News and Notes: May 10, 2024

The OSU Extension Management Structure Task Force continues to meet and examine the current management structure of Extension. Based on the direction of Dean Kress and OSU Extension leadership, the focus remains on supporting our OSU Extension faculty and staff by determining the optimal ways to lead and support county operations and the system. Most recently, the task force met to review the progress of its subcommittees and develop next steps. 

One subcommittee is charged with reviewing current and previous management structures of OSU Extension. The team developed a historic timeline of Extension administrative models and is now doing a deeper dive into why models changed over time, what was good about them, and where they fell short. This subcommittee is also trying to better understand the current model by reviewing designEXT materials that served as the foundation of its creation. Faculty and staff perspectives are being incorporated via previous surveys, such as the recent Enterprise Trust Index survey. A process for garnering feedback from area leaders and others in the system is being examined. 

Another subcommittee is responsible for better understanding other benchmark Extension systems and exploring their administrative models. To date, there have been approximately 24 models that have been identified. A closer look will be given to systems with similar state demographics, county-based structures, Extension systems that are situated within the university/college and have similar staff and faculty promotion structure. The subcommittee will be assigning task force members to connect with other states to help get a better feel for what works and what to watch out for. 

The Extension Management Structure Task Force is working toward finalizing recommendations by late summer/fall. 

note: This update was shared on the all-Extension listserv on May 3.

The Office of Sponsored Programs and the CFAES Office for Research and Graduate Education provide scheduled office hours tailored to Extension professionals every week. These sessions aim to provide guidance and support for grant-related inquiries, spanning from proposal submission to the epa-005 process, and encompassing award management. Extension Sponsored Program Officers (SPO), Extension cost center managers, and staff from the Grant Development Support Unit are in attendance to address questions.  

Office hours are on various days of the week, but all sessions are from 1-2 p.m. and are offered in 15-minute time slots. Appointments are scheduled through Picktime. 

Extension finds itself in a unique position right now. We have a tremendous number of new and newer employees; we are recruiting to fill multiple leadership roles; we are taking a careful look at our structure. We are also conscientious about doing impactful work on behalf of Extension and maintaining our national reputation.

As such, it is important to remember that we are all ambassadors of the Ohio State brand. Whether we are program staff, support staff or someone with an affiliate connection to Extension, brand representation must be a priority. 

To make sure we are accurately representing Extension and Ohio State in any activity, program, research project, interaction with local clientele, reports to current and potential stakeholders, etc., we need to have a coordinated effort. To make this easier for you—our Extension professionals, we have had multiple conversations to clarify how Extension coordinates our efforts in conjunction with the CFAES Marketing and Communications team, as well as the university’s Office of Marketing and Communications. 

In the coming weeks, we will clarify and communicate a number of best practices and procedures. We realize that some of the changes that are part of this initiative may feel like a big ask, but they are necessary to keep all of us representing the Ohio State brand appropriately via Extension.   

There are a lot of moving parts to this process, and we appreciate your patience as we work to “do things right” and support you most helpfully. 

The Ohio State Office of University Compliance and Integrity offers a monthly training on the Outside Activities and Conflicts Policy, which incorporates the Ohio Ethics Law and federal research regulations regarding conflicts of interest. This training reflects our shared values and is particularly encouraged for university leaders, supervisors, managers, and researchers, but all are welcome to attend. 

To learn more about the upcoming sessions — including dates, times, topics, and speakers — visit go.osu.edu/oactraining (in Buckeye Learn). 

Logan Minter, field specialist for specialty crops production systems, was recently awarded a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant to support the project, "Expanding Opportunities of Season-Long Row Covers in Cucurbit Production using Native Pollinators." Learn more about the NCR-SARE Partnership Grant Program at northcentralsare.org/Grants/Our-Grant-Programs/Partnership-Grant-Program.

Daytime work demands, evening meetings, extracurricular and social activities, and routine errands can all make making plans for healthy meals a struggle. The Live Healthy Live Well team recently published a blog post that shares how you can become more efficient in the kitchen when it comes to meal planning and prep despite busy schedules.