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Update: Forty Hour Work Week Proposal

July 8, 2014, 10:02 am
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As you may have seen in the Mountaineer ENews story from June 17, West Virginia University is considering a proposal that would increase hourly employee take home pay by transitioning to a 40-hour work week.

The story noted that a number of factors would have to be taken into consideration, and promised, “many meetings, conversations and the engagement of classified staff in order to assess the viability of the proposal.”

40 Hour Work Week

It also invited people who want to share ideas or concerns to contact WVU Vice President Narvel Weese, or a Staff Council leadership representative.

WVU Extension is very fortunate to be well represented on the WVU Staff Council, holding five of 18 seats. Nancy Bremar (NJBremar@mail.wvu.edu) is vice chair, Dixie Martinelli (DLMartinelli@mail.wvu.edu) is the Board of Governors representative, Paul Martinelli (PRMartinelli@mail.wvu.edu) is the Advisory Council of Classified Employees representative, and Joan Baldwin (JKBaldwin@mail.wvu.edu) and Karen Bright (KLBright@mail.wvu.edu) are council members.

Conversations have begun about whether the plan is feasible, with an eye towards a January 2015 implementation if the decision is made to move forward. If you have thoughts or concerns you’d like to share, it’s important to reach out to one of our staff council representatives and make sure your voice is heard. Extension Focus will make every effort to keep you updated on the progress of this process over the coming months.

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CRED Wins Excellence Award

July 8, 2014, 10:03 am
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CRED First Impressions Award

The National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) has awarded WVU Extension’s Community Resource and Economic Development (CRED) team the northeast region’s Excellence in Community Development Award for its Tourism First Impressions program. Michael Dougherty, Doug Arbogast, Kelly Nix and Daniel Eades were on hand at the association’s annual conference to accept the award.

Two other WVU Extension colleagues won awards as part of multi-university teams. Allison Nichols was part of a large national team, the CRED Indicators Work Group, which was the southern regional winner and national runner up for the DACDEP Excellence in Community Development Work – Team.

Litha Sivanandan was a member of the multi-state effort that captured top honors in the northeast region for Educational Technology – Team.

Congratulations to all of the winners for their accomplishments!

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WVU Extension Service Receives High Marks from USDA NIFA

July 8, 2014, 10:04 am
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The results of our annual federal reporting are in, and WVU Extension has received a very complimentary evaluation. Each year, Extension services across the nation submit reports of their work to evaluators at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), who look at how effectively each state is meeting the needs of its citizens.

The WVU Extension report received some very favorable comments, including:

• “It is exciting to know that WVU Extension is able to deliver many services not only through its employees but also through seasonal employees and many volunteers.”
• “WVU Extension services are recognized and are utilized by the citizens of the state (11%), more than the national average (5%).
• “WVU Extension identifies stakeholders and solicits their input for both strengthening their programs as (and) making program changes to meet the evolving needs such as STEM programs for children, oil and natrual (sic) gas programs, ATV safety, expansion of tourism etc.”
• “The annual report from WVU Extension demonstrates the committment (sic) and dedication of the leadership and staff at the WVU in providing outstanding services to WV residents.”
• “The innovative programs developed by WVU Extension are not only having a significant positive impact to the state residents but also to citizens throughout the USA.”

The report also noted each faculty member having an individual plan and internal merit review, the effectiveness of our program review, the use of appropriate logic model elements for our programs, and the use of extensive numerical tracking to measure program impacts.

In sharing the news with WVU Extension leadership, interim director Steve Bonanno gave credit for the good review to “the hard work and dedication of Extension faculty and staff, and the reporting effort of Allison Nichols.”

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Focus - Volume 29, Number 9 - July 2, 2014

July 8, 2014, 12:37 pm
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To Our Good Health

July 22, 2014, 9:09 am
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• Go lean on protein by choosing dry beans or peas as a main dish or as part of a meal. Bean enchiladas are a quick and easy meal.

Tip of the Day from www.choosemyplate.gov/

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In Memoriam

July 22, 2014, 9:10 am
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We have just learned that Roberta M. Smith, wife of former agent Steve Smith, passed away at University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia, on May 30 after a short battle with leukemia. She was 74. The Marlinton native was a 1958 graduate of Marlinton High School, and worked in the insurance industry for many years. In addition to her husband, she is survived by two daughters, three nieces and a nephew. A memorial service was held at the VanReenen Funeral Home in Marlinton; graveside services were held at the Mountain View Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to your local rescue squad or fire department. Condolences may be sent to Steve at 304 Rainbow Drive, Staunton, VA 24401.

