Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 20 Featuring NU Institute Directors

Rural Futures Institute Author

12/03/2018 Added

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[00:00:00.952](upbeat music)
[00:00:02.100]Welcome to the Rural Future's Podcast.
[00:00:04.360]I'm Kaitlyn, producer of the show.
[00:00:06.470]And this special episode for our Season Two Finale
[00:00:09.270]features the executive directors
[00:00:11.030]of the University of Nebraska's Four Institutes:
[00:00:14.270]the Buffet Early Childhood Institute,
[00:00:16.390]the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute,
[00:00:18.980]the National Strategic Research Institute,
[00:00:21.660]and of course yours truly,
[00:00:23.600]the Rural Futures Institute.
[00:00:25.860]Based on this collaboration,
[00:00:27.730]RFI Interim Executive Director
[00:00:29.340]and Chief Futurist Dr. Connie Reimers Hild
[00:00:32.110]brings forward conversations about the future
[00:00:34.570]in the institute's mission areas
[00:00:36.520]of early childhood development, food and water security,
[00:00:40.240]and combating weapons of mass destruction.
[00:00:43.130]As always, I ask that you do your part to raise these bold
[00:00:46.110]voices for Rural, leave a review
[00:00:48.190]so new listeners can find us
[00:00:50.240]and consider sponsoring our show by visiting
[00:00:52.680]RuralFutures.Nebraska.edu/podcast.
[00:00:56.680]No tax deductible donation is too small.
[00:00:59.810]Thanks so much and enjoy the show.
[00:01:02.820]Rural Futures,
[00:01:04.270]the pod cast where we connect thought leaders and doers
[00:01:07.660]at the intersection of technology
[00:01:09.700]and what it means to be human.
[00:01:11.490]Every episode we talk with entrepreneurs, researchers,
[00:01:14.840]and achievers to create impact for generations to come.
[00:01:19.950]First up, Dr. Sam Missiles
[00:01:22.000]of the Buffet Early Childhood Institute.
[00:01:25.570]Welcome back to the Rural Futures podcast.
[00:01:27.850]I'm your host Dr. Connie Reimers Hild
[00:01:30.410]and I'm really excited today to have Dr. Sam Missiles
[00:01:33.740]on with us.
[00:01:34.930]Dr. Missiles, is the founding Executive Director
[00:01:37.940]of the Buffet Early Childhood Institute and also holds
[00:01:41.290]the Richard D. Holland Presidential Chair
[00:01:43.750]in Early Childhood Development.
[00:01:46.300]Welcome to the podcast, Sam.
[00:01:48.410]Thank you, Connie.
[00:01:49.243]It's a pleasure to be here.
[00:01:50.877]We're really excited to have you on
[00:01:52.620]because not only are you prolific leader,
[00:01:55.980]the Buffet Early Childhood Institute
[00:01:58.030]is doing prolific work.
[00:01:59.870]First, tell our audience a little bit more
[00:02:02.050]about who you are.
[00:02:04.130]Well, I am a transplant to Nebraska.
[00:02:07.660]I came here five years ago to start up
[00:02:10.710]the Buffet Early Childhood Institute and I live in Omaha.
[00:02:15.980]And we're really excited to have you here
[00:02:17.870]in Nebraska, and would love to have you tell us a little bit
[00:02:21.980]more about the Buffet Early Childhood Institute.
[00:02:25.240]You know, what's the mission, what's the vision,
[00:02:27.560]and what impact are you working to achieve?
[00:02:30.830]Sure.
[00:02:32.150]The Buffet Institute is what is known at the University
[00:02:36.807]as what is known as a four-campus institute.
[00:02:39.681]The University of Nebraska has campuses
[00:02:42.140]at the medical center in Omaha,
[00:02:44.470]at UNO and UNL, and of course and UNK.
[00:02:47.900]And we have responsibilities across all four
[00:02:50.820]of those campuses.
[00:02:52.330]Our vision is that Nebraska will be the best place
[00:02:55.370]in the nation to be a baby.
[00:02:57.587]And our job is to make that happen.
[00:03:00.520]So we describe our mission as that of transforming
[00:03:03.970]the lives and education of young children,
[00:03:07.350]especially those at greatest risk.
[00:03:09.950]Now, tell us a little bit, too,
[00:03:11.790]about the approach Buffet uses to do this
[00:03:14.570]because in a very short time you've really been able
[00:03:18.620]to make great process in this space
[00:03:21.890]and also I'd like for you to tell us not just
[00:03:24.080]about your progress but you know,
[00:03:25.500]why people care so much?
[00:03:26.930]How does it affect what happens now and into the future?
[00:03:32.150]Why do people care?
[00:03:33.479]Well, this is of course one of the wonderful things
[00:03:37.450]about being in the area of early childhood
[00:03:40.140]or early childhood development,
[00:03:41.860]people care about kids.
[00:03:43.860]They care about young children.
[00:03:45.570]The people of Nebraska, especially,
[00:03:48.030]care about young children.
[00:03:49.700]One of the very first things we did was to partner
[00:03:54.400]with Gallup to do a state-wide survey of attitudes,
[00:03:59.770]knowledge, and belief of Nebraskans about early care
[00:04:04.910]and education, which is the term we apply to all
[00:04:08.730]of those programs that serve young children and families,
[00:04:12.535]children between birth and age eight,
[00:04:15.480]or really third grade.
[00:04:17.200]We were pleased to see that we did get very good response.
[00:04:20.465]In fact, Gallup said that proportionally for the number
[00:04:24.850]of surveys that were distributed,
[00:04:26.680]we had one of the highest return rates on a survey
[00:04:31.060]of this kind that they've ever had.
[00:04:32.810]More than seven thousand people responded to this survey.
[00:04:36.150]And they said that they are very supportive of early care
[00:04:40.290]and education, that they believe that more has to be done,
[00:04:44.480]that quality is suffering in early care and education,
[00:04:48.010]that there is not enough of that high quality care,
[00:04:51.410]and when it is available high quality care
[00:04:54.600]is very expensive.
[00:04:55.950]And in the last two or three decades, we've learned how
[00:04:59.760]important the early years are, the growth of social capital
[00:05:04.557]of our ability to be successful citizens and successful
[00:05:09.520]in life, we've learned that more and more extensively
[00:05:12.640]through research.
[00:05:13.970]And we've also learned about how brain development occurs
[00:05:16.962]in great proportion more in early childhood than in any
[00:05:20.680]other time of life.
[00:05:22.760]So, the importance of these years is something that very
[00:05:28.070]few people, if anyone, would dispute.
[00:05:31.378]Now the question is, what should we, and can we, do
[00:05:36.020]to help young children reach their potential.
[00:05:40.060]And that's what we're trying to do at the institute.
[00:05:43.100]You also ask Connie what we're focusing on and how
[00:05:46.500]we have had some impact already.
[00:05:48.680]When I came I decided that we needed to be very focused
[00:05:53.220]or else we wouldn't accomplish very much.
[00:05:55.890]We identified two programs, two kinds of levels of activity
[00:06:00.690]that we call signature programs.
[00:06:03.710]One has to do with a challenge of closing the achievement
[00:06:07.580]gap between children who are coming from homes that are
[00:06:13.470]well resourced in terms of experience and education
[00:06:17.700]of parents, and in many cases because of the financial
[00:06:21.600]resources available, as contrasted to children coming from
[00:06:25.360]low-resourced families.
[00:06:27.830]So, our goal is to try to close that gap in achievement
[00:06:31.880]and in opportunity.
[00:06:33.570]That's one of our signature programs.
[00:06:35.530]And the other has to do with the early childhood
[00:06:37.650]work force.
[00:06:38.770]So these two areas represent a great deal of the effort
[00:06:42.820]and we're starting to see some real impact as a result.
