Vol. 15, No. 18  March 10, 2009

IN THIS ISSUE... 

...Word from the Director
...2009 Spring Action Conference Update
...K-State Leadership Seminar Relevant to Extension Faculty
...Strategic Opportunities Survey
...Reminder - Now's the Time to Put Your County Fair on the Master Calendar!
...Nozella Brown Receives Masters Degree
...Diversity Programs Office Update
...Marie's Picks of the Week
...Conflict Management Strategies for Extension Professionals
...Photos Now Available for Purchase
...4-H Fact Folder 4H933
...January/February Extension Agent Personnel Changes
...Master Schedule

                                                                                                           ...Tuesday Letter Archives

WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
There is a lot of budget talk these days, and it will continue until the state passes its final budget, which might not happen until May. In the meantime, I want to provide you with the information I have and answer any questions I can.

As you are aware, we handled a 4.25% rescission this year (Fiscal Year 2009). We were able to minimize significant impacts on our programs through year-long planning. For the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, we'll hear a lot from Topeka during the next few weeks/month, and we’ll see some budget drafts we like, some we won't. In May, we expect to know more, and in the meantime, we should try not to overreact to information that may not be correct.

The worst part of not knowing is the anxiety it can create. If we get too wrapped up in that anxiety, it can almost paralyze us from doing the good work we're all involved in. Remember that we are having real and positive impact on people's lives. We can't stop doing that -- it's too important.

You may have heard me say this before but our most important resources are our people. So we put people first, and stick to our core mission areas and values, through this and other challenges. We may be carrying out our missions differently, but our missions -- teaching, Extension, research -- are critical. In fact, families, producers, youth, industries, etc., in Kansas, need us more than ever as they are weathering this financial storm. So let’s keep doing good work for the people of Kansas. --Fred Cholick fcholick@ksu.edu

K-STATE LEADERSHIP SEMINAR RELEVANT TO EXTENSION FACULTY
As we look ahead to Spring Action Conference and begin thinking about the strategic opportunity breakouts, the topic of resiliency is a key theme in KSRE's efforts to "Assist Communities in Becoming Sustainable and Resilient to the Uncertainties of Economics, Wealth, Health and Security."

How can we contribute leadership to the organizations and communities we work with during these challenging and uncertain times?

How can we cultivate our own resiliency and nurture resiliency in others while leading change?

These are two key questions that the seminar will address that are especially applicable to our work.

Headlining this year’s seminar will be Julia Fabris McBride, a certified life and leadership coach, who will present "Presence, Space, and Courage: Three Doorways to Resilient Leadership." Joining McBride on the program are two K-State faculty members: Richard Baker and Michael Wesch. Baker will offer a practical look at "Change: What You Don’t Know..." and Wesch will offer his unique insights on "Invisible Leadership: Because Nobody is as Smart as Everybody." Participants will also have an opportunity to participate in two hands-on breakout sessions: "Resilient Leadership: Managing Self While Leading Change in Others," featuring Julia Fabris McBride; and "Leading Change at Every Level," an assessment of personal leadership behaviors.

Full seminar information and online registration are available at www.k-state.edu/leadershipseminar .

We look forward to seeing KSRE faculty and staff at this year's event! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu

STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES SURVEY
The Strategic Opportunities Survey was recently sent to the Counties listserv. This survey is targeted to all Program Development Committee (PDC) members in Kansas. We appreciate the support of each agent in ensuring that the survey is sent either electronically or hard copy to each PDC member in your local unit. The results of this survey will provide helpful information to be used as we focus on future planning. We will provide state-wide results to specialists in preparation for Spring Action Conference and also to individual local units.

The survey system will end on March 22. Please contact PDC members in your unit with the survey website: https://surveys.ksu.edu/TS?offeringId=110727 .

If they do not have access to internet, a pdf file of the survey is available and must be returned to the local office for input into the survey system. Contact Margaret Phillips for the pdf file.

We value the input of each PDC member in this process and appreciate your assistance in completing the project.

--Paula Peters ppeters@ksu.edu
--Pat McNally pmcnally@ksu.edu
--Pat Murphy jmurphy@ksu.edu
--Jim Lindquist jlindqui@ksu.edu
--Margaret Phillips margaret@ksu.edu 

REMINDER -- NOW'S THE TIME TO PUT YOUR COUNTY FAIR ON THE SCHEDULE
'Tis that time of year to submit the dates of your County Fair to Sue Robinson, srobinso@ksu.edu . In reality, the county fair season will begin in about four months. Both the Extension Administration Office and the State 4-H Office receive calls regarding the dates for county fairs and it would be greatly appreciated if we could get the dates listed so we would have them when we receive requests. Marie Blythe will also enter them on the Master Schedule so that we can all provide better information and service to the callers. Many thanks. --Pat McNally pmcnally@ksu.edu

NOZELLA BROWN RECEIVES MASTERS DEGREE
Nozella Brown, Wyandotte County FCS agent, has received her MS degree from Kansas State University in Adult, Vocational and Continuing Education. Congratulations Nozella! --Jim Lindquist jlindqui@oznet.ksu.edu

DIVERSITY PROGRAMS OFFICE UPDATE
The Diversity Programs Office would like to wish everyone a happy Women’s History Month. We hope that you will get out and help the university celebrate. To our knowledge, the first woman graduate in the College of Agriculture was Shirley Blanch French. She graduated in 1919 with a BS in Agriculture - Animal Husbandry.

