Southern Region Meets with Kathy Harrison

Southern Region IEAFCS met with Kathy Harrison on March 15th. After enjoying delicious snacks and lots of discussion, the group adjourned to the General Store of Walker's Bluff Winery for lunch, some shopping, and a tour of the other features of the establishment.

Walker's Bluff includes a top notch restaurant, a venue for live performances, a wine cellar (to open soon), and several other attractions. The owner has stated that she wants to build a go-to place for southern Illinois, and she is certainly succeeding in that!

Those in attendance were Sharon Tanner, Ruby Lingle, Martha Speir, Rusti Grogan, Kathy Harrison, Carol Schlitt, Martha Winter, and Joy Richey. A big thank you to Kathy and Joe Harrison for their hospitality!

Robert Easter is New U of I President

University of Illinois President Michael J. Hogan resigns

Board to name long-time U of I leader Robert Easter as successor

            CHICAGO — University of Illinois President Michael J. Hogan has submitted his resignation to the Board of Trustees, and Chairman Christopher G. Kennedy has accepted it on behalf of the Board, the University announced Thursday.

             On Friday, March 23, the Executive Committee of the Board will meet to approve the terms of Hogan's resignation and to appoint Robert Easter, a long-time faculty member and former interim provost and interim chancellor on the Urbana-Champaign campus, as president-designate. The full board is expected to ratify the change at its next regular meeting on May 31 in Chicago.

             Kennedy said Hogan has done a commendable job since joining the University in July 2010, especially in addressing a fiscal crisis caused by the national economic recession, in recruiting outstanding new senior leadership, and in implementing organizational reforms and changes the University needed, Kennedy said.

            "This University needed an experienced and reform-minded educational leader to carry out an exhaustive mandate of change with necessary urgency," said Kennedy, U. of I. Board chair since 2009. "The University owes Mike Hogan a debt of gratitude for moving a number of tough, and sometimes unpopular, initiatives forward at a time of significant financial constraint, and on the heels of controversy around University admission practices. We thank him for his hard work, perseverance and achievement."

             Hogan will serve as President until July 1, working on a smooth transition with Easter, who will become the University’s 19th president. Hogan, a noted historian, will remain with the University as a tenured faculty member.

             "It has been a distinct honor and privilege to serve as President of the University of Illinois," Hogan said. "While the University has faced some significant organizational and budgetary challenges over the past several years, we have initiated the reforms necessary to modernize and streamline our business functions and redirect the savings to academic purposes. The underpinnings of this great institution are sound."

           Easter is a familiar and highly regarded figure within the University, particularly on the Urbana campus, where he has spent his 36-year career. He started as a doctoral student, then a faculty member in animal sciences, specializing in swine nutrition and management. Easter was dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences for seven years before becoming interim campus provost in July 2009. He served as interim chancellor of the Urbana campus for two years until last Sept. 30, and since January 2012 he has been its interim vice chancellor for research while a search is underway for a permanent appointee to the job.

             "We are fortunate to have in Bob a proven administrator with a long track record of collaboration and success within our university system," Kennedy said. "Bob comes into this role with the trust of alumni and trustees past and present, as well as faculty, researchers and administrators, staff, and, always, the best interest of students at heart. We are grateful for his loyal commitment to this institution, and look forward to excellence, innovation and achievement under his watch."

             Easter said he is honored and humbled by the appointment, and will "move forward energetically and collaboratively with an agenda that reaffirms the University of Illinois' special place among the very best of institutions of higher learning in the United States."

             Easter's selection represents an example of collegiality between faculty and university leadership, said Don Chambers, chair of the University Senates Conference, which represents faculty on the University’s three campuses in the shared governance process.

             "The trustees' decision to select Dr. Easter reflects the best aspects of shared governance. The faculty senate's leadership was pleased to have been consulted before a decision was made, and that their views were embraced," said Chambers, a University of Illinois at Chicago biology professor.

             "In Bob Easter, we have a new leader but an old friend who knows this University inside and out, and is respected by everyone throughout the University community. He is a leader with vision and passion, while also a good listener who will cultivate the best ideas across campuses to move our great University forward," Chambers said. "President Hogan did many laudable things, including making excellent appointments. We wish him well."

             A schedule of activities welcoming the new president will be announced in the coming weeks.

