ELT Minutes, June 9, 2014
Extension Leadership Team Minutes
Monday, June 9, 2014
Location: Orono
9:00 – 3:30
Facilitator: Fran Sulinski
Note taker: John Rebar
The ELT is committing to connecting with the next president of the University of Maine to provide an orientation to Cooperative Extension. The “window of opportunity” will be the month of August before the fall semester begins. John will convey the ELT’s aspiration to Provost Hecker and to the next president (once named) directly.
Representatives of the University of Maine’s Board of Agriculture have met with Provost Hecker, Vice President for Research Kim, and Vice President of Innovation and Economic Development Ward to discuss support for Extension and the Agricultural Experiment Station. A separate meeting was also held with Chancellor Page. John will be following up with the Board on next steps.
FY 2016 & Beyond
The ELT is beginning the process of planning for FY 2016 and beyond with anticipated significant budget cuts. All UMS forecasts call for structural deficits and the Chancellor has said publicly that the campuses of the UMS must restructure. The ELT has considerable information that was gathered in the FY 2015 budget reduction process. We also need to learn the priorities of the next president for budget reduction strategies. The ELT will plan for gathering additional employee and stakeholder input into the budget reduction planning process.
Camping Program Update
In June, Dean of Education and Human Development William Nichols along with three faculty members will be touring the 4-H Camp at Bryant Pond. Laura Wilson will be bringing the Dean and several education faculty to the camp.
The 4-H Foundation Annual Meeting was a huge success. The ELT thanks Susan Jennings for her leadership in coordinating the annual meeting. The 4-H Foundation gave out 14 named scholarships to 4-H’ers who are pursuing higher education. Several 4-H scholarship recipients will be attending UMaine or another campus of the University of Maine System. The event highlighted a new initiative called “Grab the Torch, Youth in Philanthropy.”
Development and One-Page Program Summaries
Susan Jennings has been gathering program content from staff and then sharing the content with Tracey Ferwerda who provides graphic design and branding assistance. These program summaries and fact sheets are used by Susan in her work to educate development partners and potential donors about the diversity of work within the Extension portfolio. The ELT thanks all involved in this effort.
Master Gardener Volunteer Program Fee for FY 2015
The cost for the Master Gardener Volunteer program for FY 2015 will be $220. Scholarships can be awarded, if funds are available, up to 25% of this cost or $55 for a cost to the participant of $165. The payment of the program fee can be made with a credit card through the forthcoming centralized database management system. For counties that want to offer an installment payment plan, those payments will need to be made and tracked locally. The ELT thanks the Master Gardener staff and Jim McConnon for their work on this issue. We appreciate the challenge that this change represents for our audiences, existing volunteers and our employees.
Dr. Nancy Bull, Executive Director for the Northeast Region Extension Directors
The ELT will be meeting with Dr. Nancy Bull on June 11th at the Cumberland County Office to provide an overview of UMaine Extension. Dr. Bull is the new Executive Director of the northeast region Extension Directors. This is a part-time position funded by all thirteen state extension programs and the District of Columbia. Dr. Bull is a former director of the UCONN Extension program. Her focus will be on fostering multi-state program collaborations and multi-state grant proposals.
Announcement Invitation:
The ELT invites you to submit items to be included in the minutes/announcements of the next regularly scheduled ELT meeting. This is an opportunity to share with the ELT and the rest of the organization any of the following:
- Notable programmatic accomplishments
- Development or fundraising success
- Significant new partnerships and/or opportunities
- Important transitions
Please take the opportunity to share your good works through this avenue. Keep it brief… approximately two to four sentences would be appreciated. To submit an announcement, please contact your PA or appropriate member of the ELT.
Please remember to visit University of Maine’s news site for additional University of Maine Cooperative Extension highlight.
Announcements:
Search Updates:
Crops Specialist – Screening complete, next step approval to do telephone interviews.
ELT Meeting Dates – 2014 – Meetings are from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm – unless otherwise noted
| Dates |
Facilitator |
Notes |
Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 26 | Rebar | Prichard | Orono — 102B Libby Hall |
| July 17 | Prichard | Harrington | Augusta – 218 Richard Randall Ctr |
| August 6 | Harrington | Sulinski | Orono — 102B Libby Hall |
| August 25 | Sulinski | Phelps | Orono — 102B Libby Hall |
| September 17 | Phelps | Rebar | Augusta – 218 Richard Randall Ctr |
| October 7 | Rebar | Prichard | Orono — 102B Libby Hall |
| October 24 | Prichard | Harrington | Orono — 102B Libby Hall |
| November 13 | Harrington | Sulinski | Augusta – 218 Richard Randall Ctr |
| December 3 | Sulinski | Phelps | Orono — 102B Libby Hall |
| December 17 | Phelps | Rebar | Orono — 102B Libby Hall |