[00:06:46.285](techno music)
[00:06:48.850]At the Rural Future's Institute,
[00:06:50.210]this is a major challenge
[00:06:52.490]for people living in rural communities.
[00:06:54.570]I love how Buffet's really focused yet holistic
[00:06:57.465]realizing that we need to be able to have high quality
[00:07:03.650]care but access just in general to that care if we want
[00:07:07.950]to have vital communities, whether rural or urban.
[00:07:12.270]So tell us a little bit about the mono engagement
[00:07:14.990]that you are using to really help lift this important issue
[00:07:18.540]to the forefront, but then also create action to create
[00:07:22.790]a positive future for our state.
[00:07:25.836]With the early childhood workforce area,
[00:07:28.630]we've convened a commission of more than 40 state leaders,
[00:07:34.270]people from many different areas of activity.
[00:07:38.540]Some are people in business, some are people in higher
[00:07:41.560]education, some are actual providers of care
[00:07:44.580]to young children, we have folks in the world
[00:07:47.780]of philanthropy, and certainly people from state
[00:07:50.740]departments of education and HHS,
[00:07:53.760]all of those people coming together on a quarterly basis
[00:07:56.750]or more often to help us identify how we can build
[00:08:00.940]a workforce here that's more skilled, more informed,
[00:08:04.690]and more diverse than exists right now.
[00:08:08.500]How we can increase public awareness and acceptance
[00:08:12.100]and demand for high quality, and that will lead
[00:08:15.280]to better compensation we hope for early childhood workers
[00:08:19.580]and then that will lead to higher qualifications to demand
[00:08:23.290]for more people to come here and work.
[00:08:25.610]So demand is a big issue for us.
[00:08:27.720]We know that in small communities in the State of Nebraska,
[00:08:31.650]where there is an absence and there are many
[00:08:33.740]that don't have many early childhood programs,
[00:08:36.220]let alone high quality programs,
[00:08:38.150]that this could be a key to economic vitality
[00:08:42.200]of those small communities.
[00:08:44.500]Another words, if a community lacks quality childcare,
[00:08:48.640]many people that are childbearing years, many people
[00:08:51.720]who are parents of young children,
[00:08:53.160]will not want to live there or cannot live there.
[00:08:56.780]And, consequently, the efforts of businesses to attract
[00:09:02.050]and retain workers becomes very challenging.
[00:09:05.760]That's something we want to learn more about and use that
[00:09:08.990]as a lever to bring to our state legislature
[00:09:13.463]and to our Executive Branch here in the state to say,
[00:09:17.210]we all know this is important to children's development.
[00:09:20.420]We actually see a literal return on investment,
[00:09:23.940]but for that return you have to wait until this child
[00:09:28.180]becomes older, but an immediate way we can make a difference
[00:09:32.800]in communities by having high quality care present
[00:09:37.000]for those who want to work there and who want to stay
[00:09:40.440]in that community.
[00:09:41.480]That's absolutely right.
[00:09:42.640]I mean, just as a family that lives in a rural area
[00:09:45.290]ourselves, when we had our first child, you know,
[00:09:48.720]first thing you do is you try to go find high quality care.
[00:09:53.820]And you look around and you're like wait a second,
[00:09:57.370]what are we gonna do here?
[00:09:59.050]Reports will tell you, even keeping women in the workforce,
[00:10:01.960]what you're competing with is childcare.
[00:10:04.820]That's what you're competing with.
[00:10:06.240]So if we want people gainfully employed, working to their
[00:10:09.780]full potential, but also wanting to move, 'cause people
[00:10:14.400]aren't gonna move just for a job.
[00:10:15.980]They're trying to put their whole life together
[00:10:18.010]and this is an issue that has been a sticking point
[00:10:20.920]for so long because it's not just about is there access,
[00:10:24.800]'cause we didn't know anyone in that community either.
[00:10:27.040]So if we couldn't find a high quality daycare,
[00:10:29.880]and a lot of it then goes to home daycare or completely
[00:10:33.270]unlicensed where you're just basically dropping your child
[00:10:36.310]off with somebody who's home during the day.
[00:10:39.790]Right, what we want to work toward is that childcare
[00:10:44.300]shouldn't be thought of as a transaction.
[00:10:46.860]Another words, here's another words I know I can get
[00:10:48.920]enough hours I'll be able to go to work,
[00:10:51.802]but as a relationship,
[00:10:54.140]as some place that we know this is a place where our
[00:10:56.990]children will thrive.
[00:10:59.100]And as a consequence of thriving, we can have piece of mind,
[00:11:02.588]it will help us.
[00:11:04.080]More than 80% of children age five and younger are in some
[00:11:08.140]form of paid childcare in this state.
[00:11:11.730]And 62% of women who have infants, mothers of infants
[00:11:17.600]are in the workforce.
[00:11:19.670]So, these are really very important statistics because
[00:11:23.760]some people say well listen, children belong at home
[00:11:27.280]with their mom.
[00:11:28.710]And for some women, that is the choice they want to make
[00:11:32.660]and I'm deeply supportive of that.
[00:11:35.130]But for other women, either it's not the choice
[00:11:38.280]because they want to work, it's very, very important
[00:11:41.760]to who they are, or they have to work because they can't
[00:11:45.520]afford to keep their family going the way they need to
[00:11:49.700]if they're not working.
[00:11:50.980]Everyone says children are by far the most important element
[00:11:55.080]of our word, of our society, and yet we pay on average
[00:11:59.950]someone with a B.A. who works in childcare
[00:12:04.050]in the State of Nebraska, we pay them
[00:12:06.490]a little more than $19,000 per year to work full time.
[00:12:11.870]So, the competition there is Wendy's, and it's Target,
[00:12:17.130]and it's other thing things that are variable
[00:12:20.202]but they don't do this specialized work
[00:12:23.360]that is so important to us.
[00:12:25.070]This is an excellent point.
[00:12:26.350]Again, how are we gonna value this, and I mean really
[00:12:30.100]value it, so that people are able to use their talent
[00:12:34.590]in that space and really grow a career?
[00:12:37.240]So, is it transformation for their career
[00:12:39.680]if they're caring for these children and these children
[00:12:42.840]and their families really have long term positive impact?
[00:12:47.110]And again, in those rural communities if we're gonna hope
[00:12:50.960]to keep people, or even grow those communities,
[00:12:53.900]we need that quality care to exist and we need people
[00:12:57.730]to be employed at a livable wage that really helps
[00:13:01.960]their own family live a quality life
[00:13:04.250]if they're gonna work in this space.
[00:13:06.150]That's exactly right.
[00:13:07.440]Now, the financial side of this is very important.
[00:13:10.254]It costs more to put an infant in full time child care
[00:13:13.245]than it does 18 years later to enroll that child
[00:13:16.637]at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
[00:13:19.430]You know what?
[00:13:20.263]I love that point because people aren't talking about that
[00:13:23.421]enough, I know when we had two kids in daycare,
[00:13:26.109]it was extremely difficult.
[00:13:28.150]I mean, the check you're writing for that every month
[00:13:31.276]is substantial and then you start making those trade-offs
[00:13:35.430]and decisions.
[00:13:36.570]Is this a high quality enough situation where it's worth
[00:13:40.480]writing the check or do I make a transition?
[00:13:43.360]Or does my husband make a transition?
[00:13:45.500]I mean, it really does affect all those life choices
[00:13:48.920]that you have to make.
[00:13:50.760]It does.
[00:13:51.593]And, the private sector, namely mom and dad,
[00:13:54.780]as you're pointing out, has a very, very difficult time
[00:13:57.760]covering the cost and sometimes simply cannot cover
[00:14:01.110]the cost.
[00:14:01.943]On the other hand, turning this over to the public sector
[00:14:04.523]is a bridge too far, it's asking too much.
