ELT Minutes, October 2, 2012

Extension Leadership Team Minutes

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

102B Libby Hall

Facilitator:    Dennis Harrington

Note taker:    Fran Sulinski

Present:         Fran Sulinski, John Rebar, Jon Prichard, and Dennis Harrington.

Absent:           Lisa Phelps

Please note: Due to the confidentiality and sensitivity of some agenda items, these ELT minutes do not represent the full content of each meeting.

Agenda Items:

Camp Updates:

Blueberry Cove Camp & Learning Center received a routine safety inspection from the UMaine Safety and Environmental Management (SEM) department. All of our office locations should be prepared for such an inspection, and while this event was previously scheduled, SEM could appear at any of our offices without notice. All staff should be up-to-date on the annual basic safety training (with documentation in the local file) and all of the safety requirements related to the type of work that is carried out (equipment safety, chemical storage safety, lab safety, etc.).  If staff have any questions, they should check the SEM website or contact SEM by phone.

A meeting of camp grant and finance managers will take place this month to discuss how to charge items to grants appropriately.

UMaine Extension Faculty Teaching Courses:

Some Extension faculty teach courses at UMaine and others may have an opportunity to do so in the future. There are different options available to faculty and these options should be discussed with the appropriate Program Administrator prior to accepting the assignment. Faculty can teach a class on their own time and receive added compensation. Some Extension faculty have a percentage appointment with a campus department and these appointments may allow for teaching as part of the split appointment. In other cases, faculty may teach a course as part of their current Extension job responsibilities. In those cases, Extension is generally compensated by the department as a way to cover the time spent by the faculty member. Fran will place this information in the Policies & Procedures manual. Faculty teaching classes for a department should also make arrangements to cover their travel expenses, if those are necessary.

Working on the Organizational Meeting:

The ELT reviewed a very preliminary draft of the two-day organizational meeting and shared ideas and gave feedback that will be brought back to the Staff Development Committee. The organizational meeting will take place on March 5 & 6, 2013 on the Orono campus.

Reporting Timeline:

PA’s are encouraging staff to report their time. The ELT reviewed those who have and have not reported their time and a large percentage of staff have not reported as yet. Please report your accomplishments ASAP or by Oct 15.

No Tuition Increase:

The Board of Trustees is holding tuition and fees at current levels within the context of a budget shortfall. This will produce a deficit scenario and will mean more cuts.  We must, therefore, continue to position ourselves well by having impacts to report that show our benefit to the people of Maine.

Grants Report:

Our last year’s grants total received was $5.086 million.  Our staff members continue to be very productive in grant activity and there is a significant benefit to the organization. Thank you to those who have been successful in funding important organizational activities and beneficial outcomes for Maine citizens via grants and contracts. Unfortunately, next year our total grant revenue will very likely be significantly reduced given the loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds.

Announcements:

Please remember to visit  University of Maine’s news site for additional University of Maine Cooperative Extension highlights.

• Bryant Pond and Tanglewood 4-H Camps are a part of a Sewall Foundation grant to the Environmental Living and Learning for Maine Students (ELLMS) collaborative.  ($250,000 total, $114,000 to UMaine 4-H Camps) for residential school programming.

• Employee Transitions:  Joyce Roma is retiring from Bryant Pond 4-H at the end of October.

• Congratulations to Richard Brzozowski, who has been awarded $2,800 from Rutgers University and Northeast Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE) for his project developing Extension programming to support the advancement of   agri-tourism in the Northeast.
• Congratulations to Wesley Neff, who has been awarded $292,150 from Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to fund the Maine Families program for FY13.  This program offers free information and support to all interested first-time parents in Waldo County.

• Congratulations to Ellen Mallory for being awarded the Extension Education Materials Awards for the “Understanding Bread Wheat Quality” factsheet and the “Northern New England Local Bread Wheat Project” website from the American Society of Agronomy. Special appreciation to Tracey Ferwerda and Cindy Eves-Thomas for their work on these resources.

• Congratulations to Bruce Watt, who has been awarded $19,751 from Cornell University to fund his work for the Northeast Plant Diagnostic Network for FY13.
• Congratulations to Karen Hatch Gagne, who has been awarded $38,901 from USDA/National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Kansas State University to fund the Operation Military Kids program for the first half of FY13.

ELT Meeting Dates –2012

Meetings are from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm – unless otherwise noted

Anyone wishing to participate in an ELT meeting should contact the facilitator for that date.

Dates                                  Facilitator                          Notes                              Location

October 23	Sulinski	Phelps	Orono — 102B Libby Hall
November 7	Phelps	Rebar	Orono—102B Libby Hall
November 27	Rebar	Prichard	Orono — 102B Libby Hall
December 13	Prichard	Harrington	UMA—Jewett Hall, Room 114