Dear Colleagues,
This
week I had an opportunity to see two exciting examples of Extension's work with
University undergraduate and graduate students. The first was a 4-H aquatic
remote operated vehicle (ROV), created with students and faculty from the U's
department of electrical and computer engineering. The second was a capstone
project by Humphrey Institute graduate students to assist Extension in
responding to increasingly diverse and interdependent domestic and global
needs.
4-H's aquatic robotics program includes more than 4,000 4-H youth who
learn how to build ROVs and use them for water testing and other projects. 4-H
needed an ROV that could withstand currents and dive deeper. Extension faculty
worked with the student and faculty engineers to develop the new ROV prototype.
The next step is for the engineering and Extension faculty and students to make
the 200-pound prototype lighter and more accessible so it can be built and used
by 4-H youth.
Several
graduate students from the U's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs completed
their Capstone projects with Extension. They developed tools and resources that
will assist Extension staff in incorporating global dynamics and cultural
knowledge in Extension programs. You will be hearing more about those resources
from Renee Pardello and Dick Senese in the coming months.
These
are just two examples of the valuable ways Extension can engage University
students and faculty from colleges we have not worked with in the past. In the
process, we expose students to Extension who may never have considered
Extension as a future career choice, they gain experience working in
communities, and we benefit from their knowledge and expertise.
I
look forward to seeing more examples of Extension's engagement with U
undergraduate and graduate students.
Bev Durgan
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The
White Earth Academy of Math and Science, now in its 15th year, began when
members of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe challenged the University of
Minnesota to help engage struggling students in math and science. Extension and
its partner colleges initially collaborated with White Earth representatives
and the local Circle of Life School to produce a fun, hands-on, outdoor focused
summer academy that builds powerful connections among academics, outdoor
activities and the Ojibwe culture. The program has now expanded to include
students from the Naytahwaush Community Charter School, Pine Point and Mahnomen
Public Schools. Reservation elders, natural resource managers and University
faculty and graduate students are all involved in teaching students that math,
science and engineering are part of their daily lives. To learn more about the
White Earth Academy of Math and Science, contact Deb at dzak@umn.edu.
Jane Johnson
Development Director
Staff
can attend via UMConnect. Registration is required. Visit the Human Resources section of the Extension intranet for
registration instructions and more information about the webinar, as well as a
link to previous session recordings.
For additional questions, please contact Ying Iverson.
Ying Iverson
Director, Professional
Development
Chairman--Tom
Halbach
Vice-chair--Jill May
Secretary--Denise Trudeau-Poskas
Executive members at-large--Jennifer Skuza, Susanne Hinrichs
Past Chair (ex-officio)--Jerry Tesmer
EFCC's
role is to regularly consult with the dean on strategic planning, policy and
major structural changes, as well as anticipated changes in allocation of
Extension resources. Such consultation provides feedback on issues and/or
policy changes early in the development process and before they are
implemented. The EFCC is one of the first significant sources of internal
advice that the dean seeks during the policy planning and development process.
By using this process, Extension administration gets timely, quality advice and
greater organization-wide engagement on critical decisions.
Jerry Tesmer
Past Chair, EFCC
Extension Educator, Ag
Production Systems
If a journal publisher uses DOIs, they will usually print the DOI somewhere on the first page of the article.
Some of the online resources used to search for articles on topics will supply DOIs in the citations. View the full citation to see if a DOI is included.
Can't find the DOI? You can always contact me at meye0539@umn.edu, and I will try to locate it.
Kristen Mastel
Outreach and Instruction Librarian
In addition to general Extension templates, Extension offers templates and resources specific to each center, and several programs including 4-H, CYFC, Cooking Matters and Health and Nutrition.
Templates exist for info sheets, brochures, flyers, posters, postcards, name tags, tent cards, etc., and should be used for all Extension educational and program marketing materials created by staff. These materials--when used consistently across centers and programs--strengthen Extension's visual brand and help make our materials instantly recognizable to our audiences.
Based on feedback received from the educational and program marketing survey conducted in December 2012, we will continue to create and refine the tools and resources that support and make it easy to apply Extension's visual brand. For questions or comments about these resources, please contact Sarah Bjorkman.
Sarah Bjorkman
Internal Communications & Brand Manager
Vince Fritz,
Extension horticulturist and professor in the Department of Horticultural
Science, has won the 2013 American Society for Horticultural Science
Outstanding Extension Educator award, which recognizes contributions for 10 or
more years in horticultural science.
Jeff Gunsolus,
crops program leader and professor of agronomy and plant genetics, received the
2012-13 CFANS Distinguished Extension/Outreach Award. This award recognizes
significant contributions that link the University to the citizens of Minnesota.
The President's Award for
Outstanding Service recognizes exceptional service to the University by any
active or retired faculty or staff member. Award recipients have gone above and
beyond in their commitment to the University. Congratulations to Emily Hoover,
Extension horticulturist and professor and head of & the Department of
Horticultural Science.