[00:14:08.300]We need a mixed source of support for this,
[00:14:11.243]but one that recognized that high quality childcare
[00:14:15.297]and high quality workers in childcare don't come cheap.
[00:14:20.160]None of that comes cheap.
[00:14:21.860]Any more than a high quality third grade teacher,
[00:14:25.890]or an eleventh grade physics teacher,
[00:14:28.300]anymore than those people come cheap.
[00:14:30.130]They shouldn't, and they don't.
[00:14:31.930]And we have to build a demand in our communities
[00:14:35.630]for our state as a whole to take on this issue
[00:14:39.750]and look for the sources of this, to redistribute dollars,
[00:14:43.290]to look to philanthropy, to look to private sector,
[00:14:47.040]to look to the public sector,
[00:14:48.820]to make the early years of life,
[00:14:51.220]to give it the kind of credit that we give it in words
[00:14:54.800]but not sufficiently in deeds.
[00:14:57.380]Sam, with that in mind, I'd love for you
[00:14:59.390]to put your futurist hat on.
[00:15:00.634]Now I just came back, I was on the panel in Paris,
[00:15:05.110]at an international women's summit where we really talked
[00:15:08.040]about a lot of these types of issues.
[00:15:10.530]How are we going to create the communities and cities
[00:15:14.950]and life experiences of the future that help empower
[00:15:18.720]women, you know, that was the focus of this conference
[00:15:21.090]but this is really about empowering many people,
[00:15:24.340]employees, children, families, communities themselves.
[00:15:29.010]So, how do you see this evolving?
[00:15:31.196]This is the change we need.
[00:15:33.163]As we all do, we want this state and this nation to thrive.
[00:15:38.160]We want our citizens to thrive.
[00:15:41.040]This is a critical step for us to take.
[00:15:43.900]Other statistics tell us that more than a quarter,
[00:15:47.160]in fact, in the State of Nebraska,
[00:15:49.230]some estimates are as high as 40% of children under age five
[00:15:54.000]are at risk for problems and failure in school.
[00:15:57.322]Now, we cannot afford to have that many children.
[00:16:02.090]Bring the number down to 25%.
[00:16:04.360]Bring it down to 20% or even lower.
[00:16:07.050]We cannot afford to have those many children failing
[00:16:10.540]in school.
[00:16:11.373]It's our job to do something about that.
[00:16:12.730]It no longer makes sense, well, those kids just need
[00:16:15.180]to study harder and go out and get a job.
[00:16:18.320]They are at a disadvantage because of the kind
[00:16:22.220]of experiences they have early on in life.
[00:16:25.180]Experiences in preschool, in Kindergarten, and all the way
[00:16:29.980]through, this is our responsibility and this will change
[00:16:34.095]our lives if we make a commitment of that kind.
[00:16:38.720]I love your passion around this but also,
[00:16:41.613]you've really advanced the understanding and science
[00:16:44.550]around this through your leadership and scholarship
[00:16:48.030]and creativity.
[00:16:49.532]So I'd love you to also tell the listeners a little bit
[00:16:53.240]about your leadership style.
[00:16:55.420]How are you leading this charge?
[00:16:57.130]What does it take to do this type of work?
[00:16:59.640]Well, I'm very fortunate that I have wonderful
[00:17:02.190]people who are working with me.
[00:17:04.187]And of course, I came here and I was employee number one,
[00:17:07.770]so that gave me this great opportunity to search and find
[00:17:12.300]wonderful people to join with me.
[00:17:14.030]And part of my job description, at least in my head is,
[00:17:17.372]to provide a vision and a direction.
[00:17:20.150]My job is to help them see that there's another step
[00:17:22.930]to take and it's something that would be gratifying
[00:17:25.870]in the extreme for them and for all of us.
[00:17:28.222]So, I think that that is a big part of my leadership style.
[00:17:32.079]I'm the type of person who doesn't really think about
[00:17:35.373]the kind of leader in a typical typology,
[00:17:39.500]I don't even know what that is.
[00:17:41.010]I just do the best I can.
[00:17:43.240]I also try to lead by example and by modeling.
[00:17:46.730]I'm a person who lives and breathes this all day long
[00:17:50.380]and shares it with as many people as I can.
[00:17:52.650]It's very important to us here as a university,
[00:17:55.166]part of the university, that our work reflect the best
[00:17:59.310]knowledge available and be supported by research
[00:18:04.290]and by evidence.
[00:18:05.358]And Sam, on that note, what words of wisdom
[00:18:08.910]would you like to leave our audience with today.
[00:18:12.590]Words of wisdom are hard to come by (man chuckles).
[00:18:15.693](Connie laughs)
[00:18:17.471]I would say, I'll give you my words of wisdom.
[00:18:20.890]My words of wisdom is that there's nothing more important
[00:18:23.670]we can do than care for our children in the best
[00:18:26.547]ways that we know how.
[00:18:28.670]And when we're not doing that, we are not doing, I think
[00:18:32.203]what we're here to do in this world.
[00:18:35.250]And we have a long way to go.
[00:18:37.560]Well thank you, I think those are amazing
[00:18:40.562]words of wisdom, and I'll be anxious to get that feedback
[00:18:43.280]from our audience because I know this is gonna be a hot
[00:18:45.250]topic for them.
[00:18:47.050](jazzy music)
[00:18:47.883]Now, Dr. Peter McCornick
[00:18:49.750]of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.
[00:18:53.690]Joining me today is Dr. Peter McCornick,
[00:18:56.350]Executive Director of the
[00:18:57.750]Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.
[00:19:00.040]Welcome to the podcast, Peter.
[00:19:01.940]Thank you Connie, glad to be here.
[00:19:03.643]Water is a big issue here in Nebraska
[00:19:06.310]but also around the world.
[00:19:07.830]So tell us a little bit more about the institute.
[00:19:10.425]You know, what's its purpose, what's its mission,
[00:19:13.010]what's it doing?
[00:19:14.150]Well, the Daugherty Water
[00:19:15.200]for Food Global Institute was established with a mission
[00:19:18.290]of achieving a water and food secure world.
[00:19:21.190]It's a very bold ambition, but I think it was really based
[00:19:25.100]on a foundation of the university and of the state
[00:19:27.930]more widely and addressing this sort of challenges
[00:19:30.870]and how this could be better addressed in the state,
[00:19:33.780]but also really shared with nationally and internationally.
[00:19:36.930]So the institute partners with the university,
[00:19:39.680]partners with the natural resource districts here
[00:19:41.680]in the state and works with different countries
[00:19:44.470]and different states in the United States to look at
[00:19:46.700]what are the solutions, what are the things that we can
[00:19:48.880]learn from the rasp, what are the things that we can learn
[00:19:51.819]from elsewhere, and how can we really address something
[00:19:53.720]that's really challenging.
[00:19:55.300]Agriculture and water is really requires local solutions.
[00:20:00.381]So how do we transfer that knowledge from one context
[00:20:04.040]to the next and the institute is really in the middle
[00:20:06.610]of that, trying to bring the different departments together,
[00:20:09.790]trying to focus on where we can actually come up with
[00:20:12.370]viable solutions and share such ideas.
[00:20:15.236]Well, and water can be a challenging issue.
[00:20:18.310]It's either lack of it, you know there's the quantity
[00:20:20.630]aspect, but also the quality aspect of it.
[00:20:23.158]But also, nothing can live without water.
[00:20:25.566]So I think that the work that you do is so critically
[00:20:28.040]important in terms of how are we going to continue
[00:20:30.760]to feed a growing population and make sure that our water
[00:20:35.170]resources are a key part of that.
[00:20:37.700]But also, that there's enough to make this happen.
[00:20:40.810]Yes, and often the water quantity
[00:20:42.980]and water quality are very closely linked.
