Public invited to attend college listening sessions

As N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) charts its future, it is looking for insight from the people it serves – the people of North Carolina. Over the coming weeks, the college’s dean, Dr. Richard Linton, will lead listening sessions in locations across the state.

The sessions are part of a strategic planning process designed to guide the college into the future.

“The goal of these sessions is to identify the major trends, opportunities and challenges affecting North Carolina and how the college can best address these challenges, particularly in the areas of agriculture, life sciences, the environment and quality of life,” Linton said. “Anyone with an interest in these areas is encouraged to attend.”

Dates and locations for the upcoming CALS strategic planning listening sessions are as follows:

• January 24: Duplin County Extension Center,  165 Agriculture Drive, Kenansville, 8-10 a.m
• January 24: Vernon G. James Research and Extension Center, 207 Research Station Road, Plymouth, 4-6 p.m.
• February 6: Union County Extension Center, 3230-D Presson Road, Monroe, 8-10 a.m.
• February 7: Iredell County Extension Center, 444 Bristol Drive, Statesville, 4-6 p.m.
• February 8: Western North Carolina Ag Center, Virginia Boone Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher,  8-10 a.m.
• February 8: Madison County Extension Center, 258 Carolina Lane, Marshall, 4-6 p.m.

Register for the sessions online at http://go.ncsu.edu/calslistening. And to learn more about the strategic planning process, visit http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/strategic.

With more than 5,500 students from throughout North Carolina and beyond, CALS is N.C. State’s second-largest college. It is home to the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, which develops knowledge and technology to improve agricultural and life sciences industries, conserve and improve the state’s natural resources and environment, improve the health, well-being and quality of life of North Carolina’s people and provide the science base for the college’s research and extension programs.

North Carolina Cooperative Extension is also part of the college, providing educational programs designed to give North Carolinians access to research-based knowledge for sustaining agriculture and forestry, protecting the environment, maintaining viable communities, developing responsible youth and developing strong, healthy and safe families. A partnership with N.C. A&T State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and county governments, Cooperative Extension has centers serving all 100 N.C. counties as well as the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. Making nearly 2 million educational contacts annually, it is N.C. State’s largest outreach effort.