CFAES Give Today
OSU Extension

College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

CFAES

Communiqué May 27, 2015

Contents

Epsilon Sigma Phi Announces Karen Bruns as 2015 Ruby Award Recipient

Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP) has announced that Karen Bruns, recently retired OSU Extension assistant director of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS), is the 2015 Distinguished Service Ruby Award recipient.

Bruns served as assistant director for FCS from February 2011 to March 2015, providing leadership to more than 200 Extension professionals who work on three major focus areas of healthy people, healthy finances, and healthy relationships. She also served as leader, OSU CARES (Community Access to Resources and Educational Services), an Extension-led initiative she developed since 1996. The OSU CARES program catalyzes interdisciplinary teams that partner OSU Extension with colleges across Ohio State to expand the outreach and engagement of the university with Ohioans.

The Ruby Award will be presented to Bruns at the 2015 ESP national conference in October in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. More information is available at http://espnational.org/index.php/en/.

Back to Top

Two OSU Extension Teams win 2015 ESP Regional Awards

Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP), the professional development organization for Extension professionals, has announced that the Learning about Food in Urban Communities – A Total Extension Program team has won the Diversity/Multicultural Award for the North Central Region.

The team members are: Marilyn Rabe, FCS educator; Mike Hogan, ANR educator; Julie Fox, regional director; Beth Boomershine, 4-H educator; Susan Hogan, 4-H educator; Susan Colbert, community development program director; Jennifer Dulaney, EFNEP program assistant; Suad Hirsi, EFNEP program assistant; Cara Gorman, EFNEP program assistant; Peggy Murphy, youth EFNEP program assistant; Lisa Gibson, SNAP-Ed program assistant; and Becky Bell, FCS program assistant.

ESP also announced that the Fruit and Vegetable Food Safety Program (GAPS Team) has received the Distinguished Team Teaching Award for the North Central Region.

The team members are Doug Doohan, Horticulture and Crop Science (HCS) professor; Lindsey Hoover, HCS program coordinator; Ashley Kulhanek, ANR educator; Eric Barrett, ANR educator; Emily Adams, ANR educator; Jacqueline Kowalski, ANR educator; Levi Morrow, ANR program coordinator; Brad Bergefurd, ANR educator; and Suzanne Mills-Wasniak, ANR educator.

Back to Top

Ohio Extension Supporter Receives National Friend of Extension Award from ESP

Susan Crowell, editor of Farm and Dairy, has been selected to receive Epsilon Sigma Phi’s National Friend of Extension award this year. This is the highest award presented by ESP to a non-Extension person, and it is designed to recognize truly outstanding support and personal involvement in Extension efforts.

Susan was nominated by the Ohio JCEP (Joint Council of Extension Professionals) chapter for this prestigious recognition from ESP. Susan and two other recipients will be honored at the Epsilon Sigma Phi National Conference which will be held in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, October 4-7.

The mission of ESP honorary fraternity is to foster standards of excellence in the Extension system and develop the Extension profession and professionals with Extension. Each year, ESP’s award program pays tribute to Extension professionals who have exhibited leadership and excellence in Extension programming. In addition, ESP recognizes individuals who have contributed to the support and success of Extension programs across the country.

Crowell has supported Extension in many ways – via many local activities, statewide as an active member and current past president of the State Extension Advisory Committee, and nationally as a CFAES representative from Ohio to CARET (the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching). CARET is a national advocacy group in Washington DC that incorporates volunteer advocates for research and Extension programs from each state as members. More information about Crowell and her recognition as a National Friend of Extension will be available later this year.

Back to Top

VP Conversation on the Future of Extension – June 5 Twitter Chat Opportunity

–VP Conversation Steering Committee, Graham Cochran and Becky Nesbitt, co-chairs

It’s not too late to share your thoughts about the future of OSU Extension. The VP Conversation committee has created a variety of engagement options that include face-to-face meetings, Twitter opportunities, and coming soon, a web-based survey. This phase of this project will be ending soon, so act now to be a part of this important work! Click this link for more information about how to make sure your voice is heard by joining us for a Twitter Chat on June 5.

More information and updates on the VP Conversation project is available at www.go.osu.edu/OSUEFuture.

