News and Notes: January 22, 2021

I am very interested in hearing what is on your “top of mind,” ideas you have for our organization moving forward, or creative solutions to pressing issues we face as we continue to navigate this pandemic. The most important resource we have is each other and our sharing of knowledge, thoughts, and ideas to improve our organization and our programs.

I am offering “Open Office Hours” weekly to provide some one-on-one discussion time. Appointments are arranged by Laurie Ward and conducted via Zoom; they will be 20-minute sessions. Currently, the following times during the next few weeks are available:

• Jan. 26 – 9:30am
• Feb. 16 – 10am, 10:30am
• Feb. 23 – 3pm, 3:30pm
• March 2 – 10am, 10:30am
• March 9 – 10am, 10:30am
• March 16 – 10am, 10:30am
• March 23 – 10am, 10:30am
• March 30 – 10am, 10:30am

To request a session, complete the attached request form and send it to ward.676@osu.edu. All requests MUST include details on a specific topic(s) you would like to discuss. A Zoom link will be sent once the session is confirmed. More sessions will be added in the coming months, so please only request one session now so I can visit with as many people as possible. I appreciate each and every one of you, and I look forward to hearing from you!

The university guidance is in alignment with what we had already anticipated: flexible remote work options through the end of spring semester, when it is likely we will be much further along with vaccinations. As such, I am reminding you that we already have an avenue for these flexible work arrangements and office coverage via our Return-to-Office plans that have been in effect since July. Each office is encouraged to continually review these in the context of local COVID-19 prevalence, local commissioner/administrator and Department of Health guidance, programmatic need, and appropriate employee accommodations.

This week, Governor DeWine identified a general reduction in hospitalizations and was optimistic about our ability to continue this trend with ongoing adherence to safety precautions and remaining vigilant in our efforts to protect ourselves and others – although he did remind us that the rate of infection is still much higher in most counties than is recommended by the CDC. We will be revisiting the guidance for RED counties over the next few weeks if we continue to see the improvement in numbers and the uptake of vaccinations. I thank you for your patience as we attempt to maintain the balance between safety and meeting the needs of our communities.

In-person program exemptions are continuing to be accepted by the review committee for those programs that require in-person attendance, are mandated to be in-person by the courts or other state agencies/organizations, or are not viable virtually due to internet inaccessibility. The in-person programming exemption link is available at go.osu.edu/CFAESf2fEventRequest.

REMINDER: If you receive an approved exemption, you MUST take the Scarlet Canvas course. The intent is for this to be viewed BEFORE you perform the programming. It has become clear that many have failed to complete this training in the last few months. If you have an exemption in place and have not completed the training, it must be completed no later than January 31, 2021, or your supervisor will be notified and the exemption could be suspended. Visit the required training course webpage to complete the training as soon as possible.

The University Senate has launched its 2021 election process for faculty senators. The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences has three vacancies. Nominations will be accepted until February 5; elections in each college will run February 8 to February 12. We encourage you to participate in this process by nominating yourself or another colleague to stand for election; email names of nominees to senate@osu.edu. 

Why participate? Election to the Senate is the most direct way to use your faculty expertise to influence university decisions. Our system of shared governance ensures a faculty voice in all aspects of university administration, particularly through the Senate committees that deliberate and advise on important university issues. We need our most engaged faculty to serve as college faculty representatives. 

When elected, faculty senators accept a three-year term of service. They join administrative, student and staff senators at monthly meetings of the Senate, presided over by the university president. In this way, faculty senators have an opportunity to meet and work with colleagues from across the university. Faculty senators attend meetings of Faculty Council to deliberate on issues related to faculty life on campus, and they are invited to serve on one of the 19 Senate committees. See senate.osu.edu for a list of committees and their current members, as well as a directory of current senators. 

Please consider running for this position of privilege and service or urge talented colleagues in any college to do so. If you have questions, contact Ben Givens in the Senate office.

The university previously announced the Zoom cloud retention rate would change from 270 days to 120 days, and the date of that change was extended to Feb. 5. On that date, new meetings and webinars recorded to the Zoom cloud will remain for 120 days. Also, all existing recordings will be removed once they pass the 120-day mark. There are several reminders and helpful instructions posted online.

Ask an Expert will be changing over to a new platform, Ask Extension, on February 1. All OSU Extension employees with any percentage of an Extension appointment (except those on grants/special circumstances) are expected to be signed in and answer questions in the system. You will need to “claim your account” by February 1 to have access to the new system. Instructions are below.

Answering questions in the system can be a benefit to all and may be included on your Vita: reporting contacts, information shared, an opportunity to include in your responses any links to your programs/units for promotion, connecting with your community/area, and representing Extension to the world. This is an opportune time to work with the public while our offices are not open full-time yet, providing an online forum as a service to the community.

Basic requirements for this process have been that questions get an answer within 36 hours before reminders are sent; questions that take longer to answer are copied to supervisors; no one marks yourself as “Away” other than what matches your timesheet; “research-based” answers are given; and questions are given back to the wranglers (not to the Ask system) if you cannot answer it.

This new sign-in time is the perfect time to check your profile, edit as needed, and add or update tags (what you are willing to answer questions about). We encourage collaboration on answering, especially new employees to have answers reviewed before submitting to the system.

Click here to get the step-by-step instructions for Ask Extension sign-up by February 1.