The Diversity Programs Office has many great activities coming up including the first on campus Cargill College for a Day. This event will host high school students from the Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri area and show them what Kansas State has to offer them. The program will be held on March 31. Next, the MANRRS National Conference will be held March 26-28 in Indianapolis, Indiana. There will be twelve students from the Kansas State chapter attending. Of the twelve, four of the students won the Monsanto Scholarship that allows them to meet with Monsanto representatives and travel and attend the conference for free. These students are Oliver Freeman, doctorate student in Agronomy; Ian Smith, graduate student in Entomology; Kirsten Walker, graduate student in Animal Science; and Amber Tyler, graduate student in Ag Business. Congratulations to these scholarship winners!

If you would like more information on any of the aforementioned events, please contact your Diversity Programs Office or Dr. Zelia Z. Wiley, Assistant Dean for Diversity, at zwh@ksu.edu  or 785-532-5793. Please do not hesitate to use us as your diversity resource center. --Zelia Z. Wiley

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
College Center at K-State Salina
Sponsored by the Leadership Development & Volunteer Development Program Focus Teams

We all practice conflict management every day - at home, in our communities, and especially at work! Conflict can involve a variety of people and contexts, including interpersonal conflict such as disagreements with co-workers and clients, intergroup conflict such as disagreements among fair board members, and community-wide conflict such as disagreements over decisions made by county commissioners.

Given how common conflict situations are, you would think that we would all be pretty good at handling it, but the reality is that most people report little confidence in addressing conflict. How good we are at managing conflict is based on how skilled we are at diagnosing the cause and skillfully taking action to resolve the conflict.

This interactive workshop will offer Extension professionals an excellent opportunity to:

* Assess their personal styles/approaches to dealing with conflict
* Learn how to recognize conflict and identify the drivers of conflict situations
* Develop communication skills and constructive behaviors to effectively manage conflict
* Practice positive interaction and facilitation of conflict situations based on real-life examples from Extension
* Gain insights & practical advice from seasoned Extension colleagues who manage conflict effectively

The registration fee is $50 and includes workshop materials, lunch, and parking permit. The deadline to register is April 1. Early registration is encouraged - seating is limited to 30 participants. The workshop flyer and registration form are posted at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/employee_resources/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=206 . --Sarah Maass semaass@k-state.edu

PHOTOS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
Interested in purchasing a photo from K-State Research and Extension? Or do the parents of a 4-Her want a photo of their child taken at an official event? Photos taken by Dan Donnert, photographer for K-State Research and Extension, are now available for purchase by simply visiting the K-State Research and Extension Photo Gallery at http://kstatephoto.zenfolio.com/ .

In addition, photos can be imprinted on other items such as mugs, t-shirts, aprons, canvas bags, cards, and photo statuettes. Links to the gallery also are found on the news web page, www.ksre.ksu.edu/news , and the photography page, www.communications.ksu.edu/photography .

Photos from 4-H Citizenship in Action and 4-H Day with the Cats are two of the photo collections available at the Photo Gallery. Contacts are Elaine Edwards, elainee@ksu.edu ; or Dan Donnert, ddonnert@ksu.edu . --Elaine Edwards

4-H FACT FOLDER 4H933
The 4-H Fact Folder, 4H933, that appears on the June order form, are in packages of 20 for $5.20, instead of packages of 10 for $2.60. Please plan your orders accordingly.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY EXTENSION AGENT PERSONNEL CHANGES
Rebecca Bandli, Horticulture Agent in Sedgwick County, changed her name to Rebecca McMahon on January 3, 2009. Her e-mail address is rmcmahon@ksu.edu .

Mark Flory, 4-H Youth Development Agent in Douglas County, transferred from Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Miami County on February 8, 2009.

Erin Bishop, Family Life Agent for the Ft. Riley Extension Military Program, began employment on February 9, 2009. Her e-mail address is erbish@ksu.edu .

Jeremy Nelson, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Cowley County, resigned effective February 27, 2009.

Sara Mietzner, Child Development Agent for the Ft. Riley Extension Military Program, began employment on February 23, 2009. Her e-mail address is mietzner@ksu.edu .

Debra Wood, Family Resource Agent for the Ft. Riley Extension Military Program, began employment on February 23, 2009. Her e-mail address is dwood@ksu.edu .

Susan Schoneweis, Nutrition Agent for the Ft. Riley Extension Military Program, began employment on February 23, 2009. Her e-mail address is sschonew@ksu.edu .
--Stacey Warner swarner@ksu.edu

VIEW THE MASTER SCHEDULE OR ADD NEW ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

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Please Submit Items no later than Noon on Monday to include in the following Tuesday Letter to:
tuesday@oznet.ksu.edu . Put the word "Tuesday" in the subject line.

K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.