Back to Top

CFAES Government Affairs Office has Relocated

–Gwen Wolford, director, Government Affairs

The CFAES Office of Government Affairs (formerly Government Relations) is now located in Room 254 Agricultural Administration Building. The phone and fax numbers remain the same: Gwen Wolford, 614-563-1307 (wolford.1@osu.edu); Shannon Thomas, 614-292-6165 (thomas.1211@osu.edu); and fax 614-292-6738. Check out our web site at https://cfaes.osu.edu/gov-relations.

Back to Top

County E-mail Account Reminder

-Cheryl Buck, executive assistant to the director, OSU Extension

I have had some questions lately about “general” e-mail accounts for county offices or other purposes. Please note – general county e-mail accounts were discontinued as of year-end 2012. Per university decision in 2012, our Communications team migrated all e-mail user accounts from CFAES servers to Ohio State servers. At that time, Extension made a policy decision to discontinue the use of county general e-mail accounts. It was determined that this type of e-mail account was duplication of effort and not efficient, because any Ohio State-related e-mail account must be monitored by an Ohio State employee.

The previous decision is still in place, and general email addresses for county offices do not exist. When you send announcements, etc., use your individual e-mails as the contact information for your various activities. In the case of general Extension office newsletters or other office correspondence, the responsible party can be the county Extension director or someone designated for that particular function. Again – please do NOT create county-name or other general e-mail accounts.

Back to Top

OSU Extension Listserv Reminder

-Cheryl Buck, executive assistant to the director, OSU Extension

As of August 2014, there are two listserv addresses that allow one-way distribution of information to all who have an Extension appointment.

All employees with an Extension appointment are automatically subscribed to the all-Extension listserv. You may NOT unsubscribe from the all-Extension listserv, which is the official communication tool for the organization.

The Extension-misc. listserv offers employees a place to post information of a more local office nature. The Extension-misc. listserv was populated with all Extension employees in the HR database as of August 11, 2014. You may unsubscribe from the new Extension-misc listserv at any time. New Extension employees are given information about both listservs during orientation; and they are able to subscribe to the Extension-misc. listserv at any time.

  • all-Extension (all-extension@lists.service.ohio-state.edu) – Notices related to the overall work of Extension, the college and university; updates on policies, procedures and deadlines; communications from the director of Extension. Only members of Extension Administrative Cabinet, their designated staff, and other key personnel can post to this list.
  • Extension-misc. (extension-misc@lists.service.ohio-state.edu) – Notices about workshops, surveys, EERA- and county-level activities, professional organization announcements – as well as retirement, death and birth announcements, welcome receptions, local office information related to closures, requests for assistance. Any member of the listserv can post a notice to the Extension-misc. list. You can add or remove yourself from the Extension-misc. listserv via https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/extension-misc.

*Post messages from your county office, professional organizations, etc. to the Extension-misc. listserv. If you have any questions about either listserv, contact Cheryl Buck at buck.19@osu.edu.

Back to Top

Your Plan for Health (YP4H) Reminder

We’ve waited a long time, and it finally feels like summer is here! But the summer months will go fast, so if you haven’t already, remember to set aside a few minutes to complete your Personal Health and Well-Being Assessment (PHA). To complete your PHA, you have to "know your numbers" by participating in a biometric screening or getting your biometric health values from your primary care provider (use request form). The deadline to complete your PHA is Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 11:45 p.m. Click here for more details about the PHA, biometric screening and the Your Plan for Health program.

Back to Top

Action Leadership Retreat – September 28-29

Participants are being recruited for a professional development opportunity in 2015 called Action Leadership Retreat. Designed for Extension educators (or others with similar responsibilities) with 18 months to three years of experience, the Action Leadership Retreat (ALR) is a professional development opportunity built around simulated on-the-job experiences. Led by a facilitator and two experienced Extension professionals who are trained as observers, ALR is designed to help you evaluate and reflect on your skills in 12 key areas (e.g., conflict management, communication, and interpersonal skills) important for success as an Extension professional.

Space is limited to seven participants for each event. Registrations will be accepted on a first come, first-served basis. For additional information and to register, visit https://osu.box.com/ALR2015. If you have questions, contact Graham Cochran (cochran.99@osu.edu) or Jody Termeer (termeer.1@osu.edu), OSU Leadership Center.

Back to Top

StrengthsFinder Online Workshop – June 3

As a leader it is important to know what talents you possess, that you bring to the leadership table. Do you know what strengths you possess? Every leader has his or her 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 reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success." For more information, visit 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 from 9 to 11am. Cost is $75 per participant. Register at https://regonline.com/seriesleadership.

