The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
(Vol. 20 No. 44)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
This fall is a time for campaigns and considerable political activity. As a University employee, political activity carries with it a substantial set of policies, state statutes, rules and responsibilities. I encourage you to either completely avoid any perceived or real political activity during “normal” work hours (8-5) or become familiar and abide with KSU and Board of Regents policies regarding political campaign activity. The KSU Government Relations office has the website entitled Political Activity Policies as a resource for faculty and staff to understand state statutes and various policies that relate to employees of Kansas State University. While office professionals and some local Extension staff may not be University employees, some rules would still pertain in the fact that these employees are using the KSU email system and other resources for which the public could perceive to be University property and / or staff.
I did ask for clarification in an election year about political candidates participating in Extension educational events. You are encouraged to invite elected officials and political candidates to your educational events without partisanship, and it is appropriate to recognize all such individuals who might be attending and thank them for attending and their interest in our Extension educational programs. However, political stumping or campaigning is NOT appropriate at your Extension educational event. If a political candidate asks for time to speak to the audience, please inform them that it is against policy to allow a KSU Extension event to include political campaigning. If consistent in not allowing such activity, you will hopefully avoid any problem. If a candidate does not agree, please ask that they contact Dr. Sue Peterson, University Governmental Relations, 785-532-6227, or email kstategr@ksu.edu for clarification of University policy.
And, what about social media, commenting, or liking political ads. Any such activity during normal work hours is forbidden by policy. Showing political partisanship through your Facebook page does present some risk if it is perceived that you are working to influence others through your position within Extension and the University. My suggestion is to avoid showing your political preferences through social media. Too much can be misinterpreted, misperceived, or blown out of proportion for even the simplest action of just “Liking” a political posting.
If you have questions, please ask. And, have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
MOVING WEBSITES TO THE K-STATE CMS
Now that the integration of the KSRE Technology unit (IET) and Information Technology Services is complete, one of the projects we are beginning is the move of the K-State Research and Extension websites from our current KSRE content management system (CMS) to the K-State CMS.
Benefits of the move to a single CMS include:
-better support in managing your web sites
-access to a built-in, mobile-friendly design
-greater reliability and consistency for your web sites
-In addition, our programming staff will be able to dedicate more time to developing new applications to support the KSRE mission
Below are answers to questions we have received while discussing the move with faculty and staff. These answers should help explain the move.
Will there be training and how will the training be done?
Training will be offered face-to-face throughout the state, and on-line training will also be available. Gary Kepka, David Dunn, Steve Spencer, Julie Fosberg, and Sarah Silva will be working to schedule the trainings throughout the state and on-campus for everyone that manages websites.
Will our URL or web address remain the same?
Yes. Your website address will remain the same for your sites after the move to the K-State CMS.
Will our site be down during the move?
No. Your new sites will be built within a development area in the K-State CMS. While you’re developing your new site, your old site will remain active. When you’re ready to switch to your new site, it will be moved to the production part of the K-State CMS and your URL will be mapped to go to the new web site.
Are we building sites from scratch or migrating data?
We’re asking everyone to build their sites from the ground up. You will be able to copy information from your current site to the new site. Building a new site gives you the opportunity to take a fresh look at your content and upload the content your clients need.
What should we do to prepare for the move?
Determine who will be managing your site and make sure they will be able to attend a training session. Start looking at the content of your site and determine what needs to be moved and, what needs to be refreshed, and start discussing what new content your clients might want to see. As you review content, remember that no documents on our websites should contain personal information (Social Security numbers, bank information, etc.), even if the document is password-protected. If you have documents of this nature on your website, let us know so we can help you mitigate any potential security issues.
Should we continue to update our current sites?
We would recommend doing minimal updates such as posting events and activities and other information that the public needs on a regular basis. We would hold off on making major changes to the site and work on those within the new system.
When will this start and how soon does it need to be completed?
The process will start this fall. More information will be forthcoming in the Tuesday Letter and via email as the plans for the moves are finalized. We hope to have information available on or before the annual conference.
Microsoft will no longer support or provide security updates for current KSRE systems after July 14, 2015. After that date, campus security will block access to these systems and we need to have all our sites moved before that date. We hope to complete the move by July 1, 2015.
