East Campus Visitor's Center is located!
Our move to Filley happened in August 2015 after CASNR's Food Science and Technology Department relocated to Nebraska Innovation Campus on the former site of the State Fairgrounds. Be sure to update your address book as our mailing address has changed. You can find our new address on the mailing label of this newsletter.
There is so much growth and development happening that this move puts ALEC squarely in the center of east campus. If you visit, you'll see a new residence hall being built on the former site of Biochemistry Hall, the Legacy Plaza celebrating Nebraska's four Secretaries of Agriculture, and a new pedestrian entrance off of Holdrege Street. Plans are underway for a major renovation of the C. Y. Thompson Library and expansion of the East Campus Union. Renovation of Filley Hall will create more classrooms which means ALEC's new location will be within the "hub" of campus activity.
A different location is not all that's new in ALEC. We've been busy expanding the programs and services we provide. Brooke Talbott, ALEC's new full-time recruiter, serves as the main contact for department recruitment efforts and the World Food Prize Nebraska Youth Institute. As a result, ALEC's enrollment for all programs is significantly up and we currently stand at 160 undergraduate students. That number continues to climb as we've added a full-time faculty member, Eric Knoll, who is responsible for teacher education in skilled and technical sciences (formerly industrial technology), a program that ALEC assumed in 2008.
Finally, you'll meet our newest faculty members since our last issue - Dr. L. J. McElravy (leadership), Dr. Jamie Loizzo (agricultural and environmental sciences communication), and Dr. Nathan Conner (agricultural education). Each of these talented individuals comes to ALEC with tremendous expertise and enthusiasm to develop human potential.
This will be our last print edition of the ALEC in Action newsletter so I hope you'll take a moment and send us your e-mail contact information. Please stay in touch as we "go green!"
As always, I hope that you enjoy this issue of ALEC in Action!
Go Big Red!!!
Mark Balschweid