A Message from the Director
As 2011 comes to a close, I want to say thank you again for the tremendous work you all do on behalf of OSU Extension. I’m very proud of your dedication and embodiment of our mission, and I know our clients and partners are most appreciative of your efforts.
As I mentioned at Annual Conference, I know there are always challenges to handle, but I am confident that Extension is moving forward with the right strategy and mindset. Our programs are vital to the success and well-being of all Ohioans, and we’re doing good things!
I know Dr. Moser feels the same, and I appreciate his support as well. Although he couldn’t join us in person, Dr. Moser recorded a greeting for our Annual Conference attendees. If you wish to review the greeting, it is posted at this link.
Happy holidays, and I look forward to a great 2012 with you!
Field Specialist Update
The new OSU Extension field specialists are as follows:
- Manure Management (ANR): Glen Arnold
- Agronomic Crops (ANR): Greg LaBarge
- Dairy Production (ANR): Dianne Shoemaker
- Agronomic Crops (ANR): Harold Watters
- Community Economics (CD): Nancy Bowen-Ellzey
- Community Economics (CD): David Civittolo
- Energy Development (CD): Eric Romich
- Volunteerism and 4-H Community Clubs: Jeff Dick
- Food Safety, Selection and Management (FCS): Linnette Goard
- Food, Nutrition and Wellness (FCS): Dan Remley
More details about the specialists’ start dates, locations, and contact information will be available in early January. The Family Wellness (FCS) and third Agronomic Crops (ANR) positions are being posted externally.
Structure Refinement – Frequently Asked Questions
The frequently asked questions summary mentioned at Annual Conference can now be accessed online. If you have additional questions, please submit them via OSUE-structure2011@cfaes.osu.edu.
Thank You to EERA Leaders
Thank you once again to our EERA leaders who will wrap up their roles as of December 31. These individuals took on yeoman’s work in spring 2009, when they agreed to add the area leader function to their job duties – and we’re most appreciative of their service to the organization.
Kudos to John Barker, David Civittolo, Doris Herringshaw, Sherry Nickles, Chris Olinsky, Nancy Recker, Treva Williams, Gary Wilson, and Ted Wiseman for a job well done!
Four of the EERA leaders retired on August 31, so we had several interim leaders who stepped in to help wrap up the year – Glen Arnold, Kathy Michelich, Brian Raison, and Beth Fausey Scheckelhoff.
The EERA leaders were instrumental in encouraging area-wide activities in each program area, and their input over the last two years has been invaluable. At this point, however, Administrative Cabinet has decided to phase out the EERA leader position at year-end and return the focus of these educators to 100 percent time to focus on their own programming efforts. Each EERA has identified program leaders for each program area to keep the EERA efforts moving forward.
Director’s Internal Advisory Committee
-Keith Smith, associate vice president, Agricultural Administration and director, OSU Extension
I appreciated the participation of those who came to the Director’s Internal Advisory Committee on December 9. The meeting was well attended, and information was shared about many wonderful programs throughout the state. Programs included the following: Ag Hall of Fame, beef school, sheep school, Dining with Diabetes, legislative materials, Farm Bureau insert, healthy retailing, food deserts/food swamps, sharing difficult messages, recognition banquet, Annual Conference, Tri-State Diversity Conference, health summit, county leadership program, working with fair boards, online grazing school, new 4-H rule book for horses, and state horse skillathon. This is just a sampling of the type of programs we learned about. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about these wonderful programs and more.
There were some questions raised by this committee – i.e.the new print policy in Communications & Technology, frustration with the new purchasing policy was discussed, the computer policy, computer security, the structure refinement, and field specialist positions. All of these topics resulted in a very healthy discussion.
A number of people are cycling off the Director’s Internal Advisory Committee this year: Mary Beth Albright, Kathy Booher, Martha Filipic, John Grimes, Patricia Holmes, Jane Keyser, Clif Little, and Gene McCluer. There will be a new group joining the Director’s Internal Advisory Committee, and we will post those names in the near future.
Again, I am very appreciative of the individuals who participate on the Director’s Internal Advisory Committee. I commend everyone for a job well done, I appreciate the insight of those rolling off the committee, and I look forward to working with the new folks coming on board.
EEET Reminder
A reminder – the deadline to submit EEETs has passed. Any forms received at this point will NOT be included in your annual report.
The Program Development and Evaluation Unit will automatically be generating annual summaries for all Extension personnel who submitted EEETs during 2011. There is no need to request your annual summary this year. Your annual report will arrive electronically via PDF from Kim Bahnsen Showalter of the PDE Unit the second week of January. This summary can then be added to your annual performance report.
