GFC

I'm tired of the isolation.     It is so 70's, 80's and 90's.  

I'm encouraged by the increased interest on collaborative initiatives.    

Today, I was reading our local Sunday paper about the University dining hall at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where they have developed a collaborative agreement.   According to the Anchorage Daily News, AP Story, "Facilities Services Landscape supervisor Jenny Day and dining services general manager Ted Lancette forged an agreement to provide seasonal produce to Nana Management Services, the company contracted to provide meals on campus."     This summer, they transformed their greenhouse of flowers and cut plants to produce to support the local campus-dining hall.      

This sounds like an outstanding step forward in producing healthy/fresh produce, optimizing the utilization of the existing greenhouse and beginning a true collaboration between 3, somewhat isolated entities.      If worked right, they now have mutual benefits.   Kudos on what you have accomplished.   But is it enough?    I think not.

There is so much more to do. 

In my day on campus, we had a health center (where we got medical care), a dining hall, a student union, a sports complex, an agriculture/horticulture program, a culinary program and an allied health services.    Each was located in an isolated building on campus. Each had a distinct staff, professionals in their field.   Each had a separate budget and often reported to different Deans or Vice-Chancellors.        In fact, it was incentivized NOT to work together.   I learned from the masters on how to keep robust budgets in your department and it was definitely not about working together.    Although publically funded (State and Federal), we were never measured on strengthening our communities, creating smart jobs, creating a healthy workforce or creating a collaborative environment.   Of course, we were never measured on profit, although you were measured on how many "grants" you could get to support your staff and possibly more staff.    It was all about FTE's (Full-Time Equivalent's).

Recently I spoke to a culinary professional instructor who wanted to do exactly what Ted and Jenny are doing, but it was way too threatening to the above way their campus operated.   They did not want to "rock the boat".

I say, rock away....... 

Ted and Jenny are on to something, but it is not enough - yet.

What if we renamed all campus Dining Halls to NEWHealth Centers?    What if we truly focused on our personal, social and economic health in that facility by physically moving fitness equipment closer to where foods are grown, researched, prepared and served?   Why do we always hear about the importance of nutrious food and exercise as the Holy Grail, but they are so often in distinctly different locations like they are separate?   They are not.    They support the health and well being of the human body.    What if the "NEWHealth center" of the complex was the greenhouse-student union with feeder halls from and to culinary, agriculture/horticulture, allied health services, health centers?    The greenhouse student union would visually depict how integrated these programs really are and the endless opportunities to collaborate on solutions for the centuries to come.      

What if Ted and Jenny and the rest were incentivized to work together?   What if their annual performance was measured on strengthening our communities, creating smart jobs, creating a healthy workforce and forming expanded collaborative initiatives that served as an even greater catalyst to real solutions for today and tomorrow?   Needless to say, this does not have to be restricted to campuses.  

I just wish I could have gone to a school or campus like the one I'm describing above.    I would be so much better positioned to deal with the massive changes of our world and likely be contributing stronger solutions.   I'm convinced that students would wrap their heads around this so rapidly that enrollment would be at the max from the beginning.  Endowments.  Endless.  Let's see - stronger communities, healthier work force (health cost savings), incentivizing for the future and contributing solutions for tomorrow.   What's the downside?

Got a campus, community or region prepared to go forward?  

Related Article:  Portable Farms