Board Excellence Newsletter, October 2023
Volume XIII, Issue 4
Welcome to the October 2023 edition of the Board Excellence Newsletter, your connection to important information for extension board members.
In September, K-State launched the Next-Gen K-State initiative to become a new kind of landgrant university to serve a changing world and thrive in an uncharted future. A lot of ground was covered – including many areas where we, extension, lead and excel. We heard about community engagement and more research dollars coupling with extension throughout the state. Dr. Marshall Stewart, the university’s vice president for external affairs, also discussed more strategic initiatives being rolled out over the coming weeks and months.
I have no doubt that extension will continue to be expected to excel and lead in many of those to-be-announced initiatives. In fact, it was mentioned that it is time to “rethink and retool the extension network so that they come in with us as partners on campus.”
So, what do I think this means?
What I heard throughout the presentation was affirmation of what Cooperative Extension does as being foundational to what K-State wants to become. Today, we are strong in serving our communities with robust, educational content, whether that’s through horticulture’s K-State Garden Hour on YouTube, or traditional extension publications.
We enthusiastically host and produce many diverse types of events in person and virtually, whether that’s extension personnel hosting and leading our many different statewide agriculture field days, or other community or health programs like Dining with Diabetes or a GAPs Food Safety Plan workshop.
Through our facilitation efforts, we will continue to help communities, organizations and farms and ranches as they plan for a better tomorrow. It is expected that we will continue to excel and lead in these areas, as we always have.
But where I see much more impact for extension from the presentation is in the areas of connections – enhancing and engaging more deeply and profoundly with our stakeholders in Kansas.
So, how will this be different?
I’ll point to examples over the past year that were mentioned on Friday afternoon. The first is the regional community visits, where leaders have seen first-hand the effort and work you’ve done to make a difference and how we, Kansas State University, might better engage with them in the future. These visits are ongoing, and are really listening tours, enabling administrators to learn about the wants and needs across the state, city-by-city, town-by-town.
The second is the K-State 105 Initiative. As you know, we will be leveraging extension’s and the university’s partnerships and infrastructure across all 105 counties to focus on strengthening communities, economic growth and entrepreneurial advancement. Extension will be key in providing ongoing support and in-market knowledge to help stand up and spur forward local market business and workforce development. This is one of the important parts of this Next-Gen plan, and extension will be key to its success.
These are just two examples of how we’ll affect the future of K-State and the future of the State of Kansas. But some things won’t change – we’ll still be “making a difference” each day, in each community in Kansas. Leaders will engage and connect with each other across multiple programs and people, as showcased in those two examples above – and in ways yet to be uncovered. I’m enthused about the opportunities that will begin to percolate from these connections.
I’m proud of all that extension is and honored to lead such a fantastic organization. I’m also excited for the future of what we can become.
Sincerely,
Gregg Hadley
Director for Extension
It is time again for annual agent performance reviews. This is a great time to celebrate the accomplishments of the agents and give them ideas for suggested future directions. Agents really value the comments from board members. They are looking for what you thought were successes and want your perspective on their performance.
It’s easy to check the boxes, but providing context via written comments is very important. As the saying goes, “the devil is in the details." If you have a specific example of something the agent did well, write down the experience. They will likely try to continue this positive effort. If it’s a suggestion for improvement, be courteous and provide the details. They will likely try to change this behavior.
The surveys that you receive are worded to reflect many of the responsibilities of the agents. Hopefully, when you are thinking about each question, you are pondering a situation that you have observed. Use that thought to put some context in writing. Words are important and will affect overall performance, so choose them wisely.
Thank you for your time as a board member and the commitment to your local communities.
Now is the time to register for the in-person K-State Research and Extension Partnership Meetings that will be conducted in-person at host sites in Holton, Fredonia, Colby, St. John, Garden City and Salina on Nov. 9 from 6-7:30 p.m.
The meeting is intended primarily for board chairs, but any board member may attend. It is important that a board member be designated to represent each local extension unit. These meetings have been a valuable opportunity for extension administration to share and discuss matters important to our extension system. Board members in attendance will have the opportunity to talk with administrators and provide valuable feedback.
Registration for this meeting will be $20, payable by the local unit, to cover dinner. Your local unit will be invoiced when you register.
| Register now |
By Jan. 1, local extension boards should complete the Excellence in Board Leadership Assessment. This tool helps boards assess their effectiveness and identify areas to strengthen.
