February 16, 2016
Update on Teamwork Among Extension Administration
In recognition of the breadth of geographic coverage necessary for J.D. McNutt to serve as the Extension Director’s representative across southern Kansas, we are continually looking at ways to do so in a more efficient / effective manner. Your Area Extension Directors who support all the local units administratively are working together to provide the necessary and appropriate support to local units across the southern part of the state. In that regard, following is a summary of their primary roles and responsibilities to support the administrative needs of the local Extension units across the state:
- J.D. McNutt is the Director’s representative to the districts and counties in both SE and SW Kansas. His primary emphasis will be strategic planning, personnel management, programming, and local Board relations.
- Chris Onstad is the Director’s representative to the districts and counties in NW Kansas and unit head for the Extension faculty and staff assigned to the NWREC. He also provides unit head support to the Extension faculty and staff assigned into the SWREC.
- Dale Fjell is the Director’s representative to the districts and counties in what is termed NE Kansas and unit head for the Extension faculty and staff of the Northeast Extension office. Dale will also provide administrative support in working through county budget processes for local units in SW and SE Kansas as needed.
- Jim Lindquist is Assistant Director: Field Operations and the Director’s representative to the districts and counties for what is termed the Metro region. Jim also supports budgeting processes for Extension Districts across SE and SW Kansas. In his Assistant Director role, Jim is on call to work closely with the communication and planning towards development of any new Extension Districts across the state. He also gives administrative leadership/coordination to the local unit directors who are responsible for personnel management in their units.
While this is by no means an exhaustive list of the roles and responsibilities of each of these individuals, I hope it helps clarify the way in which they are working together to provide an efficient and effective administrative support structure to all local Extension units across the state.