Contents
- Positive Thinking for 2013
- STRS – Retirement planning workshop March 5
- New Salary Study is Posted
- New Flexible Spending Account features roll out in April
- Apply for Grants to Support Outreach and Engagement Work
- Update about Research in View (RiV)
- Strengths Finder ™ (Online Workshop) – March 5
- National Conference on Diversity, Race & Learning set for May 6 - 7 in Columbus
- Conference of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium RFP is now Available
- Conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities
Positive Thinking for 2013
-Keith Smith, associate vice president, Agricultural Administration and director, OSU Extension
As I continue our series on positive thinking, I would like to share with you some thoughts from the book Believe You Can - The Power of a Positive Attitude by John Mason (2010) Revell books.
Success comes from daring to take small steps. After being faithful in small steps, you’ll look back and be able to say, “I’m still not where I want to be, but I’m not where I was.”
Victory is won not in miles, but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later win a lot more. - Louis L’Amour
Dale Carnegie said, “Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.” Your future comes one hour at a time.
“The rung of the ladder was never meant to rest upon, but to enable a man (woman) to put his other foot higher.” - Thomas Huxley
Small steps are a big idea. Never be discouraged when you make progress, no matter how slow or small. Only be wary of standing still. Successes are persons who do what they can with what they have, and who do it where they are. Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. I believe that we should care just as much about the small things in our lives as the big things. Why? If we are faithful in the small things, the big things will take care of themselves.
One thing is certain: What isn’t tried won’t work. The most important thing is to begin even though the first step is the hardest. I encourage you to take one small step right now.
“A parking meter reminds us that we lose money standing still.”- Bert Krose
STRS – Retirement planning workshop March 5
Representatives from State Teachers Retirement System and Human Resources will discuss the retirement process and steps you need to take in order to apply for your retirement on March 5 from noon - 1:30 p.m. in South Campus Gateway, 1590 N. High St., Suite 430, room 421. This is a general session for all faculty. Specific retirement questions can only be answered by STRS if you call them directly to request a retirement estimation. Register: http://hr.osu.edu/ole/HRStaffPD.aspx
New Salary Study is Posted
The OSUE 2013 salary study performed by our human resources department is available on the http://extensionhr.osu.edu/ under the news and updates header.
New Flexible Spending Account features roll out in April
Beginning in April, our Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) will be managed by TASC, a leading vendor in FSA administration. The change offers new features, including direct deposit reimbursements, online claims filing, 24-hour customer service, and a Health Care Flex Card debit MasterCard that can be used to pay for eligible medical expenses upfront.
Faculty and staff currently enrolled in a FSA will receive more information via Ohio State e-mail and an introductory packet mailed to their home address. Details also will be posted online at the end of March. (Faculty and staff not currently enrolled can enroll during 2014 open enrollment, or sooner if they experience a qualifying life event.) If you have questions about the new features of the FSA, contact Customer Service at 614-292-1050 or service@hr.osu.edu.
Apply for Grants to Support Outreach and Engagement Work
If you have questions about submitting a proposal for an Engagement Impact Grant, OSU CARES/OSU Extension Seed Grant or Service-Learning Grant, join representatives from the Office of Outreach and Engagement, OSU CARES/OSU Extension, and the Service-Learning Initiative for an information session on Friday, March 1 at noon in conference room 101 at 33 W. 11th Ave.
The grants aim to establish and/or expand innovative, creative, scholarly outreach and engagement initiatives that can have a substantial impact within the university and community. As many of you are aware, the OSU CARES grants, under the leadership of OSU Extension, support partnerships between OSU Extension and other departments at Ohio State. These grants have provided seed dollars for a number of well-established programs throughout Ohio, and they provide great opportunities for many of our OSU Extension teams to strengthen programming.
The submission deadline for all three grants programs is Friday, March 8 at 4. Visit http://outreachgrants.osu.edu/ to access the RFPs and more information on each grant. Contact the OSU CARES office at 688-4486 or osucares@osu.edu with additional questions.
Update about Research in View (RiV)
New help documentation can be found here (http://ocio.osu.edu/elearning/services/riv/help/) and here (http://ocio.osu.edu/elearning/services/riv/frequently-asked-questions/).
The newest item added to the first Web page listed above is the Research in View Profile entry to Dossier Report display map.
This provides a PDF format of the Dossier Report with a description of how and where to enter information into the Research in View Profile to have that information display in specific sections of the Dossier Report. This resource, and the others provided on these Web pages, will be extremely helpful for faculty and other educators who are using Research in View to create their Promotion and Tenure dossier reports.
Strengths Finder ™ (Online Workshop) – March 5
As a leader it is important to know what talents you possess, what you bring to the leadership table. Do you know what strengths you possess? Every leader possesses her or his own unique set of talents. According to the Gallup organization, "we spend too much time focusing on our weaknesses, trying to make them stronger rather than recognizing our strengths." When you focus on your weaknesses, you miss out on utilizing what you do best for your organization.
Participants in this workshop will take the Clifton StrengthsFinder ™ inventory to learn their five strongest talents. By focusing on your strengths, you increase your effectiveness as a leader.
What is the Clifton StrengthsFinder ™ inventory?
"Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of the national bestseller First, Break All the Rules, and Donald O. Clifton, chair of the Gallup International Research & Education Center, has created a revolutionary program to help readers identify their talents, build them into strengths, and enjoy consistent, near-perfect performance. At the heart of the book is the Internet-based StrengthsFinder ™ Profile, the product of a 25-year, multimillion-dollar effort to identify the most prevalent human strengths. The program introduces 34 dominant "themes" with thousands of possible combinations, and reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success." To take the test, click on http://www.strengthstest.com/
- Gain a better understanding of yourself
- Identify your top five strengths
- Learn how to maximize your strengths to increase your effectiveness as a leader
Beth Flynn is facilitating this workshop on March 5 from 9–11 a.m. The registration fee is $60 per participant. https://regonline.com/seriesleadership.
National Conference on Diversity, Race & Learning set for May 6 - 7 in Columbus
The 19th annual NCDR&L conference will be held at the Fawcett Conference Center of The Ohio State University. This year’s theme is: “Prognosis Diversity: Prescription for Making America Whole.” For more information on the sessions and the presenters, click on this "diversity training" link. OSUE Administration will sponsor 10 individuals to attend both the pre-conference workshop May 6 and the conference on May 7. Those interested in applying for scholarships should answer the following questions in an e-mail and send them to Ken Martin at martin.1540@osu.edu.
- Why do you want to attend this conference?
- How will you incorporate what you learn into your work?
- How will you share your experience with the organization?
Administration will review the answers of those submitting for sponsorship to decide who to sponsor. Those receiving funding will be asked to write a paragraph for publication in the Communiqué explaining what they learned.
The conference registration form can be completed and e-mailed to ncdrl@osu.edu or faxed to 614-292-7889.
Conference of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium RFP is now Available
The Call for Proposals is now open for the 14th Annual Conference of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC). This year's event is hosted by ESC's western region and will be held at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas on October 8 and 9. The call for proposals deadline is March 15.
Conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities
The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities is seeking proposals for paper, roundtables, and poster presentations that are informative and relevant, provoke discussion, and encourage opportunities for learner replication. Special emphasis should be placed on engaged scholarship and translational research and their impact on the community. The conference hosted by the University of Louisville is scheduled for October 26-29, in Louisville, Kentucky. The proposals are due April 1.