Plugged In: For UMaine Extension Staff and Volunteers

ELT Minutes, April 24, 2013

Extension Leadership Team Meeting Notes
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Augusta – UMA Richard Randall Center, Room 208
9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Facilitator: Dennis Harrington
Note taker: Fran Sulinski

Present: Dennis Harrington, Lisa Phelps, Jonathan Prichard, John Rebar and Fran Sulinski.

Guests: Doug Babkirk (in person), Leslie Forstadt (via Gchat)

Review Feedback from the Program Administrator Workshop: Doug Babkirk joined the ELT to review feedback from the program administrator workshop that was held at the Organizational Meeting. The ELT appreciated the many perspectives from staff who want to know more about the role and how to gain the relevant experience. One action the ELT agreed to take is to try to include more content in the ELT minutes while preserving the necessary confidentiality. The ELT would like to thank those who attended this workshop as well as the panel of presenters that included former PA members, Cathy Elliott, Jim Dill, Shirley Hager, and Doug Babkirk.

Development Discussion with Doug Babkirk: What will Extension do in 18 months when Doug leaves his position? Doug has been very successful building the capacity of our staff, and this has resulted in more donations to Extension programs than has ever been the case. Therefore, the ELT thanks Doug for his hard work, strategic approach, and success! The conversation about future development staffing will continue, and given the recent resignation of Audrey Chapman, 4-H Foundation Director (effective June 2013) the conversation has expanded. We also want to thank Audrey Chapman for her work in the Foundation Director role.

Mindful University Program Update: The Mindful University Program is primarily focused on stress reduction. Leslie Forstadt, Child and Family Development Specialist, has offered the program at UMaine and the program was supported by the ADVANCE grant Rising Tide Center. Thirty staff members have participated. Leslie is gathering short-term impacts and will be gathering long-term impact data. Leslie has seen that there is a significant reduction in stress reported by participants. Some possible next steps:

• Professional development for UMaine Extension. Possibly in the form of distance modules.
• Offering the course beyond UMaine.
• Exploring future connections with the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center and possible connections to other UMS campuses.

The ELT thanks Leslie for this important work.

Caribou Hall Update (Penobscot County Office): Work on the parking lot and façade is happening in the next few weeks.

USDA Smith-Lever Budget Cut: UMaine Extension is receiving a significant USDA Smith-Lever 3(b)&(c) budget cut for FY 2013. The latest estimate is an 8.4% cut or $195,000. The challenge is that this funding is for the fiscal year that is now in its 8^th month. More on this issue will be forthcoming.

Post-Tenure Compensation Review Process: The ELT discussed due dates and coordinated next steps to ensure we meet the contractual deadlines.

Volunteer Mileage Reimbursement: Reimbursing volunteers for mileage is not generally done; however, it may be done in a special circumstance. For example, we have reimbursed for mileage when a volunteer presented at an organizational meeting or when Executive Committee Presidents were invited to attend an annual meeting.

Organizational Meeting Evaluation Review: The ELT reviewed and discussed the evaluation results from the Organizational Meeting. The ELT agreed to continue to support an every other year two-day Organizational Meeting and was very impressed with the positive feedback received from attendees.

Grant Update: The ELT reviewed and discussed grant activity. The following graphs illustrate our ranking against other units and departments of the University for revenue generated and number of grants. Please see grant information below (click on the images to view enlargements):

Announcements:                                                                                                     

• Congratulations to Barbara Baker, who has been awarded $35,000 from National 4-H Council and Wal-Mart to expand nutrition education and physical activity programs to underserved populations in Maine through the Maine 4-H Youth Voice, Youth Choice Healthy Living Program.
• Congratulations to Bruce Watt, who has been awarded $4,600 from Northeastern Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Center to help expand the Bugwood images database in collaboration with Cornell University.
• Congratulations to Ellen Mallory, who has been awarded $26,872 from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) to provide training in bread wheat, spelt, emmer, and einkorn seed production to organic growers, and begin the process of developing varieties adapted to organic agriculture in this region.
• Congratulations to Barbara Murphy for recent gifts totaling more than $36,000 to support the Maine Harvest for Hunger program.
• Congratulations to Lisa Phelps for negotiating an agreement with the Maine Math and Science Alliance for approximately $54,000 to support a 40% 4-H position with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the Mid-Coast area of Maine for three years.
• Congratulations to Tori Jackson and Dick Brzozowski for negotiating an agreement with the Town of Bowdoinham for approximately $31,000 to monitor the work of a Central Maine Power project and its impacts on adjacent agricultural lands during construction.

ELT Meeting Dates, 2013
Meetings are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.