Back to Top

Emotional Vampires at Work Workshop – June 11

Emotional vampires tend to drain the energy of everyone they encounter. These "vampires" tend to suck out your optimism and enthusiasm rather than your blood. Their toxic behaviors can range from subtle comments, to full-blown drama. These vampires, and it can be one or 100 in an organization, affect workplace productivity and lower morale.

It is essential to stop having your energy drained from you. One way is to learn how to identify the different types of behavior emotional vampires exhibit. It is also vital to learn how to keep their negativity from affecting how you work and feel about yourself.

When working with emotional vampires, we need to remember that what they say or do is a reflection of them, not us. Participants in this workshop will:

  • Learn about the different types of emotional vampire behavior.
  • Gain a better understanding about how emotional vampires affect the workplace.
  • Develop strategies for dealing with emotional vampires.

Beth Flynn is facilitating this workshop from 9am to noon, Ag Admin building, room 105. Cost is $75 per participant. Register at https://regonline.com/seriesleadership.

Back to Top

What is Your Personality Color Spectrum? Workshop – June 17

The Spectrum Temperament Development Model is a fun and exciting method for helping people better understand themselves and others. In our interactive workshops, participants are introduced to the different personality styles using the language of color. The research-based Spectrum Temperament Development Model is founded on the philosophy that individuals and organizations have the ability to increase and develop their potential if provided with applicable knowledge and skill. Spectrum development emphasizes the key components for achieving optimal success: an awareness, appreciation, and development of self and others.

Spectrum temperament development is used to help team members with positive conflict resolution, effective communication, and building strong teams. Objectives:

  • Participants will gain an understanding of their strengths, needs and motivators.
  • Participants will gain awareness about how they can improve their workplace by learning more about their co-workers.
  • Participants will learn to value the differences among the people around them.

Beth Flynn is facilitating this workshop from 9am to noon, Ag Admin building, room 105. Cost is $75 per participant. Register at https://regonline.com/seriesleadership.

Back to Top

Strengths-Based Management and Supervision Workshop – June 23

A manager's role may be the most complicated and most important role in any organization." –Gallup

The best supervisors and managers have a keen awareness of their strengths. These managers model behavior by partnering with someone whose strengths complements theirs in a way that together they are more productive. "The most successful knows how to best direct their dominant talents to engage the hearts, minds, and talents of their employees." –Gallup

There is no certain strength or set of strengths that create an effective manager. The best managers and supervisors figure out how to bring out the best of each employee’s strengths. This information can expand the manager's ability to build his or work team by selecting the right person for the right position, set high expectations for team achievement, engage employees so they are motivated to be successful, and finally through coaching and workshops, develop each member to be an active participant on the team.

This workshop will enable supervisors and managers to:

  • Appreciate their personal strengths in their role as a leader of a team.
  • Gain a better understanding and appreciation of the strengths of their team members.
  • Build upon the team's strengths to create a stronger team.

To participate in this workshop, you must have attended a StrengthsFinder awareness workshop. Beth Flynn is facilitating this workshop from 9am to noon, Ag Admin building, room 105. Cost is $75 per participant. Register at https://regonline.com/seriesleadership.

Back to Top

Mission Possible: Positive Leadership Online Workshop – June 24

Are you a positive leader? Do you wonder how others think about your attitude as a leader? A quick test is to observe the way people react to you when you walk into a room. Are people happy to see you? Do they want to talk to you? Or do they quickly make themselves scarce? If they run when they see you, it's time for an attitude check.

Negativity in organizations is costing U.S. businesses $300 billion per year. It is imperative that leaders establish a culture of positive leadership. As a leader, others look to you to set the tone for your team or organization. Being engaged and committed to a positive culture is a priority for the leader, and also for every employee in the organization. Organizations that have a positive culture are more productive, have happier employees and most importantly, happy and satisfied customers.

Leaders have a choice about their attitude – and no matter what the situation is or who is causing the negativity in your organization or team, you have a choice to make about how you are going to react. It is vital that you create positive strategies that keep the team or organization strong.

Participants will:

  • Learn new ideas for boosting their own attitude.
  • Develop strategies for creating a positive culture at work.
  • Discuss ways to increase productivity at work.
  • Improve working relationships.

Beth Flynn is facilitating this workshop from 9 to 11am. Cost is $75 per participant. Register at https://regonline.com/seriesleadership.

Back to Top