<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-5952a65c-7fff-68e4-e0d2-e6cc1d44853b" style="font-size: 14px;"><font face="Arial"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Colleagues,</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iDigBio and the Society of Herbarium Curators are pleased to announce an 8-week "Strategic Planning for Herbaria” online course!</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-weight: 700; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take this opportunity to introduce new purpose and excitement into your organization. Prepare to relate your herbarium’s compelling vision to stakeholders and discuss long-term goals and strategies with administrators.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The “Strategic Planning for Herbaria” online course will meet 8 times on </span><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 36); font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fridays from 3:00–4:00 PM Eastern Time between April 4 and June 6, 2025</span><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 36); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (see the </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jHzpewRFWT6ElE1UdegXgo5BjNTdkMEr2wCC05GKaI4/edit?usp=share_link" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">summary syllabus</span></a><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 36); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for exact dates)</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We anticipate that the course will require approximately 5 hours of work per week, including the 1 hour in-class. The goal is to produce a short (5–10 pages) strategic plan for each represented herbarium. Each plan will address vision, mission, values, stakeholders, strategies, goals, objectives, evaluation, and sustainability, among other things. The process is at least as valuable as the product, and you might find that the exercises benefit your herbarium in unexpected ways.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The course will be capped to ensure adequate opportunities to participate in discussions. We are looking for creative, committed participants who can help us to continue building momentum for this as an annual event. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If multiple individuals from a herbarium are interested in participating in the course, we ask that ONE formally apply and the others participate in the out-of-class exercises and brainstorming sessions.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is no charge for participation in the course. We invite anyone affiliated with a herbarium from anywhere in the world to apply to participate, but we do note that the course is taught in English. </span><span style="font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please note that the course is focused on strategic planning</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and NOT on teaching collecting, curation, or data mobilization skills.</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Class meetings will be recorded to benefit class participants who wish to review content asynchronously.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A summary syllabus for the course is available </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jHzpewRFWT6ElE1UdegXgo5BjNTdkMEr2wCC05GKaI4/edit?usp=share_link" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To apply, please complete </span><a href="https://forms.gle/depqVoBVw3mSajgL9" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this short Google Form</span></a><span style="font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by March 19, 2025. </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Admission decisions will be made shortly thereafter. Admissions are based on a mix of considerations, including variety of career stages and herbaria, urgency for the herbarium, the herbarium’s concrete plans to leverage the strategic planning in the near future (e.g., for funding), and sustained interest in the class as evidenced by application again this year after an unsuccessful application in the previous year.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While this course offering is focused specifically on herbaria, we plan to continue offering a version of the course with a scope broadened to include all types of biodiversity collections later this year. If you are interested in this topic but are involved in, e.g., an insect, fossil, or fish collection, please watch for that opportunity to be announced this fall.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With best regards,</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Austin Mast (Director of iDigBio’s Digitization, Workforce Development, and Participatory Science Domain) and David Jennings (iDigBio/PI3 Project Manager)</span></p></font></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><div><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div><i>Austin Mast <b>—</b> Professor · Department of Biological Science · 319 Stadium Drive · Florida State University · Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295 · U.S.A. · (850) 645-1500 <b>—</b> Director · Institute for Digital Information & Scientific Communication · College of Communication and Information · Florida State University <b>—</b> amast@fsu.edu <b>— </b>he/him</i></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></body></html>