News and Notes: April 1, 2021

As I mentioned in my March 24 programming update, we are able to start planning for more attendees at in-person programs that would be offered starting in mid-May; however, all in-person programs continue to require exemption approval. To submit exemptions for in-person programming, visit go.osu.edu/CFAESf2fEventRequest.

We hope to have more information and guidance about how counties can prepare for their local fairs, as well as additional university guidance on planning for camps in the near future as well.

In addition, the in-person training course was scheduled to be completed by ALL Extension employees by yesterday (March 31). If for some reason, you have not yet accessed the online course, please do so ASAP at osu.instructure.com/courses/100537.

I’ve also mentioned a few times that Extension administration is working on how to transition more fully back into our statewide offices, meeting the needs of our communities while being safe and flexible during the process. As you know, HOW we do business can be complicated, with many moving parts, university processes, and other factors to consider. The following list is not all-inclusive, but I thought it would be valuable to list a number of the things that are being worked on as we talk transition:

• Updated office plans (technology needs, office space/density/coverage/schedules);
• Office signage (office status, as well as required COVID-19 signage for doors, floors, tables, sanitizing areas);
• Employee-specific needs (accommodations via HR, scheduling, readjusting to life in the office);
• Programming (adjustments from virtual-only to in-person and/or hybrid);
• Connecting with clientele in new ways.

Join us for the next Director’s Video Update on Wednesday, April 14 at 9am. Registration is required in advance. Please register by Mon, April 12 if possible. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with log-in information about joining the webinar on April 14. You may need to log into Zoom first, then click on the individualized link in your registration confirmation to access the webinar. The update will be recorded for those who cannot join us for the live presentation. If you have a disability and have questions about accessibility or wish to request accommodations for this activity, you can request assistance at cfaes.osu.edu/a11y.

Anticipated topics will include Extension strategic action update, return to offices transition updates, vaccine education initiative update, LifeWorks report and action steps, DEI report and action steps, budget updates, and celebrating

-Pat Bebo, assistant dean for outreach and engagement in the College of Education and Human Ecology; division director, Family and Consumer Sciences; and assistant director, OSU Extension

Your feedback is critically important to the future goals developed for this project. Visit go.osu.edu/extensionvaccineopinionsurvey and provide input by 5pm today. EXCITE stands for the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement. This is a joint initiative between Cooperative Extension and the CDC. The goal of the long-term partnership is to strengthen immunization education with a special focus on adult vaccination hesitancy around COVID and other adult immunizations. The immediate goal of this first funded project is to promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations through relevant messaging and innovative models for community action. Learn more at extension-5.hubspotpagebuilder.com/cdc. Our first action is to “take the temperature” of the communities in which you work and our own organization too, so we created a short, easy survey to do just that. Thank you in advance for your insight and honesty. The survey is 100 percent anonymous.

Like everyone else in Ohio, we are following state and federal guidelines for the distribution of the vaccine. All Ohioans 16 and over are currenly eligible. I would encourage you to look locally for vaccine appointments, as they appear to be the most accessible. However, you are, as OSU employees able to access the Wexner Medical Center distribution through MyChart. This access still requires appointments and are dependent upon slots and vaccine availability as is every other provider. To learn more about the Wexner Medical Center vaccines as well as other statewide efforts, check online.

Ohio State’s Environmental Professionals Network (EPN) signature Earth Day celebration this year is Take Flight!, a focus on local and global efforts to protect and restore the monarch butterfly. The U.S. Midwest region serves as a vital corridor in the monarch’s migration cycle between Mexico to Canada across the United States. Monarch populations have declined by more than 70 percent in North America, and a global conservation effort is required to restore them. This program focuses on solutions and tangible resources. Dr. Doug Tallamy, New York Times best-selling author, and Jane Breckinridge, director, Euchee Butterfly Farm, and an enrolled citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, will share the virtual stage with leading Ohioans from private, public, and non-profit sectors who are taking action across Ohio to protect pollinator habitat and show us how individuals and communities can engage locally to make a difference in this global conservation movement.  EPN is hosting the event with the CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources. To learn more and register, visit go.osu.edu/epnapr21.

As you know, our budget for Extension at the state was cut last fiscal year by 5 percent during the pandemic and we are beginning this fiscal year from that starting place. This reflects approximately a $3 million dollar reduction across both years, and we are continuing to be frugal to assure that we can continue to maintain our people and our programs as the economy continues to work its way back to pre-pandemic levels. I am happy to say that with all that has transpired this last year, we have been able to keep our people employed, we have avoided furloughs and reductions in force, all while having just providing a two-year bridge for IT (which proved to be incredibly helpful as COVID required a huge pivot to online and virtual). We will need to continue to be, as always, excellent stewards of the dollars we receive. We have a tremendous team within Extension and at the college (especially Adam Ward and Dean Kress) who are continuing to tell the story of Extension and the college’s success in meeting the needs of our clientele, especially in the face of the challenges during 2020.

You all have been extraordinarily successful in meeting the needs of our communities in new and innovative ways while balancing the health and safety of your colleagues, clientele, and loved ones. This effort has not gone unnoticed, and we continue to have the support of our local funders. Our county appropriations has remained level or slightly increased during this pandemic. Out of 68 of 88 counties reporting (77 percent), the overall average was a 3 percent increase over COVID-adjusted 2020 appropriations.

• 8 counties have a decrease (most proactively planned).
• 32 counties have been held flat.
• 28 counties have a slight increase.

This speaks loudly to the value you bring to each community. Thank you!

A number of issues have contributed to delayed payments to vendors from purchase order invoices primarily related to converted purchase orders from PeopleSoft into Workday. The university is actively resolving these issues by increasing capacity in Accounts Payable and making bulk changes to Workday processes. If a vendor has reached out to you about a past-due PO invoice payment, please contact your cost center manager (CCM, Jesse for counties, Anna for state 4-H, Robert for other state units) with the PO number, and he or she will investigate and try to help facilitate an expedited payment.

The North Central Region Water Network’s Algal Bloom Action Team has received an Outstanding Regional Collaboration Achievement Award from the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP). The team won the award for organizing and hosting a three-day virtual research symposium in January 2021. More than 1,000 Extension professionals, researchers, and water professionals nationwide learned about emergent harmful algal bloom research and facilitated outreach on the subject. Eugene Braig, aquatic ecosystems program director for CFAES, is a member of the team and played an active role in coordinating and moderating the symposium. See more information at senr.osu.edu/news/team-recognized-outstanding-regional-collaboration.

Join the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership (ACEL) for the next topic in its series “ACEL to Extension” – offered directly for Extension personnel by ACEL faculty. For more information, visit go.osu.edu/ACELtoExtension. Below is the list of remaining topics, with direct links to registration. You must register for each session individually. Each session starts at 9 a.m. and last about 60 minutes.

• April 15: Lights, Camera, Action! (Emily Buck)
• April 22: Effective Questioning Strategies (Shannon Washburn)
• May 6: Early or mid-career? Tips for retiring the way YOU want (Brian Raison)

We affirm our conviction that racism and inequality have no place in CFAES. Our CFAES Principles of Community serve as a base for managing these actions. We all contribute to our community and our collective experience. You are encouraged to download and post the principles, discuss them during meetings, share them with others, and most importantly, use them as a guide in all that we do to sustain life.