ELT Minutes, September 22, 2011
Extension Leadership Team Minutes
September 22, 2011
Libby Hall, Room 102B
Facilitator: Dennis Harrington
Note taker: Fran Sulinski
Present: Dennis Harrington, Lisa Phelps, Jon Prichard, John Rebar and Fran Sulinski.
Guest: Beth Bisson, Assistant Director, Maine Sea Grant
Please note: Due to the confidentiality and sensitivity of some agenda items, these ELT minutes do not represent the full content of each meeting.
4H Foundation Update:
The ELT is glad to know that 85 businesses are enrolled and will be participating in the Clover Promotion 4H Foundation fundraiser.
Thanks to the Foundation staff and all of those 4H staff around the state who are supporting this effort.
Extension recommending faculty to be appointed to the Graduate Faculty:
Extension does not have the ability to recommend that our faculty be appointed to the Graduate Faculty. For that to happen our faculty/administration would have to create criteria that would be used to determine if a faculty member should be recommended for appointment to the Graduate Faculty. John Rebar has asked the faculty PAC to place this item on the agenda of the next faculty meeting. Accomplishing this would allow us to write a graduate student into a grant and we would be able to name someone to the faculty graduate committee.
Maine Sea Grant and Cooperative Extension:
Maine Sea Grant is a valuable partner with UMaine Cooperative Extension, with members of the Marine Extension Team (includes UMaine Extension and Sea Grant staff and some shared positions) working on issues of concern to Maine’s coastal communities. Periodically Sea Grant administration meets with the ELT to update us on their current activities and this can help us understand and promote the partnership and to be aware of new opportunities for collaborative projects. Beth Bisson, Assistant Director of Maine Sea Grant visited with the ELT and shared the following: the new Aquaculture Extension Associate position has been offered and accepted. In the future this position will be partially funded by UMaine Extension. Federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Program education and financial assistance coordination (for blueberry growers, lobster fishing and a few other areas) is being provided by UMaine Extension and Sea Grant personnel. The Signs of the Season program is another example of a Marine Extension Team educational/research collaboration. The ELT values the partnership with Sea Grant and the opportunity to hear and discuss how the partnership is working, explore future collaborations and appreciate the highlights/impacts of the work in process.
Announcements:
- Congratulations to Debra Kantor who has been awarded $23,847 by the Southern Rural Development Center National eCommerce Initiative at Mississippi State University to fund a project to help young people understand the concept of entrepreneurship as a career choice. These concepts will be taught using e-commerce. The national eCommerce initiative is funded through USDA/NIFA.
- Congratulations to Wesley Neff who has been awarded $215,184 by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to fund the Waldo County Parents are Teachers Too Program for FY2012. This award is indicative of the high value of the program to the State of Maine and DHHS, who are limiting funding to their highest priorities.
- Congratulations to Wanda Lincoln and the Eat Well Team who have been awarded $ 1,509,059 by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to continue offering nutrition education to families in Maine that receive food stamps.