The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
(Vol. 19 No. 19)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Difference Makers Blog... What's Extension? Why? Imagine there are no PDCs. High tech and high touch. Why I do what I do. Click on this link to take a read. I am really enjoying reading the thoughts of others, always in the context of how do we strengthen and improve as a system and as an organization. I've been impressed in how these articles provide some sense of grounding within how we approach our work.
Vision 2025 has placed our focus on being the best we can
be. The urgency is conveyed through the
challenge to reach a set of goals by 2025.
As we identify such goals, I find myself measuring the validity of the
goal, or the measure/metric to define progress against the fundamental
principles upon which Cooperative Extension functions. Will this goal truly help us to advance to
the "WHY" we exist? If Chuck
Otte is conveying the true "WHY" in his Difference Makers guest blog, then everything in our strategic
plan should be about how to move the organization in a direction whereby we
collectively make an even bigger difference tomorrow than we are able to do
today, and to make that difference in such a way that strengthens and advances
our collective mission of ultimately improving the economic and social well being of the people of Kansas.
Our Extension administrative team spent some time this past
week discussing strategic planning for the Extension mission of KSRE. It has been 8 years since we went through a
process. The document that came out of
that process is available through this link, http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/bookstore/pubs/strategic.pdf. A part of our exercise in preparing
for the next strategic planning process specifically focused on Extension is to review this current plan and
identify progress made towards those goals.
We believe that will help to provide a path towards where we need to be
going in the next several years and to align well with the broader combined KSRE/College of Agriculture plan.
The administrative team also set forth the beginnings of some “Belief Statements”
regarding K-State Research and Extension and why we do what we do.
- We believe that all people should have the opportunity to
improve their lives.
- We believe science, discovery, knowledge, and understanding
are the foundation to creating solutions.
- We believe educational experiences and opportunities are the
best way in which to truly change for the better.
And, the list of belief statements could, and should go
on. These beliefs effectively express
why and to some extent how we do what we do. A later step would be to identify
“what” we should be doing because of our why and how. That’s all part of the strategic planning
process.
For today it is good to remind ourselves of the why, as
Chuck reminds us so well within his Difference Makers guest blog, “It’s about
making a difference.” Have a great
week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
NATIONAL URBAN EXTENSION CONFERENCE EARLY-BIRD REGISTRATION
2013 National Urban Extension Conference
Save
$50 on Early-Bird Registration through March 31. Enjoy Exciting
Concurrent Sessions & Networking. Topics
Include:
- Building
cultural competencies.
- Strategies
to build community capacity with diverse audiences.
- Building
strategic collaborative partnerships.
- Innovative
funding with public-private partnerships.
- Technologies
for delivering urban programs.
- Contemporary
and emerging issues in urban extension programming.
- Strengthen
programming effectiveness through networking.
- Techniques
to evaluate, document and communicate positive impacts.
Join nearly 300 Extension
professionals at the 2013 National Urban Extension Conference in Overland Park,
Kansas, May 6-9, 2013. Register online at http://www.dce.k-state.edu/conf/urban-extension/. --Jim Lindquist jlindqui@ksu.edu
WORKSHOP TO FOCUS ON DEVELOPING ONLINE FOOD COOPERATIVES
The first in a series of workshops focused on “Food Hubs and Co-ops: How local family farms can feed our communities” will be offered April 6, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. in the Highland Community College’s Klinefelter Barn, 1774 230th St., Hiawatha, KS. The workshop will focus on how to form partnerships and food cooperatives. A second workshop exploring “Organization of Food Hubs” will be held later in the year.
Nationally known speakers will share success stories from their regions. Confirmed presenters include Kim Barker, producer and founding board member, Oklahoma Food Cooperative; Darryl L.Birkenfeld, director, Ogallala Commons; Chris Schmidt & Chris Sramek, founding board members, High Plains Food Coop; Bob Mailander, former director, Rocky Mountain Cooperative Development Center; Vincent Amanor-Boadu, associate professor of agribusiness economics and management at Kansas State University; and Dan Nagengast, Lawrence, KS farmer and former tomato processing co-op board member.
The workshop will feature a break out session allowing individual discussion and Q & A with presenters. The Glacial Hills Food Center, operated by Glacial Hills RC&D, will also be highlighted along with Jeff Downing, general manager of the Midwest Regional Agency, who will cover general and product liability insurance for direct market farms. The Brown County Healthy Foods Coalition will provide an update on its Postage Stamp Production Project.
A chuck wagon lunch and refreshments will be served and a registration fee of $25 will be charged to cover expenses, food, and handouts. Complete event information and registration can be found at http://foodhubsandco-ops.blogspot.com/. For questions, contact Mary Howell, kfu.mary@gmail.com, or Gary Satter, gary.satter@glacialhillsrcd.com.
Sponsoring organizations are Kansas Farmers Union, Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (KS-SARE), Glacial Hills RC&D, Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops (KSCAAC), Kansas Rural Center, Brown County Healthy Foods Coalition, Glacial Hills Food Center, and Highland Community College. --Kerri Ebert kebert@ksu.edu
CAMPUS EMAIL UPGRADE PROJECT
Kansas State University has selected Microsoft Office 365 as the next email system to replace Zimbra. A deadline of July has been set for making the switch over to Office 365 has been announced by CIO Ken Stafford. At this time a core implementation team is being formed and Communications and Ag Education, Technology will have involvement in that team.
The full announcement follows:
From CIO Ken Stafford: Microsoft 365 to replace current university email system
Dear Colleagues and Students,
In July the university's email system will switch over
to Microsoft 365, a full-featured email client used by professionals
around the world. Among the enhancements you are likely to see are
improved reliability, enhanced security and spam and phishing
protection, more robust calendar features, and compliance with federal
data locations and security - a necessity for K-Staters working with
federally funded grants. Users who forward their email to open systems
like Google, Yahoo and Hotmail will still be able to forward email to
such systems.
