Wynne meets with
county Extension groups

Johnny Wynne, interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences wants to better understand the issues that county employees of N.C. Cooperative Extension face.

So Wynne — along with Dr. Jon Ort, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service director, and Joe Zublena, Extension’s county operations director — has been visiting sites across the state, meeting with county and district directors, as well as specialists in the field, to update them on the latest budgetary and campus developments and to learn what’s on their minds.

In early August, the three visited Pitt County’s Cooperative Extension center for a dialogue with Extension professionals in the Northeast and Southeast districts. The week before, they met in Johnston County with a group from the North Central and South Central districts.

Wynne opened his remarks in Pitt County by letting Extension professionals know that the budget is currently the biggest concern for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Though the College’s permanent budget cut of 3 percent this year was less than initially anticipated, the cumulative effect of recent cuts means a total reduction of 17.3 percent. In addition to the permanent cut, research and extension will have a one-time reduction of 2.77 percent this year, he said.

But Wynne added that the College, including Extension, has done a good job of earning grants and contracts. Last year, the College received $67 million in new awards.

Wynne applauded Ort’s effort to improve salaries for field faculty, saying he was concerned about the impact of low salaries and poor benefits on Extension’s ability to keep employees. Extension has embarked on a plan to raise starting salaries and make adjustments for current employees as well.

On campus, Wynne said he was concerned that displacement from renovations, combined with low faculty salaries, could result in loss of campus faculty.

The College is experiencing more building renovations than any other at N.C. State, Wynne said. However, the university did not plan on having so many classrooms out of commission at one time.

Wynne said he understood the need to increase travel budgets for field faculty, who must travel in order to meet with clients. He said that he hoped campus research efforts would support county Extension programs. He applauded the Gateway County concept for using several pilot county centers as gateways for the public to reach all the resources N.C. State University has to offer.

— Natalie Hampton