The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
(Vol. 20 No. 7)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
The K-State Today message on Monday, December 9, included a message from President Schulz. I've copied one paragraph out of his message that relates directly to communications to our state legislators through the KSRE network.
I am working with Dr. Sue Peterson, Director of Gov't Relations, on some key messages for Board members, community leaders, and advocates for K-State Research and Extension to consider as they talk with their local legislators. The target is to have those messages to you and your board members in early January. The goal is to develop the case for our legislature to restore reductions made to K-State, including
Research and Extension, in FY2014 and FY2015 (current and next year).
I also emphasize how important it is that we have Board Members from EVERY LOCAL UNIT attending Partnership meetings in late January, as we will be talking strategies for communicating value of the investment of public dollars for Research and Extension. WE NEED ANY AND ALL BOARD MEMBERS ATTENDING PARTNERSHIP MEETINGS! The Partnership meeting is a communication and dialog among the Local Board members and the Extension administration. Board member presence and participation is critical in setting future direction for Extension. These discussions will also have value for board members as they justify the investment of local, state, and federal dollars into Extension across the state. As you know, Board member advocacy carries more validity and importance to an elected official than your voice or mine. While we can provide clarity and background, our Board members and public supporters provide the real value.
From Dr. Schulz's letter to the campus (December 9 K-State Today):
Funding and Legislature — We heard many comments about
how we could improve our communications with elected officials on the
value of higher education to Kansas. Additional comments suggested that
we redo our communications strategy on why supporting K-State is needed
for our future. Additionally, several people suggested we more
effectively utilize K-State Research and Extension personnel in
legislative advocacy. We are working with K-State Communications and
Marketing and Sue Peterson in Governmental Relations to implement
different communication strategies for the 2014 legislative session.
Thanks for your great work, and have a productive week! - Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
2013 FINAL ORDER DATE FOR COMMUNICATION SERVICES, PRINTING AND BOOKSTORE PURCHASES
Fiscal year-end is approaching for K-State Research and Extension local unit offices. In order to ensure all calendar year 2013 activity is invoiced prior to the holiday break in December, the Department of Communications and Agricultural Education and University Printing is asking that all requests for communication services, printing, and bookstore purchases be initiated by Friday, December 13, 2013. Final statements will be mailed on December 24, 2013.
Items ordered after December 13, 2013, will be invoiced in calendar year 2014.
If you have questions or need to place an order, please contact us:University Printing: 785-532-6308 or uprint@k-state.edu
Thank you and happy holidays! --Gina Nixon gnixon@ksu.edu
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR K-STATE EXCELLENCE IN ENGAGEMENT AWARDS
Established in 2011 by the office of the provost, the Kansas State University Excellence in Engagement awards are given to highlight excellence in engaged scholarship via research, teaching or outreach.
These awards recognize K-State Research and Extension and campus faculty initiatives that demonstrate innovative or sustained efforts in university and community engagement positively impacting both university and community partners.
Engagement is "a form of research, teaching or service in which collaborative efforts between university and community stakeholders result in scholarly activity and community benefit around a public issue."
Eligibility: Any campus faculty, professional staff or extension professional.
Each award is $2,500. Awards may go to an individual or a partnership team.
Application opened: December 1, 2013
Submission materials due: February 1, 2014
Approximate announcement date: February 15, 2014
Number of awards: Two
For more information regarding the application, the award and past winners, please visit www.k-state.edu/cecd/initiatives/ExcellenceInEngagementAward.html. --Dan Kahl dankahl@ksu.edu
REVIEW DATA IN ACCESS FOR ES-237 REPORT
As we emphasized at the recent Area 4-H Updates, the accuracy of your
local 4-H enrollment data as reported in ACCESS is critical! Please review your Extension unit’s 2013 ES-237
Report in ACCESS using this link: https://enrollment2.4-h.org/reports/program_year_reports/364245?sha=3f4804d22ed854611a2247f52ddc971cd4c42b9.
To do this, please work with the person who is responsible for
maintaining your ACCESS data. If you cannot log into the ACCESS 4-H
Enrollment System, obtain a copy of your Extension unit’s ES-237 report from
the ACCESS user in your local office. The report should accurately reflect 2013 4-H programming
efforts in your county/district.
This data is part of Kansas’ commitment to receiving federal funding. All 4-H
Participation totals are essential, including youth development and outreach
using 4-H curricula. If a combination of at least 6 contact hours were spent
with a group of non 4-H’ers, it must be recorded in ACCESS as a Group
Enrollment.
