Extension Leadership Team Minutes March 14, 2017
Extension Leadership Team Minutes
March 14, 2017
Partial Day – University Snow Day
102B Libby Hall – Orono
Facilitator: Jon Prichard
Note taker: Dennis Harrington
Plant, Animal, and Insect Lab Tour – The ELT was given a tour of construction progress at the new Plant, Animal, and Insect Lab. Deconstruction is mostly complete within the 27,000-square foot facility and we observed the contractor finishing concrete after setting all of the under-floor drains that will serve the various labs. Walls will begin to be erected next week. Construction is scheduled to be finished in November/December and we will be able to move in during January.
Meeting of statewide camping staff – Jon Prichard, Dennis Harrington, Lisa Phelps, and Jared Whinery attended a meeting of staff members from Tanglewood, Blueberry Cove, and Bryant Pond 4-H camp and Learning Centers on Monday, March 13. The day-long meeting was a learning and planning session that dealt with risk-management, planning and reporting, and camp operations.
Jane Haskell serves on Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (MePCSW), which is an independent advisory board charged by Maine statute with advising Maine policymakers—including the legislature and Governor—on matters that impact our state’s women and girls. The Commission researches and prepares a biennial report for the legislature that reflects the current status of women and girls in Maine and recommends policy options that will improve their lives. Jane shared information from her work with the committee and the most recent report on the status of women in Maine. The 2017 report can be accessed at the MePCSW website: http://maine.gov/sos/womens-comm/MePCSW2017Report.pdf
www.Box.com: Michele Lodgek and Lisa Phelps have been working with US:IT on the rollout of the cloud-based file storage service called Box that UMS has purchased and has made available to all campuses. US:IT will be creating a Cooperative Extension folder, and Michele and Lisa will be communicating the best ways for the folder to be used to structure shared folders/files for various units within Cooperative Extension. More information will be coming from Michele and Lisa soon. For more information about the difference between box and Google Drive click here.
In-state Travel Meals: In 2015, we were assured by the Procurement Office that there would soon be an update of the UMaine System APL governing travel that would include specific wording to allow for certain Extended Work Day when traveling in-state on University business (Extended Work Day is a day that is more than 2 hours longer than a typical work day). The information was communicated to many Extension staff members and some people have been operating with that understanding. However, we have recently learned that the policy was not added and the APL dated 7/1/15 would stand as the current policy. Under current policy “meals are allowable when travelers are on business and away from home overnight”. This is the policy that Extension staff should use for current and future in-state travel. The APL is at: http://staticweb.maine.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IV-B-Travel-APL-Update-EFF-5-04-20151.pdf?565a1d
Announcements:
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to PI Mark Hutton and Co-PIs Mark Hutchinson and Eric Gallandt who have been awarded $132,365 from Cornell University via NIFA for the 3rd year of the “Farmer Designed Systems to Reduce Tillage in Organic Vegetables” project.
Congratulations to PI Leslie Forstadt who has been awarded $1,000 by Farm Credit East for the “Child Safety on Farms” project. This 8-month educational effort by Cooperative Extension staff will involve gathering data about common unsafe situations on today’s farms, identifying the ways that farm families address safety issues with children, and assessing the educational needs of young farm families in relation to child health & safety issues.
Congratulations to Kathy Hopkins on being recognized by the Maine Legislature on January 4, 2017: “Be in known to all that We, the Members of the Senate and House of Representatives, join in recognizing Kathryn Hopkins of Norridgewock, a University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator, who received the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the North American Maple Syrup Council. The award is presented to research professionals or maple syrup alliance partners for their contributions to the North American maple syrup industry and for their exhibited excellence in the field of research or extension education. Ms. Hopkins is co-creator of the International Maple Syrup Institute Maple Grading School. We congratulate her on receiving this award; And be it ordered that this official expression of sentiment be sent forthwith on behalf of the 128th Legislature and the people of the State of Maine.”
Congratulations to Ryder Scott and Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center for the award of a 6-year $600,000 grant from the Lerner Foundation as part of its Aspirations Incubator Program. The grant will support Bryant Pond and key community collaborators in developing leadership and programming skills to support local students through peer and adult mentorship, experiential learning opportunities, leadership development and service learning. The program seeks to help students in becoming healthy, resilient, self-directed lifelong learners, with aspirations for post-secondary education and meaningful careers. The grant will build on the success of Telstar Freshmen Academy, a collaboration between Bryant Pond and SAD 44.
Search Updates
4-H Youth Development Professional – Franklin County – Interviewing
4-H Youth Development Professional – Knox/Lincoln Counties – Interviewing
4-H Youth Development Professional – Oxford County –Advertising
4-H Youth Development Professional – Aroostook County – Job description in review by HR
4-H STEM Specialist – Orono – Advertising
Ornamental Horticulture Specialist – Orono – Advertising
Assistant Extension Professor & Extension Plant Pathologist – Orono – Reviewing applicants
Integrated Pest Management Technician – Aroostook –Job description in review by HR
Parent Educational Professional – Knox/Lincoln Counties – Offer tentatively accepted
Accounting Support Specialist CL2 – Orono – Reviewing Applicants
Administrative Specialist CL1 – Cumberland County – Offer accepted, Tayla Mann hired
Administrative Specialist CL2 – Pest Management, Orono – Job description in review by HR
Community Education Assistant CL2 (Food System Aide) – Penobscot County – Screening applicants
Marine Extension Associate (Joint appointment with Sea Grant) – Coastal Maine – Advertising
ELT Meeting Dates –2017– Meetings are from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm – unless otherwise noted.
| Dates |
Facilitator | Notes | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 29 | Harrington | Prichard | Augusta – 218 RSTC |
| April 19 | Brzozowski | Sulinski | Orono – 102B Libby Hall |
| May 3 | Sulinski | Phelps | Orono – 102B Libby Hall |
| May 16 | Phelps | Rebar | Orono – 102B Libby Hall |
| May 31 | Rebar | Prichard | Augusta – 218 RSTC |
| June 21 | Prichard | Harrington | Falmouth |