U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will be in Denver on Thursday, Nov. 9, to give opening remarks at the 6thAnnual CSU Spur Water in the West symposium.
Vilsack, who served as a strategic advisor for CSU Spur and the Colorado State University System’s food and water initiatives from 2017-2021, headlines an event focused on “Next Gen Water,” with keynotes and panel discussions on topics ranging from leadership and water system management to workforce and the future of Colorado’s outdoor industry.
The symposium, the first to occur on the CSU Spur campus in north Denver, will take place in the Hydro building, which opened this past January, marking completion of a three-building campus focused on public engagement in issues and problem-solving related to food, water, sustainability, and health.
Vilsack will discuss the USDA’s work to build rural prosperity by supporting producer income, bolstering local and regional food supply chains, and creating jobs and economic opportunities in rural areas, and he will focus in particular on the Department’s efforts related to water and conservation. In addition, he will talk about work to foster the next generation of leaders in food and agriculture, including through the USDA’s NextGen program, which includes geology and hydrology among more than 36 disciplines supported.
In opening remarks at the first Water in the West symposium, held in 2018, Vilsack spoke about values underlying the event and guiding development of CSU Spur, which was then in the planning stages.
“It’s about collaboration, it’s about conservation, it’s about community,” he said.
Vilsack was confirmed for his second term as Agriculture Secretary in February 2021. He previously served in that role from 2009-2017, and before that served two terms as governor of Iowa. In addition to advising in the development of CSU Spur, Vilsack helped build partnerships and guide discussions leading to the Water in the West symposium and establishment at CSU Spur of such organizations as Together We Grow and the North American Agricultural Advisory Network.
This year’s symposium will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, at the CSU Spur Hydro building, 4777 National Western Dr., Denver, CO 80216, and it will be preceded by an opening reception the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Other speakers include Joseph Fuller, a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, who will give a keynote examining themes related to the emergence of a next generation workforce from generations Z and Alpha.
Panel discussions will examine emerging technologies, including AI, as well as the demographic and climate realities confronting a region in which water resources are oversubscribed and unpredictable. These include sessions on food and agriculture, the outdoor industry, education and workforce, and shaping the next generation.
Source : colostate.edu