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OSU Extension

College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

CFAES

Communiqué November 6, 2013

Contents

Positive Thinking Quotes to Get You Thinking

-Keith Smith, associate vice president, agricultural administration and director, OSU Extension

As I conclude our series on positive thinking, I would like to share with you some final thoughts from the book Attitude is Everything - 10 Rules for Staying Positive by Vicki Hitzges (2010), published by Simple Truths.

Surround Yourself with Positive People

Ever worked with a grouch? Nothing is right. They don’t like people. They don’t like the way things are done. They think they could do things so much better if they were in charge.

Have you spent time around people who just drift through life? They don’t set goals, expect others to pick up the slack, just don’t care. Avoid them! Find people who will challenge you, believe in you and inspire you to improve. No matter what’s going on in your life, another person can help you shoot higher, laugh louder and look forward to tomorrow much more than if you go it alone.

Whether we face a challenge or have something fun to celebrate, our entire attitude changes – no, it’s stronger that that – our very lives change when we have positive, loving friends with whom we can share our victories and defeats.

“Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push – a smile, a word of optimism and hope, a ‘you can do it!’ when things are tough.” – Richard Devos, co- founder of Amway

“Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great people make you feel that you, too, can be great.” – Mark Twain, writer and humorist

Be thoughtful as you select your friends. Find people who aim high, think positively, genuinely care about you and make you laugh. Do the same for them. Friends make life worthwhile.

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OSUE Annual Conference Early Registration Fee Ends November 8

Register now to get the discounted fee of $65. For more information, visit the OSUE annual conference website: http://extensionhr.osu.edu/AnnualConf/annualconf.htm.

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2013 EEET Summary Report Reminder

The deadline to submit EEETs for this calendar year is December 4 (your EEETs must be postmarked by that date). The Program Development and Evaluation (PDE) Unit will NOT process any EEETs postmarked after that date until 2014. This means any late EEETs will NOT be on the three-year EEET summary report that will be sent to county program faculty and staff in January 2014.

There are still options for getting final EEETs to PDE:

  • Bring your EEETs to Annual Conference on December 4. There will be a designated location to drop off your sealed envelopes of EEET forms (location to be announced at the conference).
  • Bring any EEETs you have to the December 3 RiV training. Unless bad weather prevents the training, either Kim Showalter or Debby Lewis can accept your forms that day. 
  • Mail your EEETs to: 
    EEETs
    Suite 25, Agricultural Administration Building
    2120 Fyffe RD.
    Columbus, Ohio 43210

*MUST be postmarked by December 4, 2013!

Please remember to include a cover sheet with each set of EEETs, one cover sheet for each instructor. All EEETs should be in SEALED ENVELOPES! Your form collector should sign his or her name on the seal.

Please submit ALL EEETs in a TIMELY manner! All EEETs are entered BY HAND by PDE staff. If you volunteered to collect forms for a colleague, please send them to the PDE office immediately; your peer is depending on you.

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Extension Promotion Workshops – December 18 or January 14

Has it been 10 years since you were tenured? Do you have an interest in applying for promotion? Want to better understand the role of review committees, the review process, and performance expectations? Want help getting your arms around the OSU Extension APT document or faculty and A&P promotion guidelines?

Plan to attend one of the upcoming Extension promotion workshops on December 18 or January 14 from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Agricultural Administration Building auditorium.

We’ll focus on the items above, review the Department of Extension’s dossier outline, discuss curriculum and quality indicators, demonstrate the need to maintain documentation of your accomplishments, and more. Extension professionals with all levels of experience with the process are invited as we share and learn from each other. Registration fee is $25.

Click on only one of the following links to register:

To register to attend the Wednesday, December 18 Promotion Workshop, register online by 5 p.m. December 3 at: http://go.osu.edu/PTWDec182013.

To register to attend the Tuesday, January 14, 2014 Promotion Workshop (repeat of December 18 session), register online by 5 p.m. December 31 at: http://go.osu.edu/PTWJan142014.