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The University of Illinois is a world leader in research and discovery, the largest educational institution in the state with more than 77,000 students, 22,000 faculty and staff, and campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. The U of I awards more than 19,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees annually.

What is the Meaning of St. Patrick's Day?

While many people are not Irish, they still celebrate St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland. While he was never officially canonized, the Catholic Church still considers March 17th as a religious holiday. To gain a bit of background, let’s look at who St. Patrick was and how it came to be that the date of his death became a holiday.

Tradition states that a young lad named Maewyn was born in Britain around 373 AD. While living with his family in Wales, he was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Ireland to be sold into slavery.

He was enslaved for seven years until he was able to escape to the north. He then made his way to the north of France and found his religion there under the teaching of St. Germain. He reportedly heard God give him a calling to Ireland to convert the Irish people from paganism to Christianity. He returned to Ireland and spent the rest of his life bringing the teachings of the Church to the Irish.

St. Patrick is credited with blending his teachings with the Irish beliefs to make them more palatable. His best known miracle was driving all of the snakes out of Ireland through his prayer. However, some believe that this was merely a figurative description of driving the paganism (symbol of a snake) out of Ireland in favor of Christianity.

St. Patrick also built many monasteries, schools and churches for the Irish people to learn about Christianity. He even trained many priests to carry on his mission. He retired to County Cork and died on March 17, 461 AD.

Celebration

Following St. Patrick's death, March 17th officially became a day of celebration known as St. Patrick’s Day. It was a religious holiday and for a long time was celebrated with solemn respect and mindfulness of beliefs.
Under original tradition, it was a day or remembrance of the Goddess Brigid (from old paganism). Later, the Church canonized Brigid and declared a holiday on the same day as The Day of the Christian Bonfire of the Celts.

However, in around 1900, the holiday turned from one of religion to one centered more as an Irish Day of Pride.

The celebration of this day has changed into a social holiday filled with excesses of partying, drinking and feasting. The day is observed around the world in many countries including the US, Canada, Argentina, the UK, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Mexico and South Korea. The festivities include traditional Irish food, green beer, parades and the wearing of green. The first celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in the United States occurred in 1737 in Boston, Massachusetts. During the early celebrations in the US, George Washington allowed the members of his army a holiday to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a show of solidarity in the Irish fight for independence.

Today, many cities in the US that have large Irish populations go all out for St. Patrick’s Day. Chicago, New York and Boston host large celebrations with extravagant parades. The celebration as a social holiday is a recent occurrence in Ireland as well. Modern celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day last five days.

The holiday was first celebrated in 1931 in Dublin. However, the secularization of the holiday in Ireland has drawn criticism by the Christian community. They believe it should return to its original focus of piety and once more become a Church holiday. Around the world, the St. Patrick’s Day celebration is an excuse to participate in drunkenness and party-going. Much of the meaning of the day has passed into history.

New Family & Consumer Science Program Leader

Here is information from the latest issue of For Your Information.

Dr. Jennifer McCaffery has accepted the position of Program Leader for Family and Consumer Sciences effective April 1, 2012. Dr. McCaffrey, has provided leadership for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) for more than 10 years in Chicago. She is a registered dietitian and earned her bachelor's degree in dietetics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, her master's degree in public health and nutrition from the University of Minnesota, and her PhD in public health from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Please welcome Jennifer to her new position.

Thanks to Dr. Judee Richardson for her dedicated service as Program Leader for FCS for the past two and a half years. Her contributions to the Administrative Team were of great benefit throughout the reorganization process.

JCEP Meeting Was Held This Week

Extension Professional Associations held their spring meeting and a Professional Development Workshop March 7th at the Macon County Extension Office in Decatur.

Pam Weber and Extension Partners president, Jerry Hicks, stated that it will be another tough budget year. As we have been hearing on the news, pensions and medicaid are huge state expenses that must be dealt with.

Legislators will be in their home districts between now and March 21st and again from April 1-16. If anyone has a good relationship with these individuals, now is the time to speak up about the benefits of Extension.

Extension Partners is also looking for a board member from the northeast part of the state if anyone is interested. Send a note to ieafcslife@gmail.com, and we can give you the contact information.

Pictured are IEAFCS officers, Cheri Burcham, President Elect; Brenda Derrick, President; and Margaret Cover, Secretary. They are providing excellent leadership to the organization during a difficult time for Extension.

Watch for more updates from the meeting in the next few days.