An email committee has worked during the past six
months examining options for our current Zimbra email system due to
support issues that led to lengthy outages. As part of this analysis,
the committee consulted broadly with students, faculty and staff on
desired features and preferences for a new email system. I appreciate
the work of the committee and those who offered input throughout this
effort.
The options discussed with President Schulz and Provost
Mason included Microsoft 365, Google, and Zimbra with a different
service provider. The decision to transition to Microsoft 365 was based
on several compelling reasons in addition to the enhancements listed
above.
- Superior support services offered by Microsoft.
- The Microsoft 365 Suite mimics the MS Office Suite on computers.
- More robust features in the calendar.
- Availability of a professional migration path rather than relying on faculty and staff to migrate from one system to the other.
- Microsoft 365 has a backend of Exchange, the email system of
corporate America, which many of our graduates will work with when
entering the workplace.
The transition to a new email system can be a challenging process. We are just beginning the planning stages and will undertake the
transition this summer. ITS will keep you informed of plans and progress
in the coming months, including through announcements in K-State Today
and a website now in development that will include information and
frequently asked questions about Microsoft 365. Please contact me at kens@k-state.edu with any questions or concerns you might have as we move forward to improve our email and calendaring services.
Sincerely,
Ken Stafford
CIO and vice provost for information technology services
If you have questions feel free to send them to KSREsupport-L@listserv.ksu.edu. --Larry Havenstein lhavenst@ksu.edu
TRUE COLORS CERTIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES
True Colors is a model of personality identification that is easy to understand, remember and apply. It can help you explore your own and others' distinctive personality strengths and stressors. K-State Research and Extension uses True Colors with our professionals to help them learn to appreciate differences in the ways people function and better understand relationship building, effective communication and team effort.
K-State Research and Extension is interested in helping support a few individuals complete the certification training if they are also willing to be part of a team that will facilitate True Colors presentations for our professionals. Several individuals will be selected from those expressing interest. Please contact Margaret Phillips by May 1, 2013, if you are interested in being part of a team.
Upcoming True Colors workshops closest to Kansas include: Denver - St. Louis - July 24 to 26, Chicago - September 26 to 28, and Austin - December 4 to 6, 2013. For more detailed information and registration, go to TrueColors.com. Select Workshops from the menu at the top of the page. Then from the right hand column you will find dates, locations and registration.
Individuals who are currently certified to conduct seminars workshops or presentations include Libby Curry, Sarah Keatley, Melinda Daily, Fran Richmond, Gayle Price, Kathy Tharman and Ann Domsch. --Margaret Phillips margaret@ksu.edu
KAE4-HA SPRING MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
"Join the the Professional Development Revolution" by attending the spring meeting of Kansas Association of Extension 4-H Agents, April 30 and May 1 in Wichita. The conference will immediately follow Spring Action Conference. It will begin on Tuesday afternoon, followed by a group dinner in Old Town Wichita. Wednesday will feature two speakers and the association meeting, concluding at 2:30 p.m.
Danny
Johnson, Staff Development Specialist at the Kansas Department for
Children and Families at the Wichita Regional office, will present
“Understanding Poverty.” Participants will explore some of the hidden rules of class, and by
creating the mental models, the stark differences will be illustrated among the
three classes in America.
Dr. Jay Johnson, Associate Professor of Business at Friends
University, Wichita, KS, will present “Supervision 101.” His interactive group session will include: - What
not to do in supervising
- Attributes
to have in your supervisory skill set
- Self-assessment
tool to identify personal strengths/growth challenges
- Resource
list for further information
Cost for the conference will be $70 for KAE4-HA members and new hires since last annual conference and $100 for non members. Registration includes three meals, breaks, and materials. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hyatt so you can continue your reservation at the same price as Spring Action Conference.
Additional
information is posted to the KAE4-HA web page, http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/agent_association/p.aspx?tabid=59.
Registration will be online at http://tinyurl.com/2013KAE4HA.
For questions, contact: Brenda Taxeras, chair, Leavenworth County; or Deryl Waldren, NW Area Office. --Jodi Besthorn besthorn@ksu.edu
WEEK 4 – GET FINANCIALLY PREPARED – TAKE STEPS AHEAD OF DISASTER CHALLENGE
Prepare an Emergency Supply Kit. Does your family or office have a basic emergency supply kit? A well-stocked kit will contain food, water, and medications as well as clothing and personal care items, a first aid kit, household supplies, and cleaning products. Depending on your personal situation there may be additional types of items.
Join fellow K-State Research and Extension staff in participating in the Get Financially Prepared Challenge being held by theFamily Resource Management PFT. Throughout the month of March, complete activities to prepare your home or workplace ahead of a disaster.
It is not too late to register for the challenge! Click here to register for the challenge. Or,use this link, https://kstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6Pw25VNcKvmJGfP.
Challenge tasks are listed below. Details for completing each task are posted on our blog, https://blogs.ksre.ksu.edu/getfinanciallyprepared/. We will also post updates and other useful information on the blog throughout the month.
You have the entire month to complete the Challenge. To help you stay on track, track your progress weekly.
Week 4 Activities:- Inventory your emergency supplies or create an emergency supply kit.
- Review your auto insurance coverage.
- Inventory at least 1 room in your house.
- Complete your grab-and-go kit. Make sure family members know where the kit is located.
- Identify what to do in a power outage.
--Family Resource Management Program Focus Team – Elizabeth Kiss dekiss4@ksu.edu & Jamie Rathbun jrathbun@ksu.edu
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