We know this is not a complete list of questions or answers about the website moves. If you have other questions, please let us know and we’ll do our best to answer them. --Joe Lear learj@ksu.edu
MULTI-CULTURAL SUMMIT SEPTEMBER 18-20 IN GARDEN CITY
Please come to the Mulit-Cultural Summit on September 18-20. The Multi-Cultural Summit, in Garden City, is a professional development conference and
workshop to assist professionals in learning about cultures, ethnic communities, and traditions that make up a multi-cultural
world. The goal is to expand our knowledge about the rich cultural heritage of the United States and the countries from which we draw our citizens.
Speakers this year are from Dartmouth, Kansas State, and Kansas
universities. Other speakers come from India, Central America, and
Mexico. Keynote, plenary, and break-out session topics include:
cross-cultural communications, Immigration in Kansas, human trafficking,
and education.
Registration deadline is September 10. For more information, please reach Debra Bolton at dbolton@ksu.edu. A registration form can be found at http://www.garden-city.org/DocumentCenter/View/1405. --Debra Bolton dbolton@ksu.edu
KANSAS ADOLESCENT HEALTH COMMUNITY INPUT SURVEY - COMPLETE IT AND SHARE IT BY SEPTEMBER 19!
K-State
Research and Extension, with the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment Bureau of Family Health, is gathering information about
adolescent health needs and local solutions.
If you live in
Kansas and are over the age of 13, please complete the brief survey.
The results of this anonymous survey will tell us what Kansans think are
the health needs of adolescents and what could be done about them.
When
you submit the online survey your identity will not be known, and you
will not receive additional communication from Kansas State University
research team members. Once you have taken it, share the survey links
with everyone over the age of 13 in your communities. We want to have at
least 1,500 responses from Kansans by September 19 and we're already at 500+!
Log on now at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/KAHNA6X22VB2 (English version)
www.surveymonkey.com/s/GXTNWGW (Spanish version)
For more information, contact Elaine Johannes, School of Family Studies and Human Services, ejohanne@ksu.edu,
785-532-7720. --Elaine Johannes
RESOURCES FOR FARM SAFETY & HEALTH WEEK
National Farm Safety & Health Week is September 21-27, 2014. The 2014 theme is “Protecting What Matters.” The AgriSafe Network will conduct daily webinars from Noon to 1 p.m. CDT. The purpose is to inform professionals, as well as agricultural producers about important agricultural occupational health and safety topics. Webinars are free. Pre registration is required. To register for any or all of the webinars visit the AgriSafe website at: www.agrisafe.org.
Schedule of National Farm Safety and Health Week Webinars:
Monday, September 22, 2014 -- Roadway Safety – Collisions between Motor Vehicles and Farm Equipment on U.S. Roadways; Presenter: Murray Madsen, MBA, Central States Center Consultant, University of Iowa, School of Public Health
Tuesday, September 23, 2014 -- Occupational Health -Health Assessment and Wellness Programs for Agricultural Business; Presenter: Carolyn Sheridan, BSN Clinical Director, AgriSafe Network
Wednesday, September 24, 2014 -- Child Safety Day – Child Development and Tractor Operation; How Children Change as They Grow Older;Presenter: David Schwebel, PhD Professor, Dept. of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Thursday, September 25, 2014 -- Grain Bin Safety – Grain Bin Entry; Presenter: Dan Neenan, MBA Director, The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS)
Friday, September 26, 2014 -- Tractor Safety – Whole System in a Room: Using a Dynamic, Multi-Stakeholder, Collaboration Process to Develop a National Tractor Safety Initiative; Presenter: Julie Sorenson, PhD Deputy Director, New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH)/North East Center (NEC)
Additional resources for National Farm Safety & Health Week are at http://www.necasag.org/. --Kerri Ebert kebert@ksu.edu
2014 KANSAS OUT-OF-SCHOOL CONFERENCE
Want to engage youth in long-term, structured
learning-environments that address their interests and help develop their
physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills and abilities? Are you
interested in expanding your youth programming into the after-school hours?
This
one-day conference sponsored by K-State Research and Extension 4-H, Kansas 21st
Century Community Learning Centers, and the Kansas Enrichment Network, highlights
hands-on curricula that adapt easily for out-of-school settings. The conference
is open to anyone, including certified teachers, afterschool program directors,
community or faith-based afterschool providers, summer recreation providers and
extension agents.
Date:
October 7, 2014, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Location: Sedgwick County Extension Office in Wichita, Kansas
Cost:
$15 per person (includes catered lunch)
Register online at https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=QTOHNlEkzef0jUuQZqBCVA#. For questions, please contact Beth Drescher, drescher@ksu.edu. --Beth Drescher
NCR-SARE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) currently has four open calls for proposals that may be of interest to Extension professionals.
