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.

December 3, 2014

On Behalf of Bill Nobles:


CPRS Reporting Deadline

Just a reminder that your 2014 reporting must be submitted by the end of December! You will be able to input information (outputs, outcomes and narratives) into CPRS until 10:00 p.m. December 31. At 10:00 pm all reporting will be moved to final status and you will no longer be able to enter or update 2014 information. Don’t forget to check over your information and provide narratives that tie together your outputs and outcomes into a story. Narratives allow all of us to see and understand what you have accomplished. I also encourage you to finish your reporting early because indications are that campus support may be sparse after the December 19.

County/Area Director (CAD) Meeting

The County/Area Director meeting for 2015 has been put on hold till the following year 2016. The regional directors have decided to offer CAD every other year. The rationale is to allow agents to spend their county funds on programs, task forces, and PRU’s to take advantage of needed face to face time in 2015. It is also an opportunity to develop more programs via social media and collaboration tools. An example will be to place more emphasis on regional director webinars and regional meetings throughout 2015. For further detail positive or negative contact your regional director.

Performance Evaluation and Issues Webinar

The regional director webinar scheduled for December 18 at 1:30 pm is “performance evaluation and issues” and anyone is welcome to attend. The regional directors plus Jacki Paone, Rusty Collins, and others from each region will host. There will be an intro, and then short presentations from panelists, and time for Q&A. The entire event should be less than one hour. There will be more information to follow on whether the program will be Adobe Connect or Zoom. If Adobe Connect the address is: http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/colodac

Salary Task Force

The committee is being chaired by Eric McPhail. The next Zoom conference call will be Monday, December 8 at 2:00 pm. If you have any input, contact the committee of Eric McPhail, Adrian Card, Robin Young, Darrin Parmenter, Ron Meyer, Glenda Wentworth, Curtis Utley, Amy Henschen, Tim Aston, Claire Dixon, Jackie Shea, and/or Devin Engle. Exofficio members are the three regional directors, Jessica Fuentes and Judy Barth.

The committee talked about the issues of salary increases, salary compression, the annual salary exercise, historical Extension salary practices, and gave a brief overview of why the committee was formed. They discussed timeframes and they hope to have something to propose to DAC by April or May, 2015. The committee will do research, gather information and develop elements for recommendation for DAC and Extension administration.

Performance Appraisal Committee

This committee is being chaired by Travis Hoesli, Grand County. The committee of Dennis Kaan, Jennifer Wells, Bill Ekstrom, Roberta Tolan, Barbara Bates, Dean Oatman, Lisa Sholten, and Mary Small will hold their next meeting on Monday, December 15 at 1:30 pm. Exofficio members are the three regional directors, Jessica Fuentes and Judy Barth. Judy is the convener of the committee. If you have input on this topic contact Travis or one of the other members.

The committee wants to present their ideas/recommendations for changes to the performance appraisal process at the spring regional meetings in 2015. The first year to evaluate under the revised performance appraisal process would be calendar year 2016 (evaluations would be completed in spring of 2017).

Websites with the Google Translate Button added – Ruth Willson

After Forum and the discussion that came out of the Diversity session, I have added a link to translate our website to Spanish. The link is located on the left navigation bar in the third group with the eXtension area. I was going to add the link to the header, but there wasn’t much room. Thanks to Eric McPhail and Gunnison County because they already had the link and verbiage added to their website, which I used. When you click on the link, there is a disclaimer both in English and Spanish stating: Clicking on the link below calls a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any computer translation, conversion is not context-sensitive and may not convert text into its intended meaning. CSU Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the converted text. Please note that some applications and or services may not work as expected when translated. Thank You.

We have been concerned with how some of our materials would translate so hopefully this helps if there is confusion. Jeff Wood will be working with those counties that have the template to get this done as well. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

The new CSU brand campaign called 'State of' into 'Extension outreach' – Joanne Littlefield

At Forum this year, the new creative director for CSU External Relations presented the new CSU brand campaign called 'State of'. Different colleges and outreach units are using the taglines in different ways, including ‘State of Innovation’ and ‘State of Courage’ (http://source.colostate.edu/amy-van-dyken-rouen/) Participants at the Forum breakout session brainstormed a bit regarding a tagline or two (or more) for Extension. At the recent Director’s Advisory Council meeting, DAC members gave input on ideas for Engagement and Extension: ‘State of’ -Relevance -growth -food security -local -local foods –life –value -moving forward -to county needs –community –diversity –innovation -challenge –significance -–authenticity -applied research –immediacy -youth development –family –need –possibility –solutions –response –potential -public value -positive youth development -future –knowledge- etc…

Are there some of these that resonate more with you than others? Are there additional thoughts that spring to mind? Please send your ideas to Joanne.Littlefield@colostate.edu

Western Extension Leadership Development (WELD)

Congratulations to the four interns chosen to attend WELD for 2015 - Connie Cecil, Deborah Lester, Glenda Wentworth and Kim Morrison.

Peaks and Plains Vacancies

  • Extension Agent (Agriculture and 4-H Youth Development), Logan County, Sterling, in the hiring process.
  • Extension Agent (Family and Consumer Sciences, Community and 4-H Youth Development) Morgan County, Fort Morgan, closes December 16.
  • Area Extension Agent, Weed Science/Agronomy Golden Plains Area (GPA) Sedgwick County, Julesburg, closes December 23.
  • Southeast Area Extension Agent (Agriculture/Natural Resources and 4-H Youth Development) Kiowa County, Eads, is under review. Position will close January 22, 2015.
  • ½-time Extension Program Associate 4-H Youth Development Sedgwick County, Julesburg, is under review.
  • Extension Program Associate 4-H Youth Development Kit Carson County, Burlington, is under review.

Water Specialist and CMG Vacancies

  • Extension Regional Water Specialist Arkansas Basin and San Luis Valley has closed and applications are under review.
  • ½-time temporary Extension Position Colorado State Master Gardener Coordinator

The ½-time temporary Colorado Master Gardener (CMG) position is 12-month, part-time (20 hours/week) & temporary, with funding guaranteed through June 30, 2016. The location of this position will be determined once a successful candidate is identified. The candidate will provide leadership, guidance and direction for the CMG Program & Colorado Gardener Certificate (CGC) program. All materials must be RECEIVED no later than 11:59 pm Mountain Time on December 16, 2014. Please apply at: https://jobs.colostate.edu/

Completed Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred, in horticulture, public horticulture, or closely related plant sciences field. Complete job description, application process & list of requirements located at: https://jobs.colostate.edu/postings/7349. CSU conducts background checks on all final candidates. CSU is an EO/EA/AA Employer.

The university recently updated its central communications policy

(http://www.ext.colostate.edu/comm/comm-policy.pdf). In this version there is an emphasis on the need to consult Creative Services and the Division of External Relations at the start of any new communications or branding initiative, especially those that may involve outside partners. This is to ensure that Colorado State University's branding, graphic standards and key messages are considered at the very beginning of any new communications project. Joanne Littlefield

Happy Holidays to All!

Updated