OSU:pro Update
Some updates will be occurring over the next seven months with OSU:pro. First, OSU:pro has been purchased by Thompson Reuters and will undergo a name change. The new name will be “Research in View” (RIV). The RIV product, containing OSU:pro core dossier data, will be launched on February 24.
The new product will be based on OSU:pro, so all of your data will still exist in RIV. Please note: this change is AFTER our Extension reporting deadline of January 15, which means “business as usual” for reporting your 2011 Extension activities.
Between February 24 and June 15, Extension users will have two interfaces with RIV and RIV-Extension. RIV will contain your core dossier data, and RIV-Extension will contain your Extension Activities module data. Between mid- to late-March and June 1, Extension folks will be able to test the new RIV system during a user acceptance test phase. On June 15, the RIV-Extension module will be incorporated into one interface within RIV.
There are NO changes for you this reporting cycle, as we still have the deadline of January 15; and OSU:pro will not change before February 24. Even after the switch to RIV in February, users of the system will see little change. Speed of data entry and editing should be increased because of the way the data will display and populate in the new RIV system. You will be informed as updates are made.
CFAES Social Media Guidelines
-Ryan Schmiesing, director, Communications & Technology, CFAES
The CFAES Vice President's Cabinet approved the attached Social Media Guidelines on November 28, and they were then shared at the college leadership meeting on December 7. Distribute this information to your faculty, staff, and students when you feel most appropriate. We will also share the guidelines through other venues in the coming weeks to help ensure broad distribution.
Please let me know (schmiesing.3@cfaes.osu.edu) if there are questions, or contact Mitch Moser (moser.26@osu.edu) if you have questions about engaging with social media strategies in your department or unit.
Related Document
Year-End Gift Giving Reminders
It’s that time of year again. Many of our donors count on gifts they send in 2011 being counted as 2011 gifts for tax purposes and/or for their President’s Club membership. The deadline for gifts to count in December 2011 totals is Wednesday, January 4, 2012 by 1 p.m.
University Policy: All checks must be deposited when $500 has been accumulated or weekly, whichever comes first.
The sooner Gift and Biographic Records gets the gift, the sooner the donor receives the receipt. Remember to include the postmarked envelope if you drop something off after January 1. All checks and questions can be sent to Erin Wingfield or Christy George in the CFAES Development office.
Erin Wingfield, Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center
2201 Fred Taylor Dr, Columbus OH 43210
614-247-7606 – ewingfield@cfaes.osu.edu
Christy George, CFAES Development Office
Howlett Hall, Room 216
2001 Fyffe Ct, Columbus OH 43210
614-292-0473 – george.274@osu.edu
HCRD Department Name has Changed
Per OSU Board of Trustees’ approval and effective immediately, the Department of Human and Community Resource Development is now the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership. The newly configured department offers three majors: agriscience education, agricultural communication, and community leadership.
8th Annual Tri-State Diversity Conference – February 16-17
The eighth annual Tri-State Diversity Conference will be held February 16-17 at the Marriott, Cincinnati Airport. The event will be hosted by the Ohio State University, Purdue University, Kentucky State University, and University of Kentucky’s Extension programs.
Intended participants are school teachers, administrators, human resource personnel, social workers, college faculty and staff, government agencies, community development professionals, and anyone interested in expanding their diversity competence. Nearly 200 participants attend annually from 20+ states.
2012 Theme and Focus:
This year’s theme is Diverse Communities – Common Unity. The conference goal is “to network and link resources to help integrate diversity into programs, policies, and practices for creating community well-being.”
Keynote speakers Victor Lewis and Hugh Vasquez are two of the principal cast members of “The Color of Fear,” a breakthrough film about race relations in the United States today. Peer-reviewed workshops at the conference will address a variety of diversity initiatives. These include:
- Walk One Hour in My Shoes: A Cultural Competence/Multicultural Training Program on Working with Latino Communities
- Diverse Needs: Providing Common Ground
- The Human Race Machine: A Tool for Generating Discussion on Campus
- Celebrate Diversity with a 4-H Global Education Curriculum
- Girls Gone Wild: How the Media is Destroying the Identity of Girls and Women
Find more information about workshops and registration online.
Transforming Race 2012: Visions Of Change
Registration is now open for the Transforming Race 2012 Conference (www.transforming-race.org) to be held March 15-17 at the Sheraton Hotel in Columbus. Online registration is available.
Keynote speakers include Van Jones, president and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream, and Vandana Shiva, founder of Navdanya International. The conference is arranged by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University (www.kirwaninstitute.org).