Monthly Archives: November 2019

November 5, 2019

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In this week’s issue:

Government Relations director candidate open forums

Government Relations director candidate open forums will take place on November 5, 6 and 8. This is a critical role for the OSU Extension Service. Please attend as you are able (these will also be livestreamed on OSU Live). Information will be posted online, which will include bios and candidate evaluation forms as soon as they are available.

Elevate the student success impact of OSU Extension

Extension plays an important role in contributing to the success of OSU students who continue their journey from Extension programs into on campus, online, or Workspace (PACE) coursework. Elevate the awareness of Extension within the OSU community by responding to a call for proposals. Possible topic areas include interactive engagement and cooperative learning, DEI, easing students’ navigation of the university and maximizing the opportunities available at OSU, and many more. Learn more and/or submit a proposal.

Employee feedback needed from Transgender and other LGBTQ+ faculty/staff members

In preparation for the Extension Annual Conference Tuesday workshop session by Basic Rights Oregon, we invite members of the LGBTQ+ community to provide confidential feedback on their experiences working with OSU Extension. Basic Rights Oregon specializes in providing trainings on transgender inclusion in the workplace and the training at the conference will be written and presented by primarily transgender people. This call for feedback is part of their usual process to inform workshop content and Basic Rights will not share any information with OSU or OSU Extension. To participate, please contact trainings@basicrights.org directly or visit this page to submit anonymous feedback.

Communication and connection opportunity

Is there anything about which you are interested, curious, or concerned? Here are some ways to share and ask:

  • Online form to submit questions (Think of this like a virtual comment box.)
  • OSU Extension Slack workspace or informal communication and collaboration
  • Read ConnEXTion weekly, and contribute!
  • O&E blog with First Monday videos (Engage via the comment section!)
  • Outreach & Engagement Quarterly Conversations (Next: November 15, 2019)

Navigator Digital Strategy Update

A year ago, the majority of archived county and program sites on Drupal 6 went away for good. The flurry in putting content on the new Extension website meant some content didn’t get thoroughly reviewed. Others got left in Box unless someone asked for it. Do you have content that needs a second look? Some low hanging tasks are covered in this week’s blog post “How keeping your content fresh makes for happy visitors.”

Diversity Highlights

Please contact analu.fonseca@oregonstate.edu with any questions, and if you have suggestions for content to include in Diversity Highlights.

Statewide Events & Resources

Health Equity Benefit Dinner: Transforming Trauma into Truth (Portland)
November 7, 2019 at the World Forestry Center in support of the Oregon Latino Health Coalition. This event will introduce their newest program, the Latino Emotional Health Collaborative, which aims to shift traditional thinking away from the cultural stigmas associated with mental illness. For more information, contact info@orlhc.org or call 971-229-0482. Tickets available at www.orlhc.org.

Womxn of Color Student Support Group (Corvallis)
Nov. 14 and Dec. 5 at the CAPs office in Snell Hall. Contact: Shaznin Daruwalla at shaznin.daruwalla@oregonstate.edu or CAPS at 541-737-2131.

ScholarDollars Scholarship Application Now Open
ScholarDollars is Oregon State University’s online search and application portal. All OSU students are encouraged to use ScholarDollars to submit an application to be considered for campus-based scholarship funding that will be awarded for the 2020-2021 academic year. By submitting one application, students will be considered for over 1,600 OSU scholarship opportunities! If you have any questions, feel free to contact our office. Submit your application today.

DEI In the News

UC Berkeley Students Create a Class for ‘Coming Out’ (Insight Into Diversity)
“I remember wishing for some sort of guidance, some way of knowing how to move forward in accepting myself and coming out to my parents, friends, and everyone else,” Kamkar, now a senior, says. “I knew that I probably wasn’t the only closeted student who might be wishing for this, and I could help [others] by bringing students in the LGBTQ+ community in communication with each other.”

Getting girls interested in STEM (Diversity Global)
How can we break the stereotypes around STEM education and career pathways? Can we raise girls’ interest in STEM by enhancing the STEM curriculum in education from early age? Microsoft and UNESCO presented their findings during the event ‘Changing the FACE of STEM’.

College Athletes Push for More Mental-Health Care, Fighting ‘Tough It Out’ Culture (The Chronicle)
Students from Oregon State University’s group, Dam Worth It, recently got a grant from the Pac-12 Conference to spread its model across the West Coast.

Extension in the News

Researchers dig into vineyard science
Western Farmer-Stockman
“In a widely spaced vineyard,” explains Patty Skinkis, an Oregon State University horticulture professor and viticulture Extension specialist, “two-and-a-half tons of fruit would be all they could yield per acre before crop thinning. But on the high-density plantings, which became more popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, crop thinning to two-and-a-half tons per acre cuts more than 50% of the fruit off the vine.”

OSU hires new wheat extension agent for Wasco, Sherman counties
Capital Press
Oregon State University has hired a new extension agent for dryland wheat growers in Wasco and Sherman counties.

OSU Extension building partnerships in new fire program
KTVZ
In a time of increasing wildfire activity, Oregon State University Extension Service said Friday it has implemented a new statewide fire program to help facilitate forest and range management plans, as well as create a healthy respect of fire through education and outreach efforts.