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Have You Heard?

July 22, 2014, 9:11 am
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Speaking at the annual Alumni Luncheon on Capitol Hill on July 10, President Gee said he believes, “Being at West Virginia University at this time?is a calling.” You can find a link to a five minute excerpt of his remarks on the Employee Resources site at http://employees.ext.wvu.edu/.

4-H keeps on giving! Tina Kopp, contributing columnist to the Clarksburg Exponent Telegram, had such great memories of her time at 4-H camp that when it was time for her daughter to go to Harrison County camp this summer, she went along as a cabin counselor. In her June 30 column, she talked about the week, saying, “If you have not considered sending your child to 4-H camp I would strongly encourage you to do so. I witnessed so many acts of kindness throughout the week. It was awesome to see all the kids and counselors looking out for one another.” You can read the full article at http://bit.ly/1ruM12l. Has ¬your camp or other summer activity gotten media attention? Please let us know!

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People and Places - Faculty and Staff Changes

July 22, 2014, 9:12 am
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Peni Adams will begin work as Health Educator in Wyoming County on Monday, July 28.

Helen Gist has resigned her position as visiting instructor with the Healthy Lifestyle program based in Charleston. Her resignation takes effect Friday, July 25.

Dana Lester is now working with the Family Nutrition Program; her base location is the Charleston office. The change took effect Tuesday, July 1.

Kelley Wayne will begin work as the Braxton/Clay Health Educator on Tuesday, July 22. She’ll be located in the Braxton County office.

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The Extra Mile

July 22, 2014, 9:13 am
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“Going the extra mile” happens all the time in the WVU Extension Service, doesn’t it? Statewide, the Extension staff is known for helping many in a variety of ways.

Continuing this tradition of helping can be accomplished in a personal way by providing future support through a gift in a will or revocable trust. As we provide for our family’s needs, we can also provide for the Extension Service.

By having your attorney include a gift provision “to the West Virginia University Foundation for the benefit of the WVU Extension Service,” you can open the door to improving Extension health, agriculture and community development programs, upgrading Jackson’s Mill, establishing a WVU scholarship for 4-H members or a fund for 4-H leader training, supporting 4-H programs, or making an unrestricted gift that will be used to meet the most pressing needs at that time.

For more help to make such a gift work, contact Brent Clark (Brent.Clark@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293- 8622). Gifts in wills count in A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University as long as the donor will be age 70 by the end of the campaign.

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State 4-H Days Needs Volunteers on Saturday, July 26

July 22, 2014, 9:14 am
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State4-HDay

It is that time of year again! State 4-H Days, held at the Mountainlair on the WVU downtown campus, provides West Virginia 4-H members with opportunities to participate in a variety of educational competitions and events. We rely on the services of caring volunteers to judge our visual presentations and public speaking contests and to serve as room chairs for the competitions. Would you be available to assist with our events on Saturday July 26? Please respond to Joyce Clark (JDClark@mail.wvu.edu) to let us know if you are able to help us for the morning session (beginning at 10:00 a.m.), the afternoon session (beginning at 2:00 p.m.), or all day.

Thank you in advance for considering this request.

Event Website: http://4-hyd.ext.wvu.edu/events_forms/state4_hdays

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Shirley M. Kimble Training Center Receives Accreditation

July 22, 2014, 9:15 am
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ContinuingEdHeart

WVU Safety and Health Extension’s Shirley M. Kimble Training Center has received a five-year accreditation as an Advanced Life Support (ALS)/Basic Life Support (BLS) Continuing Education Institute from the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services.

The process to gain the endorsement included a site visit; interviews with center personnel, faculty members, and students; budget review; and inspection of classroom facilities, computer resources, and instructional equipment.

WVU Safety and Health Extension (S&HE), through the Shirley M. Kimble Training Center, offers basic and advanced life support classes to the American Heart Association, Emergency Nurses Association, American College of Surgeons, and many others across West Virginia and beyond. Students include doctors, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, physician assistants, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and the general public. The training programs are designed to address the unique challenges of rural emergency medicine. More than 400 affiliated instructors have trained more than 3,000 participants annually since 1992.