[00:20:45.190]I mean, where there's water scarcity or we may have a lot
[00:20:48.430]of water, but if it's contaminated either naturally
[00:20:51.210]or man-made, that means we can't use it the way we'd like
[00:20:54.210]to use it so it becomes much more difficult to find
[00:20:57.670]the water that's the best that we want to use for either
[00:21:00.430]human consumption or growing crops or for our ecosystems.
[00:21:04.083]Well, I know you've had a very robust career.
[00:21:07.581]You've lived in many different countries and you've studied
[00:21:10.580]this in so many different places.
[00:21:12.750]So tell us a little bit about Dr. Peter McCornick.
[00:21:16.650]How did you evolve over time and get to where you are now
[00:21:19.700]here in Nebraska?
[00:21:20.950]I'm from, as you can tell from my accent,
[00:21:22.870]I'm not quite from Nebraska.
[00:21:24.490]I actually grew up in a rural part of Southwest Scotland
[00:21:28.340]on a family farm beef, sheep, and dairy in those days,
[00:21:31.814]growing some crops.
[00:21:33.130]So I learned about agriculture at a very young age.
[00:21:36.376]My family are all still, my brothers are all still farmers
[00:21:39.890]in that area.
[00:21:41.090]I think they're where too much water was generally
[00:21:43.370]the problem, so that certainly wasn't what got me interested
[00:21:46.010]in water, but as I then went off to college and learnt
[00:21:49.360]about the topics of engineering and agriculture
[00:21:52.190]and became interested in water, I also had an interest
[00:21:55.350]in working internationally.
[00:21:56.930]Went off really looking at in different countries
[00:21:59.650]and working in different countries.
[00:22:01.020]I came to the United States to do my Masters
[00:22:02.770]at Colorado State which was very strong in that area
[00:22:05.950]at the time.
[00:22:06.783]So, I ended up working on the Overall Aqua for Numa County
[00:22:11.000]in Colorado in Overall Aqua for way back there.
[00:22:15.150]I developed a strong interest in interdisciplinary efforts,
[00:22:19.140]really looking at solutions as an engineer
[00:22:22.010]but also social aspects of economics there,
[00:22:26.807]the natural resource management.
[00:22:27.750]And really, yeah, solutions oriented and subsequently
[00:22:31.550]I met my wife in Colorado and we moved around the world,
[00:22:34.610]spent about half our time overseas, half our time
[00:22:36.950]back in the US.
[00:22:38.132]But working in many countries looking at the issues
[00:22:41.040]really trying to develop solutions with the ministers,
[00:22:43.840]the farmers, the decision makers in those area,
[00:22:46.700]the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
[00:22:50.340](jazzy music)
[00:22:52.930]So tell us a little about your leadership
[00:22:55.130]approach to making things happen in this space
[00:22:59.140]when you have a lot of competing interest,
[00:23:01.275]a lot of different ideas, what does that look like?
[00:23:04.740]Yeah, I think that's probably the biggest
[00:23:06.610]challenges we end up with this very complex environment
[00:23:10.020]we're working around water and agriculture and different
[00:23:13.300]opinions, but how do you come up with solutions
[00:23:16.042]that people can agree on, but are also clearly communicated
[00:23:19.500]so that we can move forward and address the issues at hand?
[00:23:24.153]And I think I've always been quite mission focused.
[00:23:26.620]I've been curious, but quite passionate and maybe rather
[00:23:29.510]oddly so, but very passionate about this space.
[00:23:31.820]I think this is another part of that
[00:23:33.690]is really emphasizing outcomes.
[00:23:36.240]I think one of the fortunate things about working
[00:23:38.380]with different stakeholders, when you're working
[00:23:41.050]with the farmers you're in the field, you're dealing with
[00:23:43.250]all the investments they've made and they're not interested
[00:23:46.120]in the theory of what you're doing, they're interested
[00:23:47.990]in what is the practical application of this and does it
[00:23:50.560]actually help them manage what is going on?
[00:23:53.150]And this is true of a farmer here, true of a farmer
[00:23:56.641]elsewhere in the world.
[00:23:58.010]They're really looking at how can they use the knowledge
[00:24:00.970]we have to actually apply in their situation.
[00:24:04.070]But, then I'd come back to always thinking what my father
[00:24:07.450]would say in terms of a specialist coming in from outside
[00:24:10.300]trying to give me advice that really trying to understand
[00:24:13.250]them and get them on board.
[00:24:14.860]So, I think this is part of my leadership style would be,
[00:24:18.380]and I probably didn't realize this early on,
[00:24:20.530]but is really listen and appreciate the people
[00:24:23.540]you're working with.
[00:24:24.446]I think relationships and how you deal with people
[00:24:28.760]and how you build that, that's absolutely critical.
[00:24:30.860]I think the tourniquet tied up in the sort of,
[00:24:32.740]maybe the panic of the moment and to forget really
[00:24:35.430]that you've really got to build those relationships
[00:24:37.247]and those actions and the credibility.
[00:24:39.500]I've worked in many different settings
[00:24:41.720]in many different cultures and how do you balance
[00:24:45.270]all those things out and still manage to achieve
[00:24:48.120]the outcomes you're trying to do?
[00:24:49.500]Sometimes in adjusting the outcomes we find out that what
[00:24:52.220]we're trying to do isn't the right answer and other times
[00:24:55.700]it is trying to convince them and take some ideas forward
[00:24:58.420]that perhaps aren't as popular as some of the people
[00:25:01.980]involved, but trying to bring them around and get them
[00:25:04.310]to understand.
[00:25:05.550]I've seen those play out in different parts of the world.
[00:25:07.873]Learning to delegate, not just delegate the responsibility
[00:25:12.280]but delegate the authority to people; giving them the room
[00:25:15.390]to actually get on with what they need to do.
[00:25:17.870]Many people you're working with are very skilled
[00:25:19.900]at what they do.
[00:25:20.733]They have many insights that you don't have and giving them
[00:25:23.720]the authority and the room to really address the issue
[00:25:26.710]at hand.
[00:25:27.910]I think leaders are comfortable
[00:25:29.650]delegating responsibility,
[00:25:31.760]but for true innovation to happen, really need to delegate
[00:25:35.300]that authority as well, right?
[00:25:36.760]I mean, really empower people, make sure you're surrounded
[00:25:39.833]with good people and you have great people on the team.
[00:25:42.620]But, if they can't leverage their talents and resources
[00:25:45.810]and grow as leaders themselves, it's really hard
[00:25:49.320]to advance an organization forward in this day and age
[00:25:52.150]of continuous change and the need for innovation.
[00:25:55.644](jazzy music)
[00:25:57.650]As a leader, especially in an area like water,
[00:25:59.970]you have a lot going on and a lot
[00:26:01.420]on your plate all the time.
[00:26:03.360]So delegation is a part of that.
[00:26:04.996]You also have to keep yourself fresh.
[00:26:08.090]So tell us a little bit about what you like to do for fun.
[00:26:12.820]I have lots of interests, and it's a challenge
[00:26:15.117]when you move regularly.
[00:26:17.400]I think my wife and I have lived in about 25 houses
[00:26:21.250]since we've been married, and that's in many countries.
[00:26:24.327]So your hobbies and interests sort of have to morph a little
[00:26:28.950]as you move because you can't necessarily do things
[00:26:31.340]that you'd like to do.
[00:26:32.610]I'm a keen motorcyclist.
[00:26:34.270]Unfortunately, in Nebraska we've got about five months
[00:26:36.740]where that's not really a great area of interest.
[00:26:39.250]But, I very much keep up with current affairs.
[00:26:42.630]I've become quite keen on history and both my intent
[00:26:46.760]is something I intend to look into in the context
[00:26:49.330]I'm living in so, whether it's Scotland
[00:26:52.100]or Sri Lanka, or now I'm quite interested in Nebraska.
