Author Archives: reeds
First Monday Update #8
Video
First Monday Update #7
The video gets cut off at the end – sorry about that! To finish my thought, what I was going to share is that our OSU Open Campus team will be presenting at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium on Wednesday afternoon as they compete for the national C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Award.
For your reflection …
At last week’s OSU Extension annual conference the keynote speaker asked us to reflect on the organization’s core values, which are listed below and can also be found on the Extension website.
- Community-based
- Accountability
- Credibility
- Diversity
- Partnerships
- Responsiveness
Are there some that are missing? Should these be revisited? For those of you who aren’t Extension employees, I’d welcome your thoughts about your own organization’s values and the role that they play in your work.
First Monday Update #6
Related links
- Engagement Scholarship Consortium 2014 Meeting
- Roads Scholar Engagement Tour
- 2014 Annual Extension Conference
- ALS Association
Win a prize!
The first three people to find and share the following from division’s 2013-14 Academic Report will win a to-be-determined prize.
- Topic of the University’s first MOOC
- Amount of external dollars targeted to outreach and engagement work
- Percent of Oregonians that reported that they had learned something from Extension in the past year
First Monday Update #5
Related content
- OSU is adopting a new learning management system
- OSU Open Campus in Tillamook hosts Oregon’s first Tech Trek
- Registration is open for this year’s Roads Scholar Engagement Tour
- Next O&E Quarterly Conversation is scheduled for Aug. 22
Check out the first digital badge, released last week by our Professional and Continuing Education unit. This one is for people who complete the Master Gardener Online course. More to come from the PACE team in this area!
And a question …
If you had a day in a car with Provost Randhawa, what questions would you have for him? Please share your comments below.
First Monday Update #4
For this month’s First Monday update I’m trying something a bit different. Let me know what you think about this format, and please take the time to respond to the question I pose at the end.
In the video I reference materials from this year’s Natural Resources Leadership Academy. You can download those here:
- Leadership Principles (PDF)
- Leadership the Outward Bound Way (PDF)
- Learning to Lead (PDF)
- The Titleless Leader (PDF)
Have a great July!
Scott
A springboard
Oregon State University recently hosted “OSU Extension Reconsidered,” a day-long event as part of a national conversation about how the arts, humanities and design could be a part of how Extension meets community needs.
More than 50 people were invited, including OSU Extension faculty, members of OSU outside of Extension, and community members, many of whom had little or no experience with Extension.
After a long day of exploring possibilities together, this group identified many dimensions of how such work could be considered.
Many agreed that including arts into outreach programming augments the identity and pride that comes with places. When asked about possibilities, respondents identified things including leadership through art, math art, film, urban design, photography, music, and oral histories–among others.
Of course, we are familiar with limitations of resources-and Extension’s current workforce doesn’t have many members who are deeply trained in this area. But in true form, our stakeholders are ready to step up, contribute where possible, and help to design and fund a beginning in this area.
Participants shared reflective observations following the event.
- “Extension is seeking to broaden its scope, reach, and purpose.”
- “…awareness of and appreciation for creative/innovative efforts within OSU Extension to connect and engage across disciplines (and R vs L sides of our brains).”
- “The deep history of extension services. The connection between agriculture and arts.”
- “OSU Extension’s depth of impact in a wide range of communities was greater than I thought.”
- “It’s all about communication. Getting people talking is the key and the beginning point. The exercises modeled at OSU could be replicated elsewhere.”
The images below are visual representations of the day developed by College of Liberal Arts students.
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Title: “What Brings Us Here”
Artist: Allison Yano
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Title: “Mapping Extension”
Artist: Sarah Church
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Title: ” One Continuous Line”
Artist: Alice Marshall
What opportunities do you see in this area? If you attended this event, what did you take away?
First Monday Update #3
OSU Open Campus earns national recognition
OSU Open Campus (formerly Oregon Open Campus) was selected as the western regional winner and national finalist for the C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Award from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. Congrats to Beth Emshoff, Jeff Sherman and the rest of the OOC team on this well deserved recognition.
Learn more about this award distinction and download the OOC award application
Legislative conversations starting up
As part of the university’s budget, the three Statewide Public Services (Extension is one) are beginning conversations with legislators as a way to gain insights into their priorities and how we can position ourselves to contribute to Oregon’s most pressing needs.
