Extension Updates

To assure that all of you are kept up to date on a regular basis, the three regional directors and the state Extension Administration Office provides bi-weekly Extension Updates. This forum is for all Extension announcements, so if you have something to distribute, please forward it to Lori Bates with FOR EXTENSION UPDATE noted.

October 8, 2013

On Behalf of CJ Mucklow:


Changes to Program Planning and Reporting for 2014

You may have heard some changes are being implemented to the reporting system. The intention is that they will accomplish the following: 1) make it easier for agents and specialists to report the good work they do; 2) have the reports more accurately reflect their actual work; 3) simplify and reduce redundancy in the reporting system; 4) have the reports be more useful to stakeholders; and 5) allow for more flexible and greater cross discipline collaboration in your work. All of this is intended to make the planning and reporting system more efficient and effective and to help us tell our story better.

These changes are for the 2014 reporting year and not for 2013 reporting.

In recognition that the current planning and reporting system has not been meeting the needs of Extension personnel, PLT has been gathering specific feedback and ideas from individuals over the past few months to make improvements. For the 2014 planning and reporting year, Director Swanson has adopted our recommendations to: 1) streamline work teams and program areas into broad-based, interdisciplinary Planning and Reporting Units (PRUs); 2) utilize one set of shared outputs to be the only outputs used by each PRU; and 3) encourage each PRU to limit the number of outcomes to the essential measures we want to communicate to our stakeholders. Note that while it is an expectation that you will continue to team up with coworkers to do programming that fits local and state needs, formal Plans of Work will be developed by these PRUs.

Work team and program area leaders may be contacting you for your input on what these PRUs should look like. We’d also like to extend an invitation to everyone to review the set of draft outputs that each PRU would share. Please make sure that your program work is captured adequately by these outputs and send any feedback you have to your work team or program area leader by Friday, October 18 so that program area leaders can submit all input to PLT by Tuesday, October 22. PLT will later draft guidelines for how each approved output should be reported on so as to ensure that everyone is reporting the same way. All PRUs, shared outputs, and other associated changes including new training and education opportunities will be announced to Extension faculty and staff during the administrative update at Forum.

Moving Reports to Pending

As a result of all the feedback about the reporting system there is one area that might help everyone with ease of reporting. When creating reports you should always leave them in pending. By doing this you can go back to the report and update contacts, web hits, etc., without having to create a new report. Also if you supervise someone you may get an email asking you to approve a specific report from someone. We don’t have a policy that requires report approval but you may still get the email. Please ignore this and leave the report so it will stay in pending until the year end. Also Joy Bauder will change all draft plans to pending this week.

Plan To Invest (PTI)

There is also confusion about whether you need to have a PTI for each area you work in or can just create one that includes various program areas. This has been an area of contention especially for those agents with multiple responsibilities. You can do this either way you desire but those with multiple work areas may find it easier to create one PTI but contacting all the Program Areas of your work.

Annual Forum

Judy Barth sent an email yesterday about registering for Forum. Register now and mark your calendar for November 4-7 for this event!

Western Region Vacancies

  • Dolores County Director – The search committee is in the process of deciding who will be asked to interview. Interviews are scheduled for October 30 and 31.
  • Garfield County 4-H Program Coordinator - Kim Schriver is resigning effective December 20. The position is under review. Best wishes to Kim on this new chapter of her life.
  • Eagle/Pitkin County - Jeff Pieper began as the Eagle/Pitkin County horticulture agent last week. Welcome to CSU Extension, Jeff!

Future of Ranching Conference

Professors Rick Knight in Wildlife, Andy Seidl in Ag Economics, and I were awarded funds from Western SARE to host a Future of Ranching Conference. The event will be on April 24-25, 2014 on campus. If this is an area that interests you and you want to see the draft agenda, let me know and I'll email it to you. This is a repeat of a conference Rick Knight did on campus about 10 years ago.

Getting to Know Experiment Station Researchers

Last month Calvin Pearson with the Fruita Research Station hosted Extension agents to a field day. It was a great opportunity to learn about AES research and ways we can collaborate with our sister agency personnel. Take the opportunity to meet your fellow CSU employees where you work. This will become an annual event in the Western Region. There were six AES researchers and 16 Extension agents that attended the field day. Thanks, Calvin!

Take a Little Time Out

For the first time in 20 years I actually took a drive just to look at colors! We live here and sometimes take it for granted what a great state we live in. So, take a little time for yourself and enjoy Colorado. Click here to see the attached photo I took in north Routt County.

Disaster Work

Congratulations to all of you who stepped up and helped with the recent flood disasters from educational materials, volunteering, saving pets, newspaper articles, web articles, etc. Congratulations to all for your outstanding work!

Specialists’ Introductions

Frank Peairs

Meet CSU Extension Specialist
Frank Peairs

Title: Professor
College: Agricultural Sciences
Department: Bio-agricultural Sciences and Pest Management
% Extension Time: 55%
Years with CSU: 30
Extension/Outreach Involvement: Management of arthropod pests of Colorado field crops, household insects.
Research Area: Arthropod pests of wheat and field corn.
Teaching Responsibilities: Understanding Pesticides, IPM, Advanced IPM, Agronomic Insects, Livestock Entomology
Hobbies/Interests: Family and friends
Contact Information: 102 Insectary, 1177 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1177, 970-491-5945 frank.peairs@colostate.edu

 

Jeruesha Nichols

Meet CSU Extension Specialist
Jeruesha Nichols

Title: Veterinary Technology II
College: Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Department: Clinical Sciences
% Extension Time: Approximately 20%
Years with CSU: 26
Extension/Outreach Involvement: Web Master for the Veterinary Extension Website. Providing veterinary technical care, expertise and public education
Research Area: Veterinary Medicine
Teaching Responsibilities: Public Education
Contact Information: 214-4 Diagnostic Medical Center - CSU, 300 W Drake Rd, Bldg. C, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1644, 970-297-5159 jeruesha.nichols@colostate.edu

Updated