University of Georgia
UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication
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Fall 2022: A message from ALEC Department Head Dr. Jennifer Waldeck

Discover what a degree from ALEC can do for you

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What is ALEC?
The Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication promotes the study and practice of messaging, educational strategies, and personal leadership as vehicles for influencing societal attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about agricultural and environmental science. With a focus on strategically promoting and strengthening the food and fiber sectors through scholarship, experiential teaching and learning, and outreach, ALEC is committed to improving lives through Georgia's land-grant mission.
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Study Abroad
Study abroad with ALEC
ALEC offers two fantastic study abroad opportunities to our students. Learn more about the Food Insecurity Service-learning Project program in Scotland and the Culture-centered Communication program in Romania.
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Featured Story
Agriculture teacher enriches education for students and fellow teachers
Alumna helped establish an online professional development platform that connects agriculture teachers across the U.S. and internationally.
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News

Mark Rouark (left) and John Rouark, cotton farmers from Bostwick, Georgia, examine cotton plants in a test plot at the J. Phil Campbell Research and Education Center Field Day. Producers depend on UGA Extension agents for research-based advice to improve production practices. Now UGA faculty are working together to help farm communities under stress. CAES News
From forces of nature to inflation, stressors have an outsized impact on farmers, families 12/20/22 Maria M. Lameiras
Farmers are tough. They work long days at physically demanding, often dangerous work and rarely get a break, much less a vacation. Months of hard work can be wiped out with a few days of bad weather, and they battle nature at every turn, from drought and floods to weeds and insects.
Shown, from left, are Michelle Cook, senior vice provost for diversity and inclusion and strategic university initiatives; UGA President Jere W. Morehead; James Anderson II, recipient of the second annual Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander Award; and Dawn Bennett-Alexander. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski/UGA) CAES News
University certificates, scholarships awarded during Embracing Diversity ceremony 11/01/22 Irene Wright
“Being an ally to the racial diversity and inclusion movement against all forms of social exclusion cannot be short lived only when it receives the most attention,” said Philip Hong, dean and professor in the University of Georgia’s School of Social Work and keynote speaker at this year’s Embracing Diversity event, held Oct. 20 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.
Calhoun Extension Community Garden CAES News
Healthier Together program helped participant lose 100 pounds 08/29/22 Kristin Gibson
When Healthier Together Calhoun launched in 2017, the mission was simple – help county residents live healthier lives by improving access to healthy foods and physical activity. But Calhoun County resident Mark Strickland wasn’t convinced.
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Upcoming Events

Please join us on February 8th for the 12th annual Northeast Georgia Beef Cattle Short Course in Athens, GA! We will have vendors and representatives from several companies and institutions to visit with during the breaks and lunch. Participants this year will receive continuing education hours for Beef Quality Assurance (3 hours). This year’s short course we be held in conjunction with the Focus on Genetically Enhanced EPDs Bull Sale.  The sale will be held on February 9th, but all bulls and heifers will be onsite during the short course.  Please visit our Focus on EPDs Bull Sale page for the catalog and more information on the sale. If you have any questions about the program, please contact your local Extension office (1-800-ASK-UGA1).  
Feb 08
8:00AM - 4:30PM Northeast Georgia Beef Cattle Short Course UGA Livestock Instructional Arena, Athens, GA
UGA Horticulture Club will be holding their annual Rose Sale on the 13th and 14th. They will be selling Rose and Carnation arrangements, succulents, and baby monsteras. Come out and support! UGA Hort Club Rose Sale, February 13th and 14th9AM-4PM Location: Tate Plaza
Feb 13
02/13 9:00AM - 02/14 4:00PM Campus Cut Rose Sale - UGA Horticulture Club
UGA Center for Food Safety Webinar Series       Microbial Ecology and Evolution: Insights into Food Safety and Public Health Guest speaker: Dr. Jingqiu Liao, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech Date: Thursday, Feb 23 Time: 11 a.m. ET Location: Melton Building Conference Room or Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/98501538123?pwd=d2F6TW1oVVhnUjZwUDdCVmpoWTVwQT09   Hosted by Dr. Xiangyu Deng, Associate Professor Abstract: Our environment sustains enormous microbes, including foodborne pathogens. Understanding their ecology and evolution in the context of the environment can inform the assessment of the risk of foodborne pathogen transmission and the development of tools for the investigation and control of foodborne outbreaks. Despite the importance, we lack proper translation of the mechanistic knowledge of the ecology and evolution of foodborne pathogens into the food safety and public health area. In this talk, I will discuss how we use a microbial ecology and evolution framework to address food safety concerns caused by three bacterial taxa – Listeria, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli. Specifically, I will talk about our large-scale environmental surveillance of Listeria across the entire US and its potential transmission to food-associated environments, genetic markers that may be used for source-tracking antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella, and the influence of watershed landscape on the transmission of E. coli to agricultural soils. Dr. Jingqiu Liao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Dr. Liao received her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Cornell University and was an exchange Ph.D. student at MIT, studying the ecology and evolution of foodborne and environmental-transmitted pathogens. She subsequently trained as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Columbia University Irving Medical Center where she investigated the role of microbiomes in human health. Dr. Liao’s work has been published in more than 30 scientific articles in journals such as Nature Microbiology, Science, Environmental Microbiology, and Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The Liao Environmental and Public Health Microbiology Lab (LEAPH) that Dr. Liao is leading at Virginia Tech investigate how microbiomes, foodborne pathogens, and antimicrobial-resistant microbes interact with natural and food-associated environments. The LEAPH aims to advance a mechanistic and predictive understanding of microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning and to deliver actionable solutions to help improve sustainability, food safety, and public health.  
Feb 23
11:00AM - 12:00PM Microbial Ecology and Evolution: Insights into Food Safety and Public Health Melton Building, GRIFFIN, GA
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