Please note: These workshops are NOT Research in View (RiV) trainings, but techniques to effectively document your accomplishments in RiV will be discussed. For more information, contact:  Promotion and Tenure Committee Chair Judy Villard-Overocker, Administrative and Professional Committee Chair Jeff McCutcheon or Department Chair Ken Martin. workshop agenda

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Morgan County Extension Levy Passes

Congratulations to those who worked to get the message out to the voters! The OSU Extension levy passed (additional tax of 0.8 mills for five years) with 1,884 votes for the levy and 1,405 against.

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Government Relations - Save the Dates

Government Relations has completed its 2014 calendar, the following dates have been set.

January 28 - OARDC and State Extension Advisory Committee Annual Meeting

March 12 - Research and Extension Legislative Luncheon, The Ohio Statehouse Atrium

April 6-9 - PILD Conference, Westin Alexandria, Alexandria, VA 

June 3 - State Extension Advisory Committee Meeting

June TBD - OARDC Advisory Committee Meeting

August 14-15 - Congressional Assistants' Tour, Columbus

September 16 -The Vice President’s Luncheon, Farm Science Review, London

October 6 - The Vice President’s Cup Golf Outing, OSU Scarlet Course

October 28 - OARDC and State Extension Advisory Committee Meeting

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North Central Leadership Conference 2014 - Call for Proposals

The North Central Leadership Conference planning committee is seeking proposals for workshops for the  Next Generation Leadership – Pathways towards our Future. The conference is set for Omaha, Nebraska on April 28–30, 2014. Workshop proposals should be based on the conference goals and tracks listed below. The proposal deadline is November 15.   

To submit a proposal, visit http://www.extension.iastate.edu/registration/events/conferences/NCLC/ and click on the Call for Proposals tab.

Conference goals are:

  • Network with Visionary Leaders
  • Enhance Your Leadership Skills
  • Create Your Plan to Lead Change with Vision.

Based on the 2012 conference evaluations, the planning team has identified two workshop tracks:

  • Building Your Administrative Skills
  • Building your Leadership Skills

This conference places an emphasis on getting emerging leaders to attend along with current leaders as a means of succession planning and growing excellence. This conference promises to be great for both learning and networking! The group that attended in 2012 did so with support from administration, and all OSUE professionals are strongly encouraged to attend in 2014.

For additional information, contact your North Central Leadership Conference planning committee representatives Chris Igodan (igodan.1@osu.edu) or Graham Cochran (cochran.99@osu.edu).

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OSU’s Office of Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)

- Kent McGuire, CFAES health and safety coordinator /Ohio AgrAbility program coordinator

OSU’s Office of Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) has advised that all Ohio State employees are required to complete training on the subjects of “Hazard Communication" and “Globally Harmonized System (GHS) Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.” This training is mandatory, even for personnel who do not work in a laboratory or handle hazardous materials. These trainings are being required in order to comply with the state Public Employment Risk Reduction Program (PERRP) and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Program or “Employee Right-to-Know” act. 

Both of these mandatory trainings can be done online and will not take very long to complete. The reason OSU’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety is asking this be done online, is to be efficient in documenting those who have participated. I encourage all faculty and staff to complete the trainings. I understand we all have challenging workloads; however, this training is required by both state and federal agencies and it must be completed. 

In addition, to the “HazCom Training” be advised that additional training is now required to be completed on the “Globally Harmonized System (GHS) Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.” In an effort to facilitate this training taking place, the OSU Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) has a new online training for GHS Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. This training provides GHS background information, an overview of OSHA’s training requirements, new label elements, new hazard pictograms, signal words, hazard statements, and a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) format. This is a one-time training.