[00:26:56.450]People above me really looking at the Oregon Trail
[00:26:59.130]and out of the state, and understanding more about
[00:27:01.310]the state, and that's an area where I draw a lot
[00:27:03.760]of relaxation, shall we say, and diversion from my work.
[00:27:06.780]But they all kind of interrelated in the end.
[00:27:08.327]And my family, I'm also quite keen on my spaniels
[00:27:11.830]and my dogs.
[00:27:12.663]That's good, me too, we share that definitely.
[00:27:15.527]I tell you it's amazing how important dogs have become
[00:27:19.150]in our lives (loud chuckling).
[00:27:22.160]They're essential.
[00:27:22.993]We've moved them around the world with us.
[00:27:24.595](jazzy music)
[00:27:27.328]One question I'm curious about, you know,
[00:27:29.810]we get asked this a lot at the Rural Futures Institute too,
[00:27:32.521]you know, why Water for Food, a global institute
[00:27:36.530]around this issue, in a place like Nebraska.
[00:27:39.500]I don't think it could have happened anywhere
[00:27:41.010]else to be honest.
[00:27:41.843]I mean, that's the first time I've actually answered
[00:27:43.340]that question this way because I have been asked
[00:27:45.690]this question, and I do think it requires the leadership
[00:27:49.728]at university level, but at the state level, the people
[00:27:52.880]who have supported the Daugherty Foundation, the presence
[00:27:56.830]of the university here, the previous president,
[00:27:59.570]and the new president, really seeing this as important.
[00:28:02.957]I think Nebraska very early on in the 70's realized
[00:28:07.040]the importance of managing the ground water and established
[00:28:09.277]the National Resource District.
[00:28:11.389]Agriculture's clearly been an important part of the culture
[00:28:15.020]in the state since its founding, and I think that translates
[00:28:18.870]into leadership and support at the highest level
[00:28:21.750]in the state, but even across different political
[00:28:22.583]differences that this is seen as the priority.
[00:28:28.030]I was asked recently in a conference how this could
[00:28:31.260]be emulated.
[00:28:32.204]I think it's realizing the state or the entity of the area
[00:28:37.710]you're in really needs to put agriculture very central
[00:28:41.430]to the issues on water.
[00:28:42.549]If you don't do that it's very difficult to emulate
[00:28:45.490]what Nebraska's done.
[00:28:46.510]So I do think it's Nebraska playing on its strengths,
[00:28:49.605]Nebraska playing on what has been the investment
[00:28:52.720]in these sectors, and I think there's a lot the world
[00:28:54.950]can learn from Nebraska.
[00:28:56.230]But again, not prescriptions to go out and solve
[00:28:58.680]the world's problems, but to understand what is important
[00:29:01.810]to get these things to align and to address
[00:29:04.750]the challenges and to position food with less water.
[00:29:07.330](jazzy music)
[00:29:09.940]I'd love for you to put your futurist hat
[00:29:11.900]on Peter, and tell our audience how you see the area
[00:29:16.970]of water for food evolving into the future.
[00:29:19.580]Research just demonstrates how water
[00:29:22.720]and agriculture, the management over the last thirty,
[00:29:25.870]forty years, has been really quite ground-breaking
[00:29:28.917]in producing good results that again, there are challenges.
[00:29:32.180]We talked about water quality earlier.
[00:29:34.084]To court one of my faculty fellows theories, basically
[00:29:37.640]the future is bright on the sort of technology and these
[00:29:40.930]areas promise a lot.
[00:29:42.660]There's many things we can be looking at.
[00:29:44.470]But, certainly what we're seeing is use of water,
[00:29:47.187]use of crops, the livestock, the way that food is produced
[00:29:50.870]here, I think these are areas where we can build
[00:29:53.750]on what has been done so far and certainly continue
[00:29:56.245]to evolve those areas in the future.
[00:29:59.830]I think it's an important mindset to have, right?
[00:30:01.770]So when we talk about the future
[00:30:03.625]at the Rural Future's Institute, you know, realizing
[00:30:06.960]that we need to have a strengths-based approach
[00:30:09.681]that includes an abundance mindset.
[00:30:12.040]We know there are challenges.
[00:30:13.260]But if we continue to just talk about and focus
[00:30:16.330]on those challenges, we're not gonna be able to move
[00:30:18.890]forward that provides those solutions and outcomes
[00:30:22.330]that you were talking about earlier.
[00:30:24.330]I'm an optimist.
[00:30:25.560]Many other parts of the world would be quite envious
[00:30:27.800]of the assets that we have here in Nebraska.
[00:30:29.900]So I think there are the things to focus on.
[00:30:32.520]I do think technologies and ideas that there's more to do
[00:30:36.730]in that space.
[00:30:37.700]I was recently in discussions with partners around
[00:30:41.018]the agriculture technology and the challenges in changing
[00:30:44.882]agriculture technology, that it's an area that's been
[00:30:47.780]difficult for external actors to really get involved.
[00:30:51.337]We're now seeing many other sectors, in terms of mainly
[00:30:55.110]the high-tech sectors beginning to look at agriculture
[00:30:57.760]much more seriously in how they can get involved
[00:30:59.991]in developing the technologies
[00:31:02.400]and making them more available.
[00:31:04.240]There's big challenges there in making sure the technologies
[00:31:06.910]are what the farmers or the users need.
[00:31:09.310]And really okay in this conversation understanding
[00:31:11.930]what agriculture is all about and engaging with agriculture
[00:31:15.940]and looking for the understanding the issue
[00:31:18.410]before you develop a solution.
[00:31:19.880]I think is an important part of it.
[00:31:22.000]The other thing is we develop a lot of technologies
[00:31:24.370]that's good ideas, but they're not actually taken up
[00:31:26.690]by the users the way we expect, and I think there
[00:31:29.860]it's not just the technology we need to be focusing on
[00:31:32.640]going forward, it's really the social-science,
[00:31:34.580]the behavior.
[00:31:35.413]Really focusing on why these things aren't happening
[00:31:37.790]and asking the tough questions, and realizing that maybe
[00:31:40.880]the technology just wasn't destined to be used
[00:31:43.680]the way that the original people thinking that idea up,
[00:31:46.415]there's maybe another solution we need to be looking at
[00:31:48.950]that may not be less technological but maybe along the lines
[00:31:52.520]of institutional, like the National Resource Districts
[00:31:54.990]and organizations like that, so.
[00:31:57.416]I love this interaction between human use
[00:32:00.580]and you know, the social piece.
[00:32:02.080]But in the realization that not technology alone
[00:32:04.055]is going to solve things.
[00:32:05.470]You know, people has to be willing to use it.
[00:32:07.490]It has to fit within their system.
[00:32:09.597]Do you have an example that you could share around that?
[00:32:12.157]Well, right now we have these digital support
[00:32:16.090]systems that can be made accessible to farmers
[00:32:19.510]or to decision makers from the satellite imagery,
[00:32:22.710]from the use of drones, although again that's an area
[00:32:26.100]we really need to sort out some of the regulations
[00:32:28.510]and so forth around it,
[00:32:30.000]and we certainly want to address all the issues
[00:32:32.570]that we imagine they might address.
[00:32:34.380]But it's really that information and making that
[00:32:36.900]information accessible.
[00:32:38.390]So, we have a lot of data in Nebraska as with farmers,
[00:32:41.791]with National Resources Districts, but there's also
[00:32:44.430]a lot of sensitivities around the data.
[00:32:46.680]And how do we access that?
[00:32:48.080]So it really, the innovation and the technology is,
[00:32:50.500]we've got a lot of this available, but how do you really
[00:32:53.890]tease that out and what is really available
[00:32:56.780]and who can use it?
[00:32:57.720]But then put it in a form that really integrates
[00:33:00.840]into the agricultural system.