Take a look at the “leave behind” that describes our budget requests and five areas of emphasis (PDF)
OSU to host Oregon Environmental Literacy Program
In 2007, Oregon passed legislation that began six years of planning for a program dubbed “No Oregon Child Left Inside”. Among the outcomes was a rich plan to expand work around environmental literacy. Beginning in 2014, the Oregon Environmental Literacy program (OELP) will be administered by OSU and led by a team of faculty with Susan Sahnow at the helm. The steering committee is scheduled to start meeting this month.
Learn more about the background and commitment to environmental literacy (PDF)
Health Extension Run 2014
Oregon State University’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences will become Oregon’s first nationally accredited College of Public Health and Human Sciences. To bring awareness to this distinction and the power of living a healthy lifestyle, two college undergraduates – and brothers, Isaiah and Jeremiah Godby – are running to 30 out of 36 Oregon counties, stopping at OSU Extension Service offices along the way and encouraging community members, alumni and Beavers fans across Oregon to join them – whether you walk, run or use a wheelchair.
Find out when the run will be in your area
Upcoming professional development opportunities
- Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference: Oct. 5-7 in Edmonton, Canada
- ADEC CABTS Joint International Conference (PDF): Aug. 26-29 in Beijing, China
First Monday Update #3
The first week in May is historic.
On May 8, 1914, the Smith-Lever Act was enacted that established outreach units at Land-grant universities across the nation. On May 8, 2014, a convocation in Washington, DC will commemorate this national policy and all the associated successes of taking knowledge to the people.
Learn more about plans to celebrate this important milestone.
As a member of the University Promotion and Tenure Committee, I spent significant time in the last month reading and discussing promotion and tenure dossiers for OSU faculty.
Undergirding all conversations about the more than 70 candidates was the question of scholarship. For faculty responsible for outreach and engagement, scholarship is demonstrated in diverse ways—unlike the conventional peer-refereed publications expected of researchers. To qualify, scholarship must meet three criteria—1) original intellectual work 2) validated by peers, and 3) communicated. I am glad to report that faculty conducting engaged scholarship are recognized with career advancement. It is clear, though, that work remains to better define how peers are selected and how communication helps to implement associated innovations.
Two weeks ago at the Vice Provost Awards for Excellence luncheon, Dave, Deb and I distributed plaques and checks to several outstanding examples of engaged work. Congrats to all of this year’s recipients!
IN THE NEWS
- Learning to talk the talk – online (Military Advanced Education)
- As antibiotics ban nears, organic orchards have new tools to fight fire blight (phys.org)
- OSU develops flower-identifying app (Portland Tribune)
- Coast to coast | Ecampus graduate Colby Mangini (G.I. Jobs Magazine)
- Portland workshop focuses on ethics and responsibility (Beaver Nation PDX Newsletter)
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Q. The new Leadership Development Program for Executives is for faculty. Are there thoughts for a strategic talent pipeline for staff? Both for movement within the classified system and also from classified to professional faculty? If we could increase retention of our many talented and dedicated staff, we would also better capitalize on the investment the Division has made in their hiring, training, and development.
A. What a great question! In fact, professional development, skill building and career advancement for division staff are critical to our collective success. While there are some campus-wide programs that include classified staff, we need to consider unique options for Outreach and Engagement, and I invite input and suggestions from all.
Should we consider a special internal development program? What should it contain? How about a job exchange or shadowing program that allows people to experience another setting? Maybe we should design an annual office tour that would spend a day on the road visiting off-campus division facilities. Internships? Your ideas are welcome.
O&E Quarterly Conversation
On Friday we hosted the first O&E Quarterly Conversation. This new effort is in response to the request for more regular opportunities to hear from division leadership as well as to discuss timely topics. We had a great turnout, both in person and online, with some excellent questions. We started with a few unit updates from Extension, Extended Campus and PACE, I shared about the division’s new Leadership Development Program for Executives and then the majority of the time was spent on Q&A.
If you weren’t able to join us, you can view the recording. If you have additional questions or comments, this is a great place to continue the conversation.
The next O&E Quarterly Conversation will take place this summer. Watch for a calendar invitation for that soon.