To complete the training:

  1. Click on this link - http://www.ehs.osu.edu/Training/ohst.aspx
  2. Find the word “Links” on the right side of the web page and then click on “EHS on-line” located under it.
  3. Sign in using your osu.edu e-mail address. Once you have signed in, a new web page should pop up.
  4. Click on “EHS On-line Training.”
  5. You will see a Program Listing bar with a drop-down menu labeled “Area” under it.
  6. Click on the “Area” drop down menu (under the “Program Listing” bar), and choose the “Occupational Health and Safety” tab. Another drop down menu labeled “Program” will appear next to the one labeled “Area”.
  7. Click on the “Program” drop down menu (also under the Program Listing bar) and choose “Hazard Communication (CFR1910.1200)” tab.
  8. Click on “Begin Training Program” in the lower left part of the box to start the training.

Remember that the “GHS Classifying and Labeling of Chemicals” training is in addition to the “Hazard Communication (HazCom)” training that you should have already completed. This can be accessed in the same “Program” drop down menu (also under the Program Listing bar) and choose “Hazard Communication (CFR1910.1200)” tab.

If you need more general information about the Hazard Communication Standard, it can be found on the OSHA website at https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/hazcom-faq.html.

Complete this training at your earliest convenience. I am also working with OSU EHS to set up a training session later this winter for those who have trouble doing it on-line. I will let you know when that training session will be available. If you have any questions regarding the online training please contact me at mcguire.225@osu.edu or 292-0588. You may also contact the OSU Environmental Health and Safety Office online at http://ehs.osu.edu/OccHealthSafety/default.aspx or by phone at (614) 292-1284.

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Gamma Sigma Delta

Gamma Sigma Delta began as a professional agricultural fraternity, Delta Theta Sigma, at The Ohio State University on December 1, 1905. The purpose of the chapter is to openly encourage high standards of scholarship in agriculture, and agricultural related sciences and education. The highest degree of excellence is pursued by the members in the application of agricultural knowledge to teaching, research and service. Toward this end, Gamma Sigma Delta issues awards in five areas: Teaching, Research, Extension, Service and International. For complete descriptions, please see the forms for membership and award nominations located on the Ohio Gamma Sigma Delta website: http://oardc.osu.edu/gsd/.

These awards will be presented to the awardees at our annual awards ceremony in winter of 2014. We are now accepting applications for these awards, with the deadline of November 22. Send completed applications to Dianne Shoemaker (shoemaker.3@osu.edu).

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StrengthsFinder™ Workshop – November 14 (online)

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 and Education Center, have 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 it reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success. 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 November 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. online. The fee is $60 per participant; register online https://regon-line.com/seriesleadership.

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Performance Management and Coaching – November 19

Performance management is a systematic process for improving and sustaining human performance throughout organizations. Much more than the “annual review," performance management involves an integrated approach to planning, coaching and feedback, and performance review. Ideally, coaching and feedback should be a major focus of your effort as a supervisor. Effective coaching includes not only developing the desired behaviors in others around us, but also understanding the emotions that drive those behaviors. As a coach, you can make the difference between employees reaching their full potential or remaining stagnant in their roles. 

This workshop focuses on coaching and performance management is a great place to develop and/or strengthening your skills as a supervisor. This training will provide a professional development opportunity for supervisors to develop skills towards supporting performance management as an important and positive part of the workplace.

Through group discussion and interactive activities, participants will:

  • Explore key concepts related to performance management, with a focus on conducting performance reviews and setting performance goals
  • Practice planning a performance discussion and writing performance goals for an employee
  • Describe coaching competencies and specific techniques needed to successfully coach others
  • Have an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas with colleagues

Jeff King and Graham Cochran are facilitating this workshop on November 19 from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. The fee is $125 per participant and includes refreshments and lunch. 

To register and make payment, visit https://regon-line.com/seriesleadership.

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Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium – December 14

- Roger A. High, Ohio Sheep Improvement Association executive director

The Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium will concentrate on, “Looking to the Future: Marketing, Nutrient Management, and Product Demand.” The event will be held December 14 at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) Shisler Conference Center in Wooster. flier

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