[00:33:02.720]We have some of that and we've got a plethora of apps
[00:33:06.360]being developed for phones.
[00:33:07.680]But, most farmers or most users don't have time
[00:33:10.930]to interpret those multiple apps.
[00:33:13.160]So really bringing that together.
[00:33:14.470]How do we integrate that technology?
[00:33:16.865](jazzy music)
[00:33:19.010]I'd love for you to share some words of wisdom
[00:33:21.000]with our audience.
[00:33:22.920]Words of wisdom, never share words of wisdom.
[00:33:25.760]That's one word of wisdom.
[00:33:27.074](Connie and Sam laughing)
[00:33:28.620]I think in the end, it's gonna come down to people
[00:33:30.960]and how people work together.
[00:33:32.360]But also how we get the next generation engaged
[00:33:35.770]in these areas.
[00:33:36.719]That's a term that's been picked up in Africa
[00:33:39.160]by the President of the African Development Bank
[00:33:41.240]that's I think is hugely important in making
[00:33:43.540]agriculture cool.
[00:33:45.160]Making that the roles in agriculture and the water
[00:33:47.730]creating the opportunities to attract the younger leadership
[00:33:50.640]and the younger leaders into these areas.
[00:33:53.300]I think it is an area it is complicated.
[00:33:55.130]It does require deep, but general, understanding
[00:33:58.580]of a number of topics.
[00:34:00.220]That's becoming quite difficult in this day and age
[00:34:03.360]to really, I think the information's there,
[00:34:05.410]but I think you need to have the curiosity
[00:34:06.980]an the opportunity to explore that.
[00:34:08.900]So in the end, I think the words of wisdom is probably
[00:34:11.250]invest in the next generation.
[00:34:13.320]I love it.
[00:34:14.153]Invest in the next generation and make agriculture cool!
[00:34:17.352](jazzy music)
[00:34:18.970]Welcome, General Robert Henson,
[00:34:20.950]of the National Strategic Research Institute.
[00:34:24.910]I'm Bob Henson, I'm the Executive Director
[00:34:26.870]for the National Strategic Research Institute.
[00:34:29.220]I just happened to be retired General Officer,
[00:34:31.660]so I've been with the university since 2012, now.
[00:34:36.000]I just want to thank you for your service
[00:34:37.900]and all that you do.
[00:34:38.770]I don't even know how much gratitude I can even extend
[00:34:42.010]to somebody like you whose made a career out of service
[00:34:44.750]but also has helped so many do that and protect
[00:34:47.580]our freedom, so thank you.
[00:34:49.090]Oh thank you, very much.
[00:34:51.310]So patriotic that you know, you start talking about service
[00:34:55.648]and those kind of things, I tear up.
[00:34:56.481]My wife accuses me of getting teary-eyed at K-Mart openings
[00:35:00.030]if there's a patriotic theme associated with it.
[00:35:02.800](Bob chuckling)
[00:35:04.044]That's okay, I'm actually kinda teared up
[00:35:05.270]right now.
[00:35:06.232](speakers chuckling)
[00:35:07.687]So that's awesome.
[00:35:08.520]That's just fine.
[00:35:09.444]Well, we'd like to talk a little bit about an SRI.
[00:35:13.180]We'll use that term throughout our interview.
[00:35:16.102]This is the National Strategic Research Institute,
[00:35:19.460]which is a sister institute to the Rural Futures Institute.
[00:35:22.690]And I know when I met you I could tell right away
[00:35:25.410]that you were a total Futurist because of the way
[00:35:27.747]you were talking.
[00:35:28.927]And amazing work of NSRI.
[00:35:32.410]Could you tell us a little bit more, Bob, about what
[00:35:35.080]the purpose of NSRI and the mission?
[00:35:37.404]NSRI was started in 2012 through
[00:35:42.720]the University of Nebraska's conversation with the
[00:35:45.480]US Strategic Command.
[00:35:46.688]There was a significant responsibility picked up
[00:35:49.910]by Start Com that was focusing on combating weapons
[00:35:54.250]of mass destruction which categorizes chemical, biological,
[00:35:58.150]radiological, nuclear, and in that regard here,
[00:36:01.965]pandemics and or threats like that that can be weaponized.
[00:36:06.769]So, the university put in a proposal to take on
[00:36:12.440]the responsibility as a university-affiliated research
[00:36:15.010]center, the basic fundamental levels of research
[00:36:18.870]that support the Department of Defense across those mission
[00:36:21.970]domains through the work that we've done with the university
[00:36:25.650]it's really concentrating on research that supports
[00:36:29.073]various aspects of preventing and or finding ways
[00:36:33.290]of identifying those threats before they become a problem.
[00:36:37.067]And so, we've undertaken considerable amount of research
[00:36:42.500]in the past six years.
[00:36:45.088]We've actually had over 25 different sponsoring agencies
[00:36:50.630]with now in the neighborhood of 83 task order contracts
[00:36:55.532]working on a variety of research projects that go from
[00:37:00.220]infectious disease all the way to sensor technologies
[00:37:03.710]and how UAV's and those kind of things can be used
[00:37:06.321]in the future.
[00:37:07.561]That's an extremely broad scope.
[00:37:09.810]There's so many physical aspects to the UAV's, et. cetera,
[00:37:13.990]weapons of mass destruction.
[00:37:15.640]But also, the cyber security.
[00:37:17.964]Cyber is pretty daunting when you look
[00:37:20.707]at the overall effects that it can generate and things
[00:37:24.233]that it can do to our society and day-to-day
[00:37:27.630]practical term because everybody relies on some form
[00:37:32.130]of technologies these days that through the phones
[00:37:35.120]or through communications devices or through satellite
[00:37:38.150]connections, and those kinds of things.
[00:37:39.750]And all of those combine sort of at the front end
[00:37:43.060]of the threat spectrum when you start dealing with
[00:37:46.070]things that currently you have to think about given
[00:37:49.460]that technologies have so advanced that these become
[00:37:53.680]areas of concern across the board.
[00:37:56.010]And I think those are the kinds of things that
[00:37:58.870]the Department of Defense and other agencies research
[00:38:01.670]we do is not just for the Department of Defense.
[00:38:05.210]That largely focused on the whole threat spectrum
[00:38:08.150]that might begin with a cyber type attack.
[00:38:10.896]Well, I'm gonna ask you to put your futurist
[00:38:13.210]hat on, between your military service and now serving
[00:38:17.130]as the Executive Director at NSRI,
[00:38:19.660]how do you see this whole evolution happening
[00:38:22.930]into the future with regard to cyber security
[00:38:25.750]and technology in particular.
[00:38:28.400]We've had some projects working with some agencies
[00:38:31.610]with regard to port security.
[00:38:33.453]If you look at the ports of the United States,
[00:38:35.520]and the amount of goods that are brought in through
[00:38:37.910]shipping or airlines or those kinds of things,
[00:38:40.289]we've taken on some research to really look at the gaps
[00:38:43.480]and the vulnerabilities associated with how technology
[00:38:46.411]manage the navigation into those ports and then
[00:38:50.750]the distribution of goods.
[00:38:52.710]The other thing that we've been involved in from a cyber
[00:38:55.760]perspective is really looking at how the new commands
[00:38:58.860]and all of the commands and agencies rely on a variety
[00:39:03.830]of communications, technologies, and satellite coverage
[00:39:07.470]and navigation systems to execute missions
[00:39:12.340]and or the economy and any number of things.
[00:39:15.350]So, my futuristic look I would suggest just we've got
[00:39:20.390]to think about how we protect and how we operate
[00:39:25.520]in times of denial when those services are denied
[00:39:28.959]to the average American and what that ripple effect
[00:39:32.560]then would constitute, and how it would affect the troops
[00:39:35.710]that are deployed, their families that are located
[00:39:38.260]at home, the communities that we operate in,
[00:39:41.010]the day-to-day banking, the day-to-date uses that we use
[00:39:44.970]for different kinds of things, and cyber on the front end
[00:39:49.142]really people take it for granted.
