Friends --- Memorial Day is upon us, and I would like to recognize the sacrifices made by those who have served and lost their lives in the performance of their military duties. A special thank you goes out to those in our own ranks who are serving our country through the armed forces and national guard. I strongly encourage you to make time in the coming days and weeks to enjoy time with family and friends, enjoy the sunshine and signs of new life everywhere in Ohio, and make time to completely unplug and refuel.
I want to provide some important updates:
- Interviews. The interviews to fill the assistant director, Community Development position were completed yesterday. I thank everyone who participated and provided input to the search committee, chaired by Pat Bebo. See information in an article below about providing additional feedback.
- Search Committee (associate chair). The search committee for the assistant dean and associate chair position, led by Greg LaBarge, met this week to launch an internal search. Dr. Greg Davis will step back into a faculty role after he completes his term on July 31. More on this in the coming weeks; and be on the lookout for application information soon.
- Search Committee (assistant director, Agriculture and Natural Resources). The search committee, chaired by Elizabeth Hawkins, has reviewed applications and identified candidates to invite to the Columbus campus for interviews in June. The candidate seminars will be held on June 16, June 21, and June 22. The seminars will have Zoom options, and they will be recorded and shared.
- Taking Action. I shared the Enterprise Trust Index initial results with all of you recently, and I promised that leadership would move on the findings. Since then, both Extension Cabinet and our Extension Leadership Team have met and spent significant time reviewing the information and identifying the top three priorities to build out our first 90-day action plans. Information about these plans will be shared during our June 13 director’s video. Your feedback was heard, and we are listening. We look forward to making key progress to address areas we can improve and for which we have control.
- Advocacy on Compression and Equity. For areas where we do not have control, such as compression and equity and pay rates at the university, we will continue to advocate for positive forward movement. As such, I am happy to report that after the university eventually allowed the submission of compression and equity plans (January 6, 2023), following the implementation of Career Roadmap, we have been actively and expeditiously providing every level of detail, rationale, adjustment, and data point requested. Our plan is currently under review at the university level. The university is a large entity, and there are hundreds of requests under review by the Office of Human Resources’ compensation team. Extension is not the only unit under consideration; and again, we ask for patience during this process. If we had the control to pull the lever, I can assure you, we would have done so much earlier. However, we don’t control the process, the pace, and the final determination of wages. We will keep you updated and share details when they are available.
Thank you again for your dedication to the Extension mission, your positive representation of our organization throughout the state, and your passion for serving the people of Ohio along with your colleagues.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend, Jackie