Extension Update: April 2004 Archives
The UNH Cooperative Extension Strategic Plan Issue 3, Goal 2, Strategy B, Action 1 states, “Define expectations for staff in the area of competitive funding – then communicate the expectations.” After months of discussion and reflection, the Leadership Team developed the following revenue generation expectations for the organization.
The revenue generation goal includes raising up to 50 percent of revenue from grants, contracts and gifts by July 1, 2007 . The current budget includes 35 percent of revenue from these sources. Growth in grants, contracts and gifts will occur at a five percent increase per year for the next three years, through interdisciplinary issue teams and enhanced staff capacity.
Staff expectations include a three-prong approach. Program Leaders will work with staff to create a program-area revenue generation portfolio by July 1 each year. Every specialist will be required to acquire a minimum of 20 percent of their salary and benefits through grants, contracts (including teaching) and gifts by July 1, 2005 . Finally, all county educators will actively contribute to revenue generation in their program area through their plan of work, under the guidance of their Program Leader and interdisciplinary issue team leaders.
There will be a number of ways to support revenue generation. Job descriptions and job announcements for staff will continue to include revenue generation consistent with the expectations above. The employee’s supervisor also will determine the optimum percent of a specialist’s or educator’s time dedicated to meeting the commitments of grants and contracts. Bonuses or other reward funds will recognize employees who contribute significantly to revenue generation as part of outstanding performance. The Leadership Team will work with COAs and county staff to enhance consistent and effective administration of small grants.
These revenue generation expectations and support systems are important for the sustainability of our organization. I urge any of you with questions or suggestions on these expectations to contact members of the Leadership Team.
A nationwide search is underway for a new program leader for agricultural resources to replace Bruce Clement, who retired April 15. As described at the regional meetings, the new program leader will divide his/her time between overall statewide program and administrative leadership in agricultural issues (75 percent) as well as work on small farm issues (25 percent). Until selection of a new program leader, I have appointed Cooperative Extension Associate Director Nancy Franz to serve as interim program leader, supported by a leadership group made up of John Porter, Cathy Neal, George Hamilton and Margaret Hagen.
The University of New Hampshire Staff Professional Development Grant Committee meets four times each year to review applications and award grants. Applications for the fourth quarter of the year are due Tuesday, June 1. Information and grant applications are on line at http://www.unh.edu/hr/pdfs/staffdev.pdf or contact Patsy Stuart at 862-3160.
Over 170 citizens and town officials participated in the New Boston Community Profile (Hillsborough County) April 2-3 (over 200 on Friday night and over 150 on Saturday). The following action teams were created as a result:
Preservation of the Village District
Dealing with Foot Traffic and Road Safety in the Downtown
Planning/Zoning/Dealing with Growth
Development of a Multi-Use Center
Feasibility of a Middle School, and
Development of a Community Volunteer Coordinator & Information Directory.
Thanks goes to Dan Reidy, the county steering committee liaison, Charlie French, the large group facilitator and Nancy Lambert, the small group discussion leader trainer. Thanks also to Jon Nute, Margaret Hagen, Heidi Bennett, Jolee Chase and Thom Linehan, as well as Gregg Caporossi and Minda Henderson (UNH Graduate Students,) for serving as small group facilitators/scribes and organizers. The follow-up meeting, to begin mapping out how to accomplish those projects, took place April 14, with over 40 in attendance and once again, facilitated by UNH Cooperative Extension. Extension, the Town of New Boston and Southern Regional Planning Commission provided support for this meeting.
Upcoming Profiles scheduled to date include Weare (May 7-8), Danville in October and Hampstead in April, 2005.
Martha Fournier joins UNH Cooperative Extension as part of the Family Lifeskills Program on May 10. Her office location is in Manchester and she will teach LEAP in Manchester, Keene, Salem and Claremont. Martha provided family therapy to court-ordered individuals and families, prepared goal-oriented individualized plans, and provided counseling. We welcome Martha to Extension!
