Plugged In: For UMaine Extension Staff and Volunteers

Extension Leadership Team Minutes June 5, 2017

Extension Leadership Team Minutes
June 5, 2017
102B Libby Hall – Orono

Facilitator: John Rebar
Note taker: Jon Prichard

Maine Sea Grant Director Search
Maine Sea Grant Director Search has opened, and Jon Prichard is serving on the search committee.

4-H @UMaine
4-H @ UMaine was a huge success this year, the youth had a positive experience as well as faculty and staff.

2018 AgrAbility National Training Workshop
Portland, Maine has been selected as the site of Agrability’s 2018 National Training Workshop (NTW) to take place in April.  The exact dates and more details are to follow.

Kaltura Video Platform
At the recent Faculty Institute at UMA, Fran and Lisa attended an introductory session on using Kaltura, the new video platform the UMaine System is adopting. Maine Cooperative Extension will be exploring Kaltura to see if it could help support our work.  We will be creating a pilot group of staff to explore and experiment with Kaltura, after which a decision will be made as to its potential use by our organization.

External Funds Incentive Policy
The ELT has approved a new External Funds Incentive Policy (salary offset).  As part of creating this policy, we shared a draft with some programmatic staff to receive feedback that we used to help inform the final policy.  Dennis will be sharing the new policy with staff.

Backwards Grants
The occurrence of “backwards grants” has increased significantly in recent months.  A backwards grant is when an Extension staff member is part of a proposal, either formally or informally, but does not work with UMaine Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). This is a violation of University policy, and creates work for Jared who then must work with ORSP to initiate a proposal and award after the fact. In some cases this requires working with the prime awardee and funders to retroactively create sub-award agreements etc. on a very tight timeline.  Ultimately this creates a lot of extra work and stress for a lot of people, and also puts Extension in a bad light with ORSP and funders. Dennis is requesting all program staff to follow ORSP policies and grant proposal & submission timeframes [see http://www.orsp.umesp.maine.edu/ORSPDocs/Policies/Proposal_Submission_Policy_Timeline.pdf ].  He and Jared are happy to work with staff as needed. It is important to eliminate backwards grants from occurring.

CONGRATULATIONS

National Mentoring Program VII
Congratulations to PI Ryder Scott and Co-PIs Ryan LeShane and Lisa Phelps who have been awarded $124,052 by the National 4-H Council for the “National Mentoring Program VII” project.  These funds will be utilized through the UMaine MentorMe Tech Wizards program, which has connected youth with adults in rural Maine to protect our lakes and environment, learn new technology, and engage in service that invests in our future.

Maine Agricultural Leadership Conference
Congratulations to PI Kathryn Hopkins who has been awarded $1,475 by Farm Credit East’s AgEnhancement for her “Maine Agricultural Leadership Conference” project.  The goal of this conference is to encourage leadership development and to strengthen the agriculture, food, fiber industries statewide by giving agricultural practitioners the knowledge they need to become advocates for their industry.

Search Updates

4-H Youth Development Professional – Aroostook County – Reviewing Applicants
4-H Youth Development Professional – Franklin County – Advertising
4-H Youth Development Professional – Hancock County – Advertising
4-H Youth Development Professional – Knox/Lincoln Counties – Advertising
4-H Youth Development Professional – Oxford County –Offer made and accepted
4-H STEM Specialist – Orono – Interviewing
Ornamental Horticulture Specialist – Orono – Interviewing
Assistant Extension Professor & Extension Plant Pathologist – Orono – Offer made and accepted
Integrated Pest Management Technician – Aroostook –Marc Dwyer hired
Accounting Support Specialist CL2 – Orono – On Hold (Failed Search)
Administrative Specialist CL2 – Pest Management, Orono – Preparing to interview
Community Education Assistant CL1 (Horticulture) – Oxford County – On hold
AIP Coordinator – Bryant Pond 4-H Center – Lyndsey Smith Hired
Marine Extension Associate (Joint appt. with Sea Grant) –  Advertising
Agriculture Record Keeping Professional – PDQ and JD sent to HR
Nutrition Education Professional – PDQ and JD sent to HR

ELT Meeting Dates –2017– Meetings are from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm – unless otherwise noted.