The 2015 Research and Education (R&E) Grant program supports sustainable agriculture innovators with competitive research and education grants ranging from $10,000 to $200,000. The current request is for R&E grant preproposals. Deadline for preproposals is 4 p.m., (CDT) October 23, 2014. Preproposals will be reviewed and selected entries will be asked to submit a full proposal.
The 2015 Partnership Grant program is a new program intended to foster cooperation between agriculture professionals and small groups of farmers and ranchers to catalyze on-farm research, demonstration, and education activities related to sustainable agriculture. Priority will be given to projects focusing on soil health and cover crops. Grant maximum is $30,000. Deadline is 4 p.m. (CDT), October 30, 2014. There will be an informational webinar about the Partnership Grant at 2 p.m., Tuesday, September 16. Connect to the webinar at https://umconnect.umn.edu/r96336373/.
Youth Educator Grants will be awarded to youth educators who develop programs to encourage young people and their parents to discover more about the benefits of sustainable agricultural practices. Grant maximum is $2,000. Youth Educator proposal deadline is 4 p.m. (CST) November 13, 2014.
Farmers and ranchers have the opportunity to submit grant proposals that explore sustainable agriculture solutions to problems on the farm or ranch. Farmer Rancher Grant Proposals should emphasize research or education/demonstration.Three levels of funding for competitive grants are available: Individual grants with a $7,500 maximum, partner grants for two farmers/ranchers from separate operations with a maximum award of $15,000, and group grants for three or more farmers/ranchers from separate operations with a maximum award of $22,500. Application deadline is 4 p.m., (CST) November 20, 2014.
All proposals must be submitted online to the NCR-SARE Regional Office at the University of Minnesota. Detailed information about all SARE grant programs including a database of funded projects can be found at http://www.northcentralsare.org/Grants/Our-Grant-Programs. Kerri Ebert kebert@ksu.edu
DEFER INCOME TO SAVE ON TAXES
Do you think you pay too much in tax? Make contributions to a voluntary retirement account, and that money can come out of our paycheck with pre-tax dollars. The University does not contribute to this plan and it does not replace your contribution to the Kansas Board of Regents Mandatory Retirement Plan.
In addition to the contribution being tax-deferred, when you reduce your income, you may 1) drop into a lower marginal income tax bracket and/or 2) become eligible for tax credits unavailable with a higher income. For example, the Lifetime Learning Credit has limits on your modified gross income: $128,000 if married filing jointly; $64,000 if single, head of household or a qualifying widower.
To set up a voluntary contribution to a 403(b), complete the PER-19 – Investment Agreement - Voluntary Pre-Tax Retirement Plan at http://www.k-state.edu/hr/forms/invagrpre.html.
Return the completed form to Benefits Administration, Human Resources, 103 Edwards Hall; or fax the form to 785-532-7693. Important: You can do this at any time of the year, and you can change it at any time of the year. You will need to set up an investment account with an approved provider. You can find the list at http://www.kansasregents.org/vtsa.
The maximum annual contribution for 2014 is $17,500. Workers over age 50 can also contribute up to an additional $5500 as a “catch-up” contribution. Get started! --Family Resource Management Team, Cindy Evans cevans@ksu.edu
DIVERSITY PROGRAMS OFFICE UPDATE
DPO would like to share some information about our events for the beginning of the school year:
• Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) had their first meeting of the year on Wednesday, September 3rd. Thank you to all for the hard work from the MANRRS Executive Board for making the pizza party such a success!
• MANRRS is holding a fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings on Wednesday, September 10, from 11:00 a.m. to close. Please come out and support our MANRRS Chapter. Stop by the DPO to pick up a flyer to support their effort.
• On Sunday, September 7, our KSU MANRRS Chapter had the privilege to attend the K-State Day at the Kansas State Fair. Members of our MANRRS chapter worked the booth at the fair. It was a great way to not only represent and support MANRRS, but Kansas State University College of Agriculture as well.
• The second MANRRS meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday, September 17, at 6 p.m. in 137 Waters Hall. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Mary Ellen Barkley, Assistant Director for Career & Employment Services, and she will be speaking about Career Development.
Please continue to look for more diversity events as we continue to advertise. We appreciate your support. For more information about upcoming events or to collaborate with the DPO, please call 785-532-5793 or contact Dr. Zelia Wiley, Assistant Dean of Diversity, zwiley@ksu.edu. --Zelia Wiley
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