The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
(Vol. 19 No. 43)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Every time I talk with new or potential employees, I emphasize that we only hire individuals we believe will be successful in their work. Additionally, I consider it our collective responsibility to mentor and provide appropriate support to help them develop. Mentoring and making new employees feel a part of the organization is important. Read on about a couple studies focused on retention of Extension professionals within an organization.
"Job embeddedness theory" offers a method of discovering why people remain with an organization. This theory examines an individual's links to other
people, their perception of how they fit in the organization and their
beliefs of what they would sacrifice if they left their job.
In October 2011,
Kansas extension agents participated in a survey designed to measure
their job embeddedness. The results of this survey were published in the
most recent edition of the Journal of Extension.
The authors
concluded that while the agents in the two states that participated in
the study had high retention rates, the participants also had lower
than expected "intent to stay." Recommendations included exploring ways
to decrease night and weekend activities, keeping starting salaries
competitive, providing recruits with realistic job expectations and
developing a formal exit interview process.
To learn more go follow this link: Journal of Extension August 2013 // Volume 51 // Number 4 // 4FEA7.
Further research on employee retention is also within this volume of the Journal of Extension. The following link takes you to a study focusing on Extension professionals with less than 6 years employment and the importance of job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and the likelihood of separating from employment. Journal of Extension August 2013 // Volume 51 // Number 4 // 4RIB1. More lessons learned.
The
Journal of Extension is the official refereed journal of the U. S.
Cooperative Extension System. JOE expands and updates the research and
knowledge base for Extension professionals to improve their
effectiveness. It is published exclusively as a web-based periodical. To
subscribe go to: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/joe.list.
My thanks to Ms. Stacey Warner for pointing to this information, and to all of you who provided survey information to the authors at the University of Kentucky Extension.
Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
DO YOU NEED A NEW NAME BADGE?
All
participants attending the upcoming Annual Conference, October 22-24,
2013, will be asked to wear their K-State Research and Extension
name badges.
If you have never received a name badge, if you
still have one of the old variety, or if you wish to purchase a new
badge, email Sue Robinson, srobinso@ksu.edu.
Be
sure to specify the kind of backing you want - magnet, clip or pin -
and specify how you want your name on the badge. There is not room for
titles, but department, area, county, district, or research center will
be shown.
Each new employee, at
the instructor level or above, receives his/her first name badge free
of charge. Counties, districts, areas and departments are encouraged to
order name badges for other employees and will be invoiced in the
amount of $4.50 for each name badge.
If a new name badge is
needed, please order as soon as possible so you can receive them in plenty of time for
Annual Conference. --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
ATCHISON COUNTY EXTENSION TO HOST DARE TO BE YOU TRAINING SEPTEMBER 9-11
Atchison will be the host site for the upcoming September 9-11 Dare To Be You training. Created by Colorado Extension, Dare To Be You is an evidence based program that has proven to be effective in helping families
to a path of self-efficacy. Cited as a SAMHSA evidence based program
as well as a OJJDP model program, Dare To Be You has proven to be
effective in helping families prepare children for school and reducing risk behaviors.
DARE is an acronym for the key constructs of the program:
Decision-making, reasoning skills, and solving problems
Assertive communication and social skills
Responsibility (internal locus of control/attributions) and role models
Esteem, efficacy, and empathy
Dare
To Be You program components are based on ecological models of human
development, social cognitive theory, and theories of reasoning about
moral and social problems. DTBY efforts include community, school,
child care provider and parenting programs. Those attending this
training will be certified to implement a local Dare To Be You program for preschool families in their local community. However, information shared during the training will be beneficial to
extension staff across a variety of disciplines including family
and consumer sciences, youth development and community
development.
To learn more about Dare To Be You, click on www.coopext.colostate.edu/DTBY/.
Normal
registration fees to attend this training are $500 per person. However, grant funding has provided an opportunity to offer DTBY
training in the Atchison community. At this time, a few openings are available for KSRS staff and their community partners
to attend at a reduced fee of $60 per person. In addition, a
limited number of partial scholarships are also available.
For
further information, contact the Atchison County Extension Office
at at@listserv.ksu.edu. You may also contact Diane Nielson, FCS Agent, at 913-833-5450. --Diane Nielson
KANSAS GROW 4-H GRANTS – FALL 2013 RFA
At their Board of Trustees meeting in April, the Kansas 4-H Foundation approved changing the Grow 4-H Grant cycle for single and multiple Extension Units to twice a year, rather than just once. The Kansas 4-H Foundation is Providing $10,000 to help you initiate those innovative ideas and projects you’ve dreamed of doing to help grow 4-H participation in your Extension Units.
Two types of grants are available:
1) The Single Extension Unit or “Mini” Proposal requesting up to $1,000 with a two dollar award for each one dollar requested match required. [In other words, if you request the maximum amount, you must identify $550 in new match funds to add to the $1,000 for a total of $1,500 to work with!] THIS IS A ONE PAGE APPLICATION!
2) The Multi-Extension Unit Proposal requesting up to $3,000 with a one dollar award for each one dollar requested match required. [In other words, if you request the maximum amount, you must identify $3,000 in new match funds to add to the $3,000 for a total of $6,000 to work with!] THIS IS A MULTI-PAGE APPLICATION!
It is preferred that matching funds be committed by new funding partners from within the project impact area. The proposed efforts must be completed or operating by March 1, 2014, when your report will be due.
Final proposals are due by close of business (5 p.m. CDT) on Tuesday, October 15. Grantees will be announced approximately May 1, 2013. The RFA will be posted on the 4-H Website under Resources: Innovative Programs/Funding Opportunities. A hard copy will also be sent in your Thursday mailing, September 5.
To assist you in your proposal preparation, Rhonda Atkinson and I will host conference calls on Thursday, September 12, 11 a.m. (CDT).
Dial-in number: 1-866-620-7326
Conference Code: 3159476378
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions. These grants provide an excellent source of dollars to expand your 4-H Positive Youth Development programming and in the 4-H Mission Areas of Science, Healthy Living, and Citizenship/Leadership. --Gary W. Gerhard ggerhard@ksu.edu
EXTENSION PLAYS A ROLE; CREATIVE ARTS INDUSTRY RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDING
Earlier this year, the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) was working on a strategic plan. As a newly formed state commission, they had developed a mission statement and had established goals to advance the Arts in Kansas - but they were seeking a way of collecting public feedback on their plans.
Enter Kansas State University. Working with the KSU Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, a series of facilitated meetings were scheduled across the state where-in the public could listen to the KCAIC strategic plans and provide important feedback. These listening sessions were facilitated by participants from the ICDD Public Issues Facilitation workshop. Five KSRE representatives stepped up to co-facilitate public meetings in Fort Scott, Lawrence, Kansas City, Emporia, Hays, Salina, and Garden City. The information was transcribed and reported back to the KCAIC.
The happy ending? Last week, it was announced that the KCAIC received $560,000 in Federal Arts grant funds to support the expansion of the arts in Kansas. (http://cjonline.com/news/business/2013-08-28/560k-national-arts-grant-restored-kansas). --Dan Kahl dankahl@ksu.edu
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