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Focus - Volume 29, Number 10 - July 21, 2014

July 22, 2014, 9:28 am
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People and Places - Publications

September 23, 2014, 1:59 pm
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Two of our WVU Extension colleagues have articles in the August 2014 issue of the Journal of Extension. Jane Riffe collaborated with researchers from Washington State University, Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada on an article titled “Buffering Negative Impacts of Divorce on Children: Evaluating Impact of Divorce Education.” It’s available online at www.joe.org/joe/2014august/rb3.php.

Julie Tritz wrote an article advocating participatory research for Extension educators, rather than more conventional forms or research. You can find “Participatory Research: A Tool for Extension Educators” online at www.joe.org/joe/2014august/tt5.php.

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Making It Work

September 23, 2014, 2:00 pm
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We know that making solid financial plans for retirement is important for our own future. The funds that we accumulate for retirement can also be used to support Extension or 4-H after we pass away.

Filling out a beneficiary form provided by the retirement account’s administrator is all that’s involved. Listing the West Virginia University Foundation, Inc. as the beneficiary is needed. An agreement about how the funds will benefit WVU Extension is also appropriate.

Your funds could help WVU Jackson’s Mill grow, establish an academic scholarship for 4-H members at WVU or leader training fund, help the 4-H program do more, enhance Extension agriculture, health or community development programs, or provide support for Extension’s most pressing needs.

For those age 70 and older, your testamentary retirement account gift will count in A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University.

Brent Clark (Brent.Clark@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-8622) can help you with those arrangements.

Assuring your own happy retirement can, if you choose, assure a brighter future for Extension and 4-H as well!

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Capital Campaign Is Ahead of Schedule

September 23, 2014, 2:01 pm
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StateofMindsWVU’s capital campaign, A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University, has been so successful that it’s being extended. The original goal of $750 million was surpassed eighteen months ahead of the original 2015 end-date. As a result, the goal has been increased to $1 billion and the campaign has been extended to 2017.

WVU Extension’s portion of the campaign has been even more successful. With the help of generous friends of Extension, we met our original goal of $4.5 million, and then our revised goal of $7.5 million. Extension’s new goal is $12 million.

During a recent reception to provide an update on A State of Minds?, Interim Director Steve Bonanno took the opportunity to thank all WVU Extension employees for the campaign’s success.

“Unlike WVU’s schools and colleges, Extension doesn’t have alumni – we have programs,” Bonanno said. “It takes all of us to conduct the kinds of programs that change lives. And that’s what sells.”

Our work is indeed appreciated. The year-long Council Circle Challenge to renovate the Council Circle at WVU Jackson’s Mill is at almost 70 percent of its goal, with nine months left to go.

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Getting 'Face to Face' with West Virginia University

September 23, 2014, 2:02 pm
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FacetoFace_v2_Page_1WVU Extension has been invited to take part in WVU’s ‘Face to Face’ initiative to connect with prospective students. The initiative allows in-state high school seniors to meet with representatives from many parts of the University, including Admissions; Housing and Residential Education; Financial Aid; the Office of International Programs; the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Graduate Education and Life; and more. Extension agents in counties where the events are being held were invited to participate because of the relationships they have with high school students and their families. Over the years, Extension agents have been very influential in recruiting students. WVU’s 15th president, Dr. Paul A. Miller attributes his successful career to 4-H and his Hancock county agent who introduced the idea of attending college. You can read more on this at http://bit.ly/Y2CXaV.
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'Ask the Expert' Now Accommodates Advance Questions

September 23, 2014, 2:03 pm
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AsktheExpert The fall ‘Ask the Expert’ series continues, with a change that allows people to submit questions in advance. There will be a WVU Extension Facebook post on Monday mornings. Questions can be submitted as comments to that post, and will be answered during the noon to 1 p.m. live session with a panel of experts on the week’s topic on Wednesdays. WVU Extension’s social media project is designed to broaden the reach of our work. You can join the conversation at www. facebook.com/WVUExtension.
Upcoming topics include: Sept. 17 – Community Leadership Academy & Community Leadership
Sept. 24 – Diabetes
Oct. 1 – Join the Club: 4-H
Nov. 5 – Gardening (planting bulbs, solid testing, putting your garden to bed)
Nov. 12 – Venison 101
Nov. 19 – Holidays!
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WVU Office of Sponsored Programs Announces New Tool for Researchers

September 23, 2014, 2:04 pm
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The WVU Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) has a new database to help researchers locate and secure funding. ProQuest Pivot™ is a web-based discovery and workflow tool that combines a comprehensive source of global funding opportunities worth an estimated $33 billion with a unique database of 3 million pre-populated scholar profiles, drawing from Community of Scholars and Community of Science profiles.