Examples/ definitions :
Special Interest/Short Term Programs
School Enrichment Programs
Individual Study/Mentoring/Family Learning Programs
After-School Programs using 4-H curricula Instructional TV/Video/Web Programs
If you have concerns that your Extension’s ES-237 is
inaccurate, please investigate immediately. Corrections must be made by Monday,
December 16. If assistance is needed to enter data or locate errors, please
contact Terry Williams at tewillia@ksu.edu
or 785-532-5800.
If your Extension unit’s ES-237 report is accurate,
please complete this form: https://docs.google.com/form/d/1YMYlImvJfxCvGzvXnXChdpQLN1U56i8ySWtZxRO4k8M/viewform.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. --Barbara Stone bjstone@ksu.edu
PLANS FOR REDUCING NORMAL UNIVERSITY ACTIVITY FOR THE 2013/2014 HOLIDAY SEASON
During the 2013/2014 Holiday Season, the University will close its normal operations from Wednesday, December 25, 2013, through Wednesday, January 1, 2014, and will reopen for business on Thursday, January 2, 2014. Following is further information pertaining to this period of reduced university activity. Please share this information with your employees.
USE OF LEAVE
Officially observed state holidays during the holiday period are Wednesday, December 25, 2013, and Wednesday, January 1, 2014. The normal workdays affected during this period of campus closing are December 26, 27, 30 and 31, 2013.
Classified and unclassified non-exempt employees not required to work during this period may use a combination of the following types of leave:
a) 1-1/2 days of holiday time earned for working the Veterans Day holiday
b) calendar year 2014 discretionary holiday, or
c) accumulated vacation or compensatory time
If no leave is available, or if the employee prefers, he/she may use leave without pay with supervisor’s approval.
Twelve-month unclassified employees who do not perform their duties during this period may use vacation, 2014 discretionary holiday, equivalent time earned for working the Veterans Day Holiday or leave without pay.
Questions about classified and unclassified employee leave should be directed to the Division of Human Resources at 532-6277.
County and district offices will follow the holiday schedule that they adopted at their joint board meeting. --Cindy Bontrager, Interim Vice President for Administration and Finance
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR CAREGIVERS
Evidenced-based program, Powerful Tools for Caregivers, leader
training will be offered in Kansas to interested agents in 2014. The 6-week PTC class has been shown to have a
positive impact on caregiver health for a diverse group of caregivers including
rural, ethnic minorities, adult children
of aging parents, well-spouses/partners, caregivers at differing stages of
their caregiving role, living situations, financial and Educational
backgrounds.
PTC is based on the highly successful Chronic Disease
Self-Management Program developed by Dr. Kate Lorig and her colleagues at
Stanford University. PTC is a national program sustained by extensive collaborations with community-based
organizations.
Five Kansas FCS agents attended the training in Omaha during
January 2013 and Christine McPheter and Kathy Lupfer-Nielsen have offered the
necessary workshops in southwestern Kansas and will be participating in the Master Leader
training in early December.
Members of the Adult Development and Aging PFT, Kathy and Christine would like to offer the two day leader
training to interested agents within the KSRE system. Please contact Christine or Kathy with your
interest in this two day training. Also
we would like to offer this at a central location within the state…so please
share your ideas with us. --Kathy
Lupfer-Nielsen knielsen@ksu.edu, or
Christine McPheter cmcphete@ksu.edu
SIGN UP NOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WALK KANSAS SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Have you wanted to use social media in your programming but haven’t
known where to start? The 2014 Walk Kansas program includes social media tools
to help you engage your audience at a deeper level, and this is a great
opportunity to experiment with social media messaging.
We’re developing posts for Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
for you to use to promote Walk Kansas and encourage participants during the
8-week program. Some of you learned about these tools when you attended the
KSRE Annual Conference session, “Infusing Creativity and Enthusiasm Back into
Extension Programs: A Walk Kansas Case Study.” To access the social media
calendar, a helpful toolkit with instructions and tips for using social media
outlets, and other materials, you need to join our Basecamp project management
website. Basecamp is an easy-to-use, free resource for you, but you should
explore the site before Walk Kansas starts.
You may have received an invitation to Basecamp. If so,
please respond to the email and set up your account. If you didn’t get an
invitation but want to be part of the campaign, email Sharolyn Flaming Jackson,
sharolyn@ksu.edu, and she’ll send you a
link to get started.
Don’t miss this opportunity to engage your audience! --Linda Gilmore lindagi@ksu.edu
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