[00:39:52.242]But, as we look to the future, it's going to become
[00:39:56.223]more and more prevalent if you think about driverless cars
[00:40:01.020]and airplanes and a number of things that are on the horizon
[00:40:04.810]and how comfortable and confident would you be
[00:40:07.780]in a driverless car knowing that somebody could penetrate
[00:40:11.510]the system and take control of that vehicle.
[00:40:14.880]But, technology's great.
[00:40:16.490]We just have to think more about the consequences
[00:40:18.980]of technology being denied in some of those circumstances.
[00:40:23.118]You know, I think this is such a critical
[00:40:24.730]conversation for so many different reasons
[00:40:27.210]because technology is sort of the big topic
[00:40:29.712]for a lot of futurists.
[00:40:31.590]However, I mean, there's this humanity part
[00:40:34.010]around technology as well.
[00:40:36.147]But I think, is it being talked about enough?
[00:40:38.607](jazzy music)
[00:40:41.010]Now you've had a pretty robust career in terms of serving
[00:40:44.820]as a lieutenant general, I understand you're now retired,
[00:40:47.740]but that military career has been prolific
[00:40:50.189]and now, you now, being at the university.
[00:40:52.902]So tell us a little bit about your personal leadership
[00:40:56.260]style as it relates to the work you've done
[00:40:58.500]and that you're doing now.
[00:40:59.596]My leadership style.
[00:41:01.520]Boy, that's another tough questions.
[00:41:03.564](Connie laughs)
[00:41:05.400]I served 33 years on active duty.
[00:41:08.040]I started out as a young listed airman in the Air Force
[00:41:11.608]in the Vietnam era.
[00:41:13.130]I grew up flying airplanes.
[00:41:15.740]After that, got into space command and then various
[00:41:18.890]assignments throughout my career.
[00:41:20.670]A lot of my career in my latter years from about 1985
[00:41:25.860]to when I retired in 2012 are always command level
[00:41:29.820]opportunities, and so, in those positions you learn to one,
[00:41:34.890]rely on people.
[00:41:36.120]You have to trust and rely on people who are standing
[00:41:40.200]beside you and behind you and supporting you
[00:41:42.790]and obviously guiding you.
[00:41:44.270]I think it's a matter of building trust and creating
[00:41:48.170]relationships with your colleagues and comrades
[00:41:51.180]and arms that makes a difference now.
[00:41:53.160]Through my years I've really trusted people.
[00:41:57.910]I think you have to trust that when you train people
[00:42:01.530]to do a job that they're going to execute that job
[00:42:04.275]and you trust them to do that job until the point they fail
[00:42:07.870]to do what you've asked them to do or trained them to do.
[00:42:11.082]I think in the same light, if you go into any
[00:42:14.270]kind of operation or any kind of business
[00:42:16.830]where you're trying to micromanage everything,
[00:42:20.790]you are fraught with danger and failure.
[00:42:23.980]And my style is building trust in people I hire,
[00:42:28.910]building investment in people who share in the goals
[00:42:33.360]that you've established and want to succeed.
[00:42:36.192]They want to make it grow.
[00:42:38.270]And I think that's where NSRI has been very successful.
[00:42:41.433]I don't control anybody.
[00:42:44.210]I rely on researchers and faculty members within
[00:42:48.330]the university.
[00:42:49.163]I rely on people that I've hired within my staff
[00:42:52.800]to serve on the behest of the university and our sponsors
[00:42:56.570]and the like.
[00:42:57.480]It requires that level of trust and involvement
[00:43:00.860]and expectations that people will do more than you ask
[00:43:06.100]of them if you give them the tools and the responsibility
[00:43:09.990]and accountability for doing it.
[00:43:11.930]And, I honestly believe that.
[00:43:14.198]I've grown up believing that, and I tried to use that
[00:43:18.320]as a segway for everything I do,
[00:43:20.970]even at the point of where I'm leveraging people.
[00:43:23.970]You have to rely on them to do the job because you can't
[00:43:26.930]do it yourself.
[00:43:27.989]Yeah, that's just brilliant.
[00:43:29.860]And, I think what I really respect is that you have this
[00:43:34.080]amazing presence, but you're also so personable
[00:43:37.460]and you really care about people.
[00:43:39.530]And I think that comes through in just your discussion
[00:43:42.517]and philosophy around leadership.
[00:43:45.134]You know, you trust people and you understand they're gonna
[00:43:48.210]do more than you ask if you have that trust and you give
[00:43:50.910]them the tools.
[00:43:52.250]But you really empower people to do their jobs
[00:43:55.210]and use their talent.
[00:43:56.460]And we need more leaders to do that.
[00:43:59.170]Well, if I turn the question around and ask you,
[00:44:01.760]I'm not sure that our answers would be very different.
[00:44:04.920]Well thank you, I appreciate that.
[00:44:06.460](jazzy music)
[00:44:08.730]I think our listeners really enjoy hearing a little more
[00:44:12.090]about your personal philosophy in life.
[00:44:14.560]I mean, here you are Executive Director of NSRI,
[00:44:18.170]and you know, you see a lot, you hear a lot.
[00:44:20.430]You're thinking about things so many of us take for granted
[00:44:23.210]every day and seeing the inside of it but also the future
[00:44:27.140]of things like national security, cyber security,
[00:44:29.800]weapons of mass destruction, even working with the med
[00:44:32.610]center on Ebola.
[00:44:34.300]So what do you do for fun?
[00:44:36.040]I mean, what does a guy like you do for fun?
[00:44:38.160]You know, what brings joy to your life when you're thinking
[00:44:40.670]about these types of things all day long.
[00:44:43.030]Well, I have a wife who keeps me humble and honest.
[00:44:45.489]I have seven grandchildren that keep me going
[00:44:50.270]and two of them are here locally, and they're two little
[00:44:52.380]girls that keep you going.
[00:44:53.860]So, we spend a lot of time with them.
[00:44:56.070]I'm a farmer's kid, you know, I grew up on a farm
[00:44:59.100]in Tennessee, my dad sort of instilled a work ethic
[00:45:02.280]that I even hold today.
[00:45:03.280]So, I find myself more of a hands-on kind of person
[00:45:07.290]that likes to get things done with my hands,
[00:45:10.210]and so I do woodworking.
[00:45:11.750]I don't think there's, well, I know there are limits
[00:45:14.220]on what I can and can't do.
[00:45:16.181]But, I often fail to recognize those things that I can't
[00:45:20.195]do very much (Bob chuckles), but I'm willing to give it
[00:45:24.134]a try and--
[00:45:24.967]Knowing that you're from a rural community,
[00:45:28.333]you know, so many of our military
[00:45:30.348]come from rural communities.
[00:45:32.430]That's one of the things that we've talked a little bit
[00:45:34.320]about at the Rural Futures Institute.
[00:45:36.377]You know, when people ask about why rural, why now,
[00:45:39.600]why should we care about rural, you know, somebody who comes
[00:45:43.270]from a rural community and has that background,
[00:45:45.310]what would you say to that?
[00:45:46.499]I really appreciated the years that I spent
[00:45:50.270]as a young lad growing up on a farm in Tennessee.
[00:45:53.597]I spent considerable hours sitting on the street corner
[00:45:58.160]selling watermelons and cantaloupes.
[00:46:00.032](speakers laughing)
[00:46:02.032]Okay, things I didn't know about you.
[00:46:02.940]You just seem cooler by the second.
[00:46:06.920]But, I do agree with you that a lot
[00:46:09.500]of the foundation of our country is built
[00:46:11.780]around rural communities.