The next meeting of Family & Consumer Resources Educators and Specialists takes place June 16 at Bear Hill 4-H Camp in Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown. The meeting runs from 9-3:30. Program staff will receive a detailed agenda closer to the meeting date.
On May 3, from 7 to 9:30 pm , there will be an informational meeting open to anyone interested in learning about the certification exam to become a certified land use planner through the American Institute of Certified Planners. The UNH Department of Resource Economics and Development and the Northern New England Chapter American Planning Association are hosting the event in James Hall, Room 303.
The PD&E Council will host a final session to help staff prepare logic models, work with evaluation data or other aspects of program development and evaluation. This final event takes place May 18 from 9-noon at the Merrimack County office in Boscawen. Because we're using PicTel sites, please contact Lisa Townson by May 12 to let her know if and where you would like to attend. If there aren't enough people at a PicTel site, we will cancel that site.
Each county has established an individual assigned to place orders with our Publications Center. We thank them for combining orders in recent weeks to help the center become more efficient during reduced hours and with the use of work-study students to staff it. Please place all publications orders through: ce.pubs@unh.edu
County contacts are:
Belknap - Barbara Brink
Carroll - Cheryl Whiting
Cheshire - Diana Fiorey
Coos - Carolyn McQuiston
Grafton - Sharon Youngman
Hillsborough – Susan Bell
Merrimack - Lynn Thurber
Rockingham - Gail Ramsey
Strafford - Lisa Kennedy
Sullivan - Karna Williams
UNH FH&G Center - Pam Doherty
The Program Leaders recently reviewed all publications for their program area. Many publications were removed, archived and distributed directly to county educators. The work study students are now conducting the physical inventory required by UNH at the end of each fiscal year.
Summer work-study help for the center is being advertised. There may be a reduction in hours at the publications center this summer, from June through August, depending on the availability of summer help. Holly Young will communicate summer hours, ordering requirements and contact information as it becomes available. If you have any questions, please contact Holly.
A question was raised at one of the regional staff meetings this week regarding what the different committees were in the legislature. Here are a list of links to all pertinent NH Government websites as well as the House and Senate committees:
NH State Government Online
NH State Legislature
NH House
House Committees
NH Senate
Senate Committees
Census
Please welcome Judie Harvey to UNH Cooperative Extension. Judie has recently joined the BSC at Taylor Hall to take over some of the functions of the retiring Jan Furbush. Judie will be working 50% time. She and her family are no strangers to Extension as they own the Crocker Dairy Farm in Epping and have been active in 4-H for many years. Welcome Judie!
The Leadership Team selected three graduate student projects for funding this coming year. Thane Harrison, a student in the Resource Economics Department, will work with Frank Mitchell, Charlie French, John Halstead and Douglas Morris on a detailed analysis of the net costs of development. Thane will conduct a literature review of land use policy and local tax rates, construct a database of tax rates and land use patterns in New Hampshire communities over the past 10 years, and use surveys with local officials to determine the support level for open space initiatives, examining impacts on property values and affordable housing. Extension will use this information to update and refine its community land-use planning programs.
Amy Douglas, a graduate student with the Plant Biology Department, will work with Paul Fisher to develop two Internet-based training modules for horticulture with industry partners and Massey University in New Zealand. They also will evaluate new Internet tools for delivering Cooperative Extension programming.
Lisa Townson, with Eleanor Abrams and Scott Fletcher from the Education Department, will work with a graduate student to tie the New Hampshire educational standards with 4-H curriculum. The project will specify clear links to state educational standards for each curriculum and make it easier for educators to cover state required educational standards. These standards also will link to training with after-school personnel. We welcome these students to our Extension family and look forward to their work.
The Cooperative Extension Administrative Team recently approved a change in Family Development Program area title. The new name for the program area, and educators, is “Family & Consumer Resources.” The new title more accurately reflects the work of the program area and its staff, is more contemporary and inclusive in nature and corresponds with titles for several of our other program areas.
