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Ohio State University Extension

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News and Notes: October 15, 2020

OUR VISION: Ohioans have the knowledge and resources they need to actively engage in creating conditions in which they thrive.

OUR MISSION: We create opportunities for people to explore how science-based knowledge can improve social, economic and environmental conditions.

Leadership Notes

  1. I’m very excited about this week’s announcement regarding the forthcoming mentoring program for OSU Extension. Across my lifetime, I’ve been the beneficiary of a great many extraordinary mentors, both in my career and in my personal life.

  2. The next Interim Director’s Video Update will be held on Friday, Nov. 6 at 10 am. Registration is required.

  3. There is nothing new to report right now regarding the budget. We are still working under a 5% cut for the state budget in the first quarter.

  4. Don’t forget about the Extension Refocus Challenge!

COVID-19 Updates

  1. This year, the flu and COVID-19 will be circulating at the same time; and all students, faculty, and staff are strongly encouraged to get a flu shot as soon as possible, whether you have returned to a campus or are at home.

  2. With the spread of COVID-19 persisting into the fall, the challenges of working remotely have only become more complex. Many schools across the country have adopted either a partially or fully-online curriculum, adding additional pressure to our employees and colleagues with children at home.

College Connections

  1. The October issue of the college’s CFAES Monthly faculty-staff newsletter is now available.

Campus Connections/Partnerships

  1. The Learning in Fitness and Education through Sports (LiFEsports) initiative has been announced as the regional winner of the 2020 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award.

Community Connections

  1. Join us for an evening of celebrating 4-H youth, including an online auction. Please visit go.osu.edu/COY for event details, sponsorship information, and registration for the event. 

  2. Through Bucks for Charity you can choose from nearly 1,000 statewide nonprofit organizations that make a difference in areas such as food security, health services, animal welfare, education, advocacy programs or environment.

  3. To help address the anticipated shortage of poll workers on Election Day due to COVID-19, Ohio State employees who serve as poll workers for the Nov. 3 general election can now take a paid day off without using vacation time.

Central State Connections

  1. Central State has a new President, Dr. Jack Thomas, who is meeting regularly with Dean Kress. I have been meeting regularly with their fairly new Associate Extension Director, Dr. Sid DasGupta. Greg Davis and our Assistant Directors are meeting with Central State University program leaders.

Tech Updates

  1. The Office of the CIO will move all of your files from BuckeyeBox into one folder on OneDrive for Business using a migration tool. You will receive advance notice, communications, and training well in advance of your move, so you will have time to prepare.

  2. CarmenZoom now offers a tool that generates speech-to-text transcriptions automatically. The meeting host must enable the Live Transcription feature in the account settings to be able to turn the feature on during a meeting.

Operations/Business of Extension

  1. Business and Finance requires unit leader approval for all memberships, registrations and professional development engagements while the university is still operating under discretionary spending restrictions.

  2. As we continue to prepare for our transition to Workday in January here are key deadlines as they pertain to recruitment and hiring.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

  1. All too often we witness subtle comments or behaviors rooted in bias that intentionally or unintentionally cause harm to others, especially those directed toward people in vulnerable populations.

  2. In this virtual workshop, participants will learn about somatic abolitionist principles and how white people can show up grounded and effective for racial justice.

Extension Annual Conference

  1. Thank you for responding to the call for proposals for annual conference. We received 47 proposals for the various engagement focused sessions.

Health and Wellness

  1. Because of COVID-19, there are changes this year to how you can earn the premium credit part of the health plan.