[00:46:13.430]And, the cities and the life in the cities, they've never
[00:46:17.970]slowed down.
[00:46:18.803]They continue to fast pace.
[00:46:20.410]But when you start looking at the morals of the country
[00:46:23.120]and the foundation of this country, you look at what's
[00:46:26.022]happening in the rural communities and all the people
[00:46:29.890]that you talk about service of the country, people in rural
[00:46:33.462]environments that are really the foundation of this country.
[00:46:36.560]And, having grown up in a rural community,
[00:46:39.310]I consider it one of the very solid foundations
[00:46:42.160]of the country.
[00:46:42.993]At the Rural Futures Institute,
[00:46:44.550]one of the conversations we've really been focused on
[00:46:47.020]is the rural-urban collaboration, and I just returned
[00:46:50.530]from a 10-day excursion in Japan where we had a real
[00:46:53.810]immersive experience in rural areas there because they're
[00:46:57.910]national government has declared rural development
[00:47:01.190]and re-development as a national priority.
[00:47:03.730]They see the struggles that can happen when they have too
[00:47:06.620]many people in one location.
[00:47:08.368]And so they're really trying to figure out, okay,
[00:47:10.440]what is it look like so that Tokyo doesn't become so mega
[00:47:12.956]urbanized that if something happens in Tokyo,
[00:47:16.450]most of our population is wiped out.
[00:47:18.829]And in one of the areas that we visited, they've developed
[00:47:21.670]these rice contracts where they're encouraging people
[00:47:25.160]from more urban areas to buy rice from the rural areas,
[00:47:30.100]but also as herb for the subscriptions.
[00:47:32.780]So if there would be a tsunami or an earthquake,
[00:47:35.860]they could actually go to those rural areas
[00:47:37.790]and have a place to live in major disaster.
[00:47:40.840]And I thought that was a really unique and creative way
[00:47:43.400]to help connect people in rural and urban.
[00:47:46.450]Could you see any value to something like that here?
[00:47:49.150]There seems to be this notion that the price
[00:47:51.680]of doing work on a farm or on a ranch or those kind
[00:47:55.660]of things is becoming less attractive
[00:47:58.140]because of economy and the products we sell
[00:48:02.508]and those kind of things as a very volatile market scale.
[00:48:05.630]I think the connections between rural and certainly
[00:48:09.500]the city environments that we live in these days,
[00:48:13.240]there needs to be a good connection,
[00:48:14.810]a good understanding of that and great benefit
[00:48:17.490]that a rural community actually provides to the larger
[00:48:20.930]population if you will.
[00:48:22.410]In some ways we're losing that connection to the real
[00:48:26.430]bread basket of this country and what constitutes
[00:48:30.000]the people that keep us fed and keep the nation
[00:48:33.080]and our international relations sort of at the forefront
[00:48:36.300]of things.
[00:48:37.133]So, I don't know if I answered your question,
[00:48:38.570]but I just find that there needs to be an increased
[00:48:41.322]appreciation of the contributions of those that actually do
[00:48:45.940]hard manual labor in the fields of this country.
[00:48:49.270]No, I really appreciate that and you actually,
[00:48:51.990]as usual, give me more to think about in terms of how
[00:48:56.430]to help people understand that rural connection in their own
[00:48:59.810]life even if they don't live there.
[00:49:02.026]Part of our research has involved the use of UAVs.
[00:49:06.830]And you look at GPS navigation systems from space
[00:49:10.690]these days and how that has contributed to the increased
[00:49:15.010]production of farm products and necessities and all kinds
[00:49:18.850]of things, that I think rural people in this country
[00:49:22.149]are leveraging technologies in ways that have never
[00:49:26.600]been leveraged before and we are getting more productivity
[00:49:29.915]out of that.
[00:49:31.350]But with that, comes a price.
[00:49:33.480]You know, we're expanding neighborhoods that take out
[00:49:35.830]farmlands, we grow things on the sides of hills
[00:49:38.220]that in my day you would hardly climate, much less plant
[00:49:40.980]something on it.
[00:49:42.660]And, I think, the things that the rural communities
[00:49:45.560]are finding these days are that with technology they can
[00:49:48.480]increase productivity if they're encouraged by the markets
[00:49:52.300]that continue to support them.
[00:49:53.850]It is not an inexpensive proposition to be in the rural
[00:49:58.160]communities these days if that's what you're using
[00:50:00.410]as a source of livelihood and income.
[00:50:03.820]I know most of the people on our podcast
[00:50:05.820]should know what a UAV is if they're listening to something
[00:50:08.490]like the Rural Futures Podcast, but for those that may not
[00:50:12.620]or it may be new, they may just be tuning in,
[00:50:14.770]could you explain a little bit more about the unmanned
[00:50:18.602]ariel vehicles?
[00:50:19.435]Unmanned ariel vehicles have a rather broad
[00:50:22.800]perspective.
[00:50:23.633]I think in the military they could be used for gaining
[00:50:26.940]the high ground if you will, looking at what's over the hill
[00:50:30.290]or the horizon, what's out in front of you,
[00:50:32.378]being able to collect intelligence,
[00:50:34.520]being able to collect information that's useful
[00:50:37.190]in planning the campaigns and those kind of things.
[00:50:40.455]It is also a way of expanding the footprint of an operation
[00:50:45.210]without having to expand the number of personnel
[00:50:48.240]you have to commit to that.
[00:50:50.000]In other environments though, if you look at the uses
[00:50:53.480]of UAV's in the agricultural community, it's collecting
[00:50:56.880]soil samples on how productive a piece of farmland
[00:51:00.110]or land could be, collecting samples on water
[00:51:03.552]in various areas.
[00:51:05.676]I think there's any number of ways that unmanned ariel
[00:51:09.830]vehicles can be used in a rural kind of setting.
[00:51:12.790]In some of the cases where there's some ideas
[00:51:16.740]that unmanned ariel vehicles would deliver packages
[00:51:20.300]to your doorstep.
[00:51:21.240]There's any number of new things that UAV's
[00:51:24.200]will be able to do.
[00:51:25.450]It has its downsides.
[00:51:27.470]Obviously there are a lot of people who resent the idea
[00:51:30.160]that you've got an unmanned ariel vehicle with a camera
[00:51:33.400]or a projector of some sort and they're collecting
[00:51:36.023]information and invading your privacy.
[00:51:39.467]Again, wave of the future.
[00:51:41.542](jazzy music)
[00:51:44.060]What are some parting words of wisdom
[00:51:46.110]that you've like to leave our listeners with.
[00:51:48.160]Well first of all, I'd like to thank you
[00:51:49.600]for the opportunity to chat with you.
[00:51:51.000]I find it refreshing to have this conversation with you.
[00:51:54.090]I find that opportunities to collaborate with you
[00:51:57.100]and other people like you and really take advantage
[00:52:00.830]of things that you do and others are doing along this line,
[00:52:04.590]being associated with the university, being associated
[00:52:08.160]with the people that are in the Nebraska communities
[00:52:11.150]and the like, is underpinning I think
[00:52:13.690]of what this country's all about.
[00:52:15.750](jazzy music)
[00:52:17.710]That's a wrap for Season Two
[00:52:19.190]of Rural Futures with Dr. Connie.
[00:52:21.270]We couldn't be more proud of the bold researchers,
[00:52:23.870]futurists, world mavericks, and students we've brought
[00:52:26.640]forward throughout these 10 episodes.
[00:52:29.010]Thank you to all of our guests.
[00:52:31.000]And thank you, to all of our listeners.
[00:52:33.313]Now, help us make Season Three a reality in Spring 2019.
[00:52:37.980]Sponsor our show, no tax deductible donation is too small.
[00:52:41.860]Visit RuralFutures.Nebraska.edu/podcast.

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Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 20 Featuring NU Institute Directors

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