Monday, April 19 from 9 am to noon, Program Development and Evaluation Council members will be on hand in Boscawen to help staff develop program logic models and evaluations. If you’re planning a program but just aren't sure of the best way to evaluate it, this event is for you. Council members will work one on one or in small groups with staff to discuss which evaluations work best for particular outcomes. The group will also discuss the April New England Evaluation Conference and answer questions resulting from the conference presentations. Contact Lisa Townson to sign up.
Extension specialists and educators are invited to provide input on the new pilot performance appraisal documents and process. The committee will review suggested changes in the fall and determine next steps based on your feedback.
“When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.” (Helen Keller).
This quote resounds during this “pre-season” to New Hampshire 4-H camp’s official opening June 27. It speaks to that miracle known as summer camp, a place designed for the benefit of youth. Summer camp is an environment where children play, learn skills and develop socially, emotionally and physically.
The summer camp experience provides children with a community of caring adults who develop an intentional, inclusive endeavor that results in self-awareness and an appreciation for others and the natural world. All outcomes of camp build personal competencies. The nature of camp with its youth development structures and sense of place allow children to experience the building blocks that foster community.
At NH 4-H Camps, the community icon, the emblem with an “H” in each leaf, standing for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health, serves to focus our process of youth development. For a camper, Head means thinking about the environment and understanding differences, Heart means to be empathetic and cooperate, and Hands means trying new skills, giving and working. Health means a healthy environment to build self-esteem, and play in a supported setting.
Camp staff create programs with the eight critical elements of youth development. As a result, children grow at camp. Relationships develop where campers are encouraged to try again, where friendships flourish between peers. For a brief moment, time and everything else, stands still. We collectively listen and watch while we see the miracle of a better future.
What happens to the miracle when these children go home from summer camp? What are the benefits to the child’s family, school, community and world? Researchers Connell, Gambone and Smith (2000) found that for these youth development miracles to occur, they must exist in a larger framework. This framework allows us to see the whole process of youth development as the sum of many interconnected, almost ecological factors, to be in place for youth development to occur. For years, campers' parents reported when their child returns from camp, they are more caring, they understand the importance of giving, and are better equipped to stand up for what they know is right. These qualities help build successful communities and a civil society (American Camping Association).
For more information about camps and youth development check out:
http://www.acacamps.org/
http://nhcamps.org/
http://www.ydsi.org/
To be a part of the miracle of summer camp contact Chris Conlon and see where your experience can influence the lives of New Hampshire youth.
All program staff must attend one regional meeting unless granted an exception by their supervisor. Come at noon with a bag lunch to visit with other staff. Beverages will be available at each site. Business begins at 12:30 and ends at 4:00 pm. The agenda includes a budget conversation, the Maynard and Audrey Heckel Extension Educator Fellowship award, PAST recommendations, Conflict of Interest Policy and updates on the performance management pilot and Public Awareness Teams. Please read these linked documents before attending the meeting
Meeting sites and locations are:
April 12: Centre Lodge Bradford Room, Plymouth State College. Parking is available in lot #503 at the PE Center Visitor Lot. For a parking permit contact Sharon Blake at 862-1520. Find directions at http://www.plymouth.edu/admit/directions.htm
April 13: Hillsborough County’s newly-renovated Goffstown office in the Bouchard Building. Go to Hillsborough County on our website for directions.
April 14: University of New Hampshire’s Memorial Union Building, Room 334/336.
The Program Area Structure Team (PAST) recommended a Program Leader position at 75 percent time for each of the five program areas. Nancy Franz will work with the Program Leaders and each program area to determine how best to fulfill the leadership responsibilities outlined in the attached updated Program Leader job description.
