Extension Leadership Team Meeting Minutes June 27, 2019

Extension Leadership Team Meeting Minutes
June 27, 2019
102B Libby Hall – Orono

Facilitator: Lisa Phelps
Note taker: Jon Prichard

4-H Camp and Learning Centers Dean and President’s Tour

4-H Camp and Learning Centers are in active summer mode. Camps orientation has occurred at all sites, and camp is in full swing. On June 26, President Ferrini-Mundy and Dean Carter joined Jon Prichard, Lisa Phelps, and Susan Jennings to tour Bryant Pond, meeting with staff and volunteers. Other sites in Oxford County were also visited, including the Magic Lantern in Bridgton, and the Maine Gem and Mineral Museum in Bethel. A tour of Tanglewood and Blueberry Cove is scheduled for July 24.

Greenland Point Camp and Learning and Center Grand Opening

Hannah and Dennis represented the ELT at the grand opening of Greenland Point Camp on Saturday, June 22, along with many important stakeholders, supporters of 4-H, and curious residents from the area around Princeton Maine. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held and formal appreciation was expressed for the many financial supporters who made the camp possible, most notably the Maine 4-H Foundation. Tours of the facility showed a beautiful and well-appointed residential camp and learning center of which we can all be proud.

Tidewater – Cumberland County Extension / Regional Learning Center

Tidewater HVAC unit has failed and is being replaced and right-sized.

Houlton Extension Office Space

Dennis has been exploring new office space with the help of Mari Glatter for the Houlton Extension office in Aroostook County whose current lease will end in September 2019.

Clarifying Policies on Gift Accounts

Upper administration is going to be meeting with Deans Carter and Servello regarding gift accounts and how these funds are managed and used.

Organizational Needs Assessment

Hannah has begun to draft an internal organizational needs assessment/survey that will be distributed in the near future.

Monthly Zoom Connection Hosted by Hannah

On the first Monday of every month, Dean Carter will host a statewide conversation via Zoom for faculty and staff in order to share information, introduce people or ideas to the organization, keep folks up-to-date on University or state initiatives and to answer questions that staff may have about the organization. These conversations will be recorded and available to watch for those who cannot participate during the time and date scheduled. This first conversation – July 1  – will be just Hannah discussing her first two months on the job, where she has visited, what she has learned and some initial reactions. If you have suggestions for future conversations – topics you would like to be addressed, people you would like to hear from – please email her with your ideas. One of Hannah’s priorities is working to increase communication within the organization and this is just one attempt to do so – stay tuned for others.

Extension Updates for Trustees

UMaine Deans are expected to submit concise bulleted updates that the provost compiles and submits to the Board of Trustees on a weekly basis. For Extension, ELT members provide these to Hannah. All staff are welcome to submit ideas to their PAs or Hannah at any time. This is a great way for Extension to stay on the radar with the provost and the UMaine System trustees.

New AgrAbility Staff

Extension has hired a full-time, temporary, grant-funded AgrAbility staff person to support program outreach to young adults with disabilities.  Marie DeFranca will be based in southern Maine.

UMaine Arctic

Chris Gerbi and Mark Hutton (NFSA) met with the ELT to update us on the UMaine Arctic Charter and how Extension might want to be involved in the effort. UMaine Arctic is meant to be a structure to promote interaction among members of the UMaine community on research, outreach, and education topics related to activities and impacts in regions, including New England, affected by Arctic processes. It also facilitates interaction between the University and local, regional, national, and international stakeholders in the high north. There will be a launch for UMaine Arctic in the fall 2019. There are currently over 50 self-identifying members representing ORD, NSFA, CLAS, COEHD, College of Engineering, CCI, MSSPC, Maine Folklore Center, Canadian-American Center, Maine National Guard, and Maine Sea Grant. https://umaine.edu/arctic/

Extension Forestry Proposal

The ELT has agreed to partner with the UMaine School of Forestry as they submit a sustainable agriculture systems “intent to submit proposal” to USDA NIFA offering a systems approach to white pine production in the eastern United States. Maine-based Extension forestry faculty are essential to the project’s success, and this grant would fully fund one or more Extension foresters for the 5-year multi-state project. Such involvement would provide a traditional and valuable Extension program, and augment our current plan of work.

Extension and College of NSFA to Host 2020 Meeting

UMaine Extension and the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture (NSFA) will partner to host the summer 2020 meeting of the Northeast Extension Executive Directors (NEED) / Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (NERA).

Research-Practice Partnerships

Ellen Mallory has been representing Extension at meetings to provide input for the UMaine Strategic Vision and Values initiative specific to “research-practice partnerships”. The first meeting that led by the RISE Center and included representatives of a variety of UMaine units who conduct research that involves stakeholders as partners and beneficiaries. The group brainstormed a list of goals, strategies and indicators related fostering research-practice partnerships. Ellen reported back to the ELT, and we invited her to continue to represent Extension in further meetings of this group.

External Funding Survey

The ELT reviewed data that was compiled from the survey recently conducted on the topic of External Funding.  We are exploring next steps, including possibly providing staff training in this area.

One item of note from the survey was related to the best ways to find funding sources. Dennis has sent the following reminder to staff:

Hi everyone,

I am sending a reminder to you about the amazing resources at UMaine’s Fogler Library online that can help you to find out about funding opportunities that can support your Extension work in many ways. These tools are powerful and comprehensive, and allow you to create and save a variety of searches that will endlessly seek out opportunities to meet your criteria and notify you.

The Fogler staff is there to help: Take a look.

Search Updates

Extension Crops Entomology Specialist – Initial search failed,  New search to start
Program Coordinator – Bryant Pond and Greenland Point – Advertising
4-H Youth Development Professional – Oxford County – Screening
4-H Youth Development Professional – Waldo County – Advertising
Administrative Specialist CL1 – Libby Hall – Interviewing
Administrative Specialist CL2 – Waldo – Preparing to interview
Community Education Assistant CL1 – Somerset – Mark Smith hired
Community Education Assistant CL1(Horticulture) – Oxford – Emma Fournier hired
Community Education Assistant – Hancock – Preparing to advertise

2019 ELT Meeting Dates

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

Dates	Facilitator	Notes	Location
July 22	Prichard	Harrington	UMA: 111 Robinson Hall
August 14	Harrington	Brzozowski	Orono: 102B Libby Hall
August 28	Brzozowski	Sulinski	Orono: 102B Libby Hall
September 16	Sulinski	Phelps	UMA: 111 Robinson Hall
September 30	Phelps	Carter	Orono: 102B Libby Hall