Teaching and Learning Our Fundamental Responsibilities

These first months as Dean of the College of Agriculture have been exciting and rewarding for me. Although Kentucky has been my home for 22 years, this recent time has given me the opportunity to become acquainted with a remarkable number of alumni, friends and partners of the College.
Wherever I have been around the state I find that almost everyone shares the same positive outlook — they are proud of the College and our traditions of excellence, but they anticipate even greater things in the future.

Much of what I have heard, and what I have talked about since becoming Dean, relates to the remarkable transitions in Kentucky’s agricultural economy. This is not surprising, considering the urgent challenges faced by our farm families and rural communities. We are firmly committed to responding to such needs in new and aggressive ways.

However, in this column I want to comment briefly on the oldest but still the most fundamental responsibilities of our College — teaching and learning. The College of Agriculture will continue to take great pride in our outstanding teaching and advising. We will reward and recognize those faculty and staff who demonstrate personal commitment to the success of our students.
We often talk about the family and community atmosphere in the College. Personally, I have been fortunate to be a part of Cooperative Extension and ag college communities, literally since birth. My father was a county agent in New York and New Hampshire (where I was born). After going back to school for his doctorate, he became a professor and Extension specialist in farm finance at Cornell. “Helping” at meetings and tagging along on farm visits are among my earliest memories.

Summer jobs, both on-campus and with statewide Extension projects, later became an important part of my education. My wife, Susan, although she has found her greatest professional rewards as a busy piano teacher, is also a graduate of the Cornell College of Agriculture, majoring in business management and marketing.

For us, the three-part land-grant mission is as much a matter of family values as it is a professional philosophy. Our experiences have built a dedication to public service (Extension), a love of discovery and new knowledge (research), and a commitment to life-long teaching and learning (instruction). We hope to share those same kinds of experiences and values with the students and alumni of our College.

In the face of urgent needs to promote agricultural vitality through Extension and applied research programs, plus increasing expectations to build “top 20” research status for the University, we must always remember our commitment to excellence in instruction.
Yet I disagree with those who contend that strength in research and Extension must come at the expense of teaching.

Strength in all of these areas can be merged. The opportunity to interact directly with great faculty is, of course, valuable. Of much more importance is the opportunity for students (and alumni also) to directly participate in public service, discovery research, and in the enormous variety of College programs addressing current, critical issues in agriculture, food, and natural resources.

During my years with the College, I have tremendously enjoyed working with the Ag Alumni Association. Each one of you plays an important role in supporting our College and our students, and I thank you for your participation. As we move into the summer alumni events, Susan and I look forward to renewing current friendships and making many new ones.

M. Scott Smith
Dean and Director

To our readers:
In case you hadn’t noticed, The Ambassador has a new look. Beginning with this issue, your ag alumni magazine has merged with the magazine.

The new design {Print} will allow us to bring you all the alumni and development information that you enjoy receiving in an easy-to-read, more spacious format.

The spring and fall issues of the magazine will be Ambassador issues, with regular issues of the magazine coming out in the summer and winter. We invite your feedback on the new look by mail or e-mail.

For more than 26 years, The Ambassador has chronicled ag alumni news on its pages. We will continue this tradition with the new format, and welcome the future with anticipation of even greater things.

The Ambassador’s final issue in the previous format was volume 26, number 2 (Fall/Winter 2000).