With Bruce Clement’s retirement, staff supervision at the Family, Home and Garden Education Center will change. Paul Bonaparte-Krogh will now supervise Margaret Hagen, who in turn will supervise the center staff previously supervised by Bruce. I encourage all Cooperative Extension staff to continue to support use of the center. Margaret and Paul are working to determine how to more strategically position the center and its work.
Congratulations to Debbie Luppold and Val Long for the recent approval of the $780,976 Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program grant. The grant actually comes in at $1,561,952 with the cost-share match. Also, thanks to Helen Costello for a funded SARE grant, "Food Stamp Redemptions at Farmers Markets," for $30,968.
A new on-line form is now in use for publications. It replaces the current paper publication request form but remains a requirement for all publications, whether printed at UNH Printing Services or ordered through an outside vendor. The only current exceptions are business cards, letterhead and envelopes. For these three items, please continue to contact either Holly Young or Siobhan Craig.
This new form tracks all phases (and history) of a specific publication. Please note, however, for “rush” jobs, the minimum notice must be three weeks. All proofs will continue to go to the Educational Marketing and Information office at Taylor Hall, since the on-line form also focuses on receipt and approval of proofs as part of the process. Once received, proofs go to the appropriate author/specialist for review. Once the author reviews the proof, it needs to go through Holly or Siobhan to forward to printing services.
To sign up for access to the on-line form and further directions, please contact either Holly Young or Siobhan Craig.
UNH Cooperative Extension offers a workshop on Coalition Building May 4 from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm at the Hillsborough County Office in Goffstown. The workshop addresses principles of success in creating community change through coalitions. Discussions will center on barriers to coalition building, strategies for success and maintaining activities and success. The presenter, Tom Wolff, wrote “From the Ground Up! A Workbook on Coalition Building and Community Development.” For more information, contact Charlie French. A $45 fee covers training, lunch, and helps offset Wolff's costs. Last chance to register is Friday, April 9.
To document our state’s ability to work effectively with children, youth and families, UNH Cooperative Extension is conducting the Organizational Change Survey. We’re concerned about a broad spectrum of risk factors for children, youth and families, and respond through our commitment on improving the well-being of families. Issues of interest include staff support and training, diversity and inclusivity of programming, statewide and local visions, and collaboration both within and outside of Extension.
I ask all Family, Community and 4-H Youth Development staff to respond promptly to the survey. All states reporting results to Arizona State University by June 1 become part of a national survey, used to improve programming. The survey, previously conducted in 1997 and 2000, documents change over time within individual states and across the national system.
Staff will receive the Organizational Change Survey by mail, with a return envelope. Please promptly complete and return the questionnaire. All responses are strictly confidential.
More than a quarter century ago, John Porter organized the first New Hampshire Milking Equipment Conference (MEC). Milking equipment dealers and dairy producers met at the Holiday Inn in White River Junction, Vermont, to share the latest updates on milking equipment installation standards. At the beginning of the 1990s, Steve Turaj organized dairy seminars in Lancaster for Coös County and Vermont’s Essex County. In 1997, the University of Vermont, University of Connecticut and the University of Maine Cooperative Extensions joined New Hampshire and MEC efforts to become a multi-state event.
The trade show, an integral part of the conference since it began, focuses on awareness and introduction of new technologies and innovations. It also provides networking between dairy producers and local businesses that helps keep alive the agriculture infrastructure.
While the show originally only involved milking equipment dealers, the NH Dairy Practices Committee recently decided to change the name to the Dairy Management Conference to open the floor to other participants of the dairy industry.
Today, after 28 years of success, trade show participants include representatives from feed, insurance, milking equipment, health products, agricultural structure companies, educational and herd management organizations, milk processors, and organizations helping disabled farmers.
Initially only installation standards were discussed. Today, invited speakers from all over the US cover the latest research in different areas of herd management. During the last few years, speakers annually reached over 400 producers, veterinarians and students from UNH, Vermont Technical College, and UMASS. The number of those attending the conference didn’t decrease significantly the last two years, despite the fact milk prices are at their lowest in 30 years.