The Excellence in Board Leadership Assessment is a joint project between the State Extension Advisory Council and Extension Administration. It was introduced at the KSRE Partnership Meeting in 2011 as a tool to support local K-State Research and Extension boards in leadership and development. It was designed for board members to review early in the year and determine areas to work on throughout the year. At the end of the year, board members are asked to complete the assessment and reflect on the progress that has been made throughout the year.
The local unit assessment is due to Laurie Chandler, associate program leader, by Jan. 1. Boards that achieve a standard for 2023 will be recognized for their accomplishments.
Last year, 58 of 67 local units completed their self-assessments – an 87% completion rate. We look forward to seeing your local unit assessment for 2023.
Being an Extension Board member is an important job, and it can be a daunting task to learn the responsibilities of the job. The New Board Member Orientation module is designed to help new board members understand their role and learn more about the organization. New and continuing board members are encouraged to review the module before they take office and attend their first board meeting.
Board members can complete the module individually, or they can be led through the module by the local unit director, other agents, or current board members. In either situation, board members will also want to learn more about local unit operations, budgets, staffing plans, and agent action plans.
Program Development Committee members provide valuable input about how K-State Research and Extension can address needs in the local community. The Program Development Committee Orientation module helps PDC members better understand their responsibilities. It includes a short video, guidelines for PDC expansion and the PDC member responsibility overview.
The new agent coaching team is designed to enhance the support given to our new agents while providing opportunities for leadership and advancement within our organization. Coaching team members work with new agents one-on-one, in group settings, and by networking the new agents to other colleagues who can aid in their training and development. Coaches receive an additional pay stipend provided by Extension Administration for their additional duties.
While new agents are the main beneficiaries of this program, the coaches will also benefit from the leadership opportunity. They’ll receive training and skill development to make them better leaders and coaches, which will help them in their agent duties as well.
Congratulations to the members of the KSRE New Agent Coaching Team.
- Michelle Beran, Cottonwood District 4-H Youth Development Agent .
- Liz Brunscheen-Cartagena, Sedgwick County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent.
- Andrea Burns, Ford County Ag and Natural Resources Agent.
- Tristen Cope, Chisholm Trail District, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent.
- Carol Ann Crouch, West Plains District Director.
- Anna Muir, Phillips-Rooks District Director.
- Kaitlyn Peine, Douglas County 4-H Youth Development Agent.
- Tara Solomon-Smith, Southwind District Adult Development and Aging Agent.
- Cassie Thiessen, Post Rock District Horticulture Agent.
- Monica Walker, Grant County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent.
- Matt Young, Brown County Agriculture Agent.
We had an outstanding pool of applicants and are excited for this team to support our new agents.
The State Extension Advisory Council (SEAC) is seeking nominations for open positions. The SEAC serves as a consulting group to the Director of Extension on concerns relating to extension. The group traditionally meets in Topeka in February and at a rotating location in August, with occasional opportunities for further involvement. The term lasts three years and comes with an opportunity to visit Washington, DC, to attend the Public Issues Leadership Development national conference.
The qualifications to serve as an SEAC board member are fairly simple. You need to have served as a board member on a local unit governing body. It is not required to have served as an officer. The nomination should contain a short biography of your experience and interest in Extension. A picture of yourself helps personalize your nomination, but is not required. The nominees' information will be circulated to local units in their respective regions to be voted on by those units.
Please submit nominations to Chris Onstad at constad@ksu.edu by Nov. 1. Election results will be available mid-December.
In today's rapidly changing world, knowledge is quickly outdated. As an organization with knowledge development and education as its base, lifelong learning is one of K-State Research and Extension’s core missions. We believe this is important for our staff as well as our constituents. Professional development helps employees continue to not only be competent in their profession, but also excel. Extension professional organizations are one way for agents to engage in professional development and network with peers both in Kansas and across the country.
Local unit boards are encouraged to support membership in professional associations. While tax dollars cannot be used to pay association dues, non-appropriated funds CAN be used to support agents’ membership dues. Each local unit has a pool of non-appropriated funds which has been generated through gifts, grants, registrations, and other sources. Association membership costs less than $150, and agents may be members of more than one association. Consider this as a good investment in your local unit agents.