The program allows researchers, faculty and research administrators to easily explore new avenues for funding, view funding opportunities uniquely matched to their scholar profile, collaborate with colleagues and manage the results of the process to build a funding strategy that supports both immediate and long-term funding needs. You can gain access to Pivot™ through the OSP website; it is free to faculty, students, and staff at WVU. There’s an overview of the program on the Employee Resources site at http://employees.ext.wvu.edu/.

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Title IX Training: a Federal Mandate

September 23, 2014, 2:05 pm
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TitleIX There is additional information about the mandatory Title IX training that all WVU employees must complete.

Title IX is a part of the United States Education Amendments of 1972 and prohibits sex discrimination in education. It states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” So, it’s not just about equality for students who play sports. It also guarantees equality for faculty and staff as well. Title IX covers sexual violence, sex or gender-based discrimination, stalking, relationship violence, bullying, campus sexual misconduct, mandated reporting, and mandatory reporters: who has to tell what, to whom, and when.

As an institution that receives federal money, WVU is required to provide Title IX training to all of its employees. And as a WVU employee, you have certain responsibilities – not only concerning your own conduct, but also how you respond to events/incidents that you experience, hear about and/or see. This training tells you what you need to know about your responsibilities and what WVU is doing to ensure a safe environment for anyone on campus or at an off-campus facility (i.e. faculty, staff, students, vendors and guests).

WVU HR Training and Development has created the Title IX: What Everyone on Campus Needs to Know! training session. There are classroom sessions held in Morgantown (for local employees only). Completing this 3-hour workshop does fulfill the mandatory training requirement. Remaining sessions for this year are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 8, Thursday, Nov. 13, and Thursday, Dec. 11. You can register at http://tnd.hr.wvu.edu/catalog/title-ix.

Special arrangements have been made to offer this training twice at WVU Jackson’s Mill in conjunction with Annual Meeting/New Employee Orientation/Professional Development. Sessions are scheduled for Monday, Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon, and Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 9 a.m. to noon. Please give strong consideration to attending one of these sessions, where you’ll be able to discuss issues that might be more likely to occur in the course of extension work.

An online training will also be offered starting Sept. 22 for anyone who prefers online training or for those who cannot attend a classroom session. For more information, please visit http://tnd.hr.wvu.edu/catalog/title-ix on or after Sept. 22 for the online training or watch for the announcement in ENews.

This training must be completed by Dec. 31, 2014. We will be following up with Extension employees to ensure that everyone has completed the training by this date. You will receive a certificate for your completion of the training. You must scan and email a copy of your certificate to Kim Suder (KESuder@mail.wvu.edu) and Tonya Michael (Tonya.Michael@mail.wvu.edu) to verify that you have completed this training. For more information, please contact Tonya Michael (Tonya.Michael@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-8948).

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Annual Meeting Update

September 23, 2014, 2:06 pm
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AnnualMeetingMV Don’t forget to mark your calendars for WVU-ES Annual Meeting, Professional Development, and New Employee Orientation (NEO), Oct. 20-23 at WVU Jackson’s Mill.

Annual Meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, and conclude late Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 21. We’ll start with new employee introductions and remarks from Interim Director Steve Bonanno. Epsilon Sigma Phi will meet after the afternoon session; the 4-H Agents Association will meet on Monday as well. Our Tuesday morning session will be followed by our annual Accolades Luncheon. Bill Nevin will be back to emcee again this year. Our afternoon session will include remarks from President Gee and Provost McConnell. We’ll finish up with a poster session and dinner reception featuring heavy hors d’oeuvres.

Annual Meeting gives us the chance to celebrate our successes, learn what’s ahead for our organization, and spend some time together, so while attendance isn’t mandatory, it’s strongly recommended.

NEO will be held the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 22; Professional Development will also begin on Wednesday morning and run through noon on Thursday, Oct. 23.

Questions about Annual Meeting should go to Ann Berry (Ann.Berry@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-8640). Kim Suder (KESuder@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-8613) and Tonya Michael (Tonya.Michael@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-8948) are handling New Employee Orientation and Professional Development. Registration will be opening shortly – look for the ES-ALL announcement.

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