iLEAD Cohort lll Fishing for Information

by Jesse Bocksnick, 4-H Outdoor Skills Coordinator - March 4, 2024

Day One

Our fourth in-person iLead session started off on Feb. 15 at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff campus where Dr. Bruce McGowan, interim dean of the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences, spoke about the relationship between UAPB and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. His overview addressed the importance of the land grant mission and UAPB’s role in that mission as an 1890 institution.

Numerous faculty members spoke about their program areas with eye-opening information from Dr. Henry English and his efforts to aid underserved farmers with financial education and small farm planning. Shaun Francis, an extension specialist, then talked extensively about the sweet potato project showcasing UAPBs collaborative efforts with industry and other land grant universities and being the go-to institution for sweet potato information.

Dr. Teresa Henson highlighted the outreach efforts of the Family and Consumer Sciences programs followed by Teki Hunt-Winston and the educational efforts of the UAPB 4-H program. The rest of the morning focused on the highly acclaimed aquaculture and fisheries projects. Dr. Grace Ramena, Dr. Dayan Perera, and Scott Jones gave overviews of their research, diagnostics, and educational efforts for Arkansas’ fish industry.

In the afternoon we moved to the Jefferson County Extension office where we learned about their county program efforts from Staff Chair Pia Woods and her staff. She then provided a hands-on educational program on bullying that not only related to school age children but also to office or professional settings. Dr. Steve Siegelin then started a program on conflict management, breaking the group down into smaller groups and working out scenarios related to our own experiences.

Day one ended with a delicious dinner at the Grumpy Rabbit in Lonoke.

Day Two

Day two was hosted at the Lonoke Extension Center. Siegelin continued with scenarios on conflict management really doing deep dives into how to handle volatile situations. Dr. Travis Faske, center director, came in to give us the history, rundown of programs, and tour of the Lonoke Extension Center. During the tour he really talked about the importance of research and programming efforts, how the diagnostic labs work, the UAPB partnership and fish lab, as well as providing fun facts about the commodities. Peanuts seem to fascinate the group and Faske gave an excellent history of peanuts in Arkansas during the tour.

Dr. Ben Thrash spoke to the group about his entomology program as well and county Staff Chair Kyle Sanders rounded out the guest speakers by providing an overview of the Lonoke County staff and their educational programs from row crops, cattle, 4-H, FCS, and pecans. The day ended with Siegelin debriefing the group on the conflict resolution after further discussion.

To learn more information about the iLEAD program, please reach out to Julie Robinson at jrobinson@uada.edu or Lisa Davis at ldavis@uada.edu.