Alicia Webb, 4-H program coordinator, Yellow Medicine County, 4/29/2013
Hannah Wall, 4-H program coordinator, Mille lacs County, 4/29/2013
Joshua Kukowski, Extension educator, Youth Development, Regional Office, Moorhead, /10/13
]]>Last week I had two opportunities to see Extension from both the national level and the local level. Both perspectives reinforced that we have much to be proud of in Minnesota.
During the annual Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) conference held April 22-24 in Washington, D.C., Minnesota was well represented. Rebecca Hagen Jokela, Extension educator in family resource management received the Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) Excellence in Teamwork award for the "Intergenerational Land Transfer Class," and presented a snapshot of the award-winning program. Conference speakers also included Extension Economist Laura Kalambokidis presenting "You Can Understand and Effectively Communicate the Public Value of Cooperative Extension," and Extension Climatologist Mark Seeley presenting "Minnesota's Climate Adaptation Program: Addressing Climate Literacy and Advancing Adaptive Planning."
Several Extension staff attended the conference and visited the offices of Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Representatives Keith Ellison, John Kline, Betty McCollum, Rick Nolan, Collin Peterson and Tim Walz to advocate for Extension by telling their stories about how Extension is addressing current issues and challenges in their Minnesota districts. The Extension delegates included Jennifer Garbow, Extension educator in family resource management; Ellie McCann, Extension educator in families in transition; Ryan Pesch, Extension educator in community economics; Betsy Wieland, Extension educator in ag production systems; Tracy Ignaszewski, 4-H program coordinator; Andrea Lorek Strauss, Extension educator in environmental science education; Kathy Olson, coordinator for planning for school success; David Benson, CARET delegate; Sarah Greening, chief of staff; and Gwen Gmeinder, government relations associate.
I returned from Washington to attend the Extension Staff Conference, where nearly 300 of our local and regional staff gathered to build skills, learn more about Extension and share their great stories.
I had the pleasure of presenting the Distinguished Dean's Staff awards to four staff who help Extension make a difference in Minnesota. We are very proud to have such dedicated and excellent staff within Extension! I encourage you to congratulate them for all their efforts.
Bev Durgan
]]>Faculty and P&A
The Extension academic salary increase process will be managed by center associate deans and administrative unit directors who will receive tools and instructions to manage the merit salary decision process. This decision process will occur in time for the final budgeting process. Promotions in the Extension academic rank system will be processed separately.
Civil Service
Extension civil service employees are not currently in a merit system, so the increase for this group is distributed across the board (see related "Civil Service Salary Increases" article in this issue of enews).
Bargaining Unit
AFSCME Clerical Unit 6 and AFSCME Technical Unit 7 salary increase information will be available in these respective contracts as soon as contract negotiations are finalized. Each unit typically negotiates a slightly different salary increase agreement.
For more information, visit the 2014 fiscal year compensation plan website, or contact Leslee Mason with questions, 612-624-4205 or lam@umn.edu
David Werner
Chief Operating Officer
and
Leslee Mason
Human Resources Director
Assuming the University's compensation pool is approved by the legislature and the Board of Regents, the annual pay increase for Extension Civil Service employees beginning July 2013 will be 2.5% across the board. More complete information is available in the Civil Service Rules and the Compensation Plan.
Beginning July 2014: Merit-based Salary Increases for Civil Service* Positions
In Spring 2014, assuming there are salary increases, the current across-the-board salary increase process for Civil Service employees will change to an annual salary increase based on merit (performance). Examples of Extension Civil Service employees include: 4-H program coordinators, community program specialists, accountant IIs, etc.
The next performance evaluation cycle--based on performance in the calendar year 2013--will include an overall performance evaluation rating. Each unit head will then distribute salary increase dollars to civil service employees based on merit. Instructions about the civil service performance evaluation process will be available later in the fall. Instructions about the civil service salary increase process will be available next spring.
For questions, contact your supervisor or Extension Human Resources: Leslee Mason, 612-624-4205, lam@umn.edu; or Deb Page, 612-626-8709, brick007@umn.edu.
*This information does not apply to AFSCME represented positions.
Leslee Mason
Human Resources Director
Staff can attend in-person on the Twin Cities campus (401 Coffey Hall) or join online via UMConnect. To register for this session, visit the Human Resources section of the Extension intranet.
For additional questions, please contact Ying Iverson at iversony@umn.edu or 612-626-3565.
Ying Iverson
Director, Professional Development
If you have data you wish to retain from UMSurvey, you will need to export the data before August 2. Instructions for how to export your data are available on the UMSurvey "Accessing Your Data" web page under "Exporting Results." A forthcoming transition plan will include how to create a Qualtrics account, access to training, how to migrate some surveys, and how to upload your CSV files. Please see the UMSurvey website for more information about this transition.
If you need to create a new survey during this transition, you may use Survey Monkey. Contact the Extension IT Service Desk for information on how to access Survey Monkey. You may also contact umsurvey@umn.edu for assistance with your survey planning needs.
Karen Matthes
Organizational Training Unit Director
University users can login using their University Internet x.500 ID and password in order to access training videos available on lynda.umn.edu.
Karen Matthes
Organizational Training Unit Director
Gwen Gmeinder
Government Relations Associate