Reminder – Columbus Scheduled Network Outages

OCIO (Office of the OSU Chief Information Officer) has scheduled a maintenance window for April 29, 2015 between MIDNIGHT and 6AM. This maintenance will likely result in network outages lasting between 4-6 hours to the following CFAES buildings on the Columbus campus…

• Agricultural Administration
• Agricultural Engineering
• Animal Science Building
• Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Research Lab
• Howlett Hall
• Kottman Hall
• Mount Hall
• Ohio 4-H Center
• Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center
• Parker Food Science Building
• Plumb Hall
• Poultry Barn
• Waterman Farm

These planned outages do not affect the Wooster campus or the college’s datacenter in Columbus so all systems/services outside of the affected buildings should remain operational. College websites should not be affected.

Survey about CFAES Online Learning

Dear College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Faculty –

If we haven’t met yet, let me quickly introduce myself. I am a new faculty member at ATI and have partial appointments with HCS and the College. Part of my responsibilities are to help support our online endeavors in CFAES.

My team and I hope things are going well for those of you wrapping up semester activities or spring workshops. Before you switch gears for summer courses and research projects, we would like to ask 10 minutes of your time to help us as we continue growing our online and blended academic class offerings and our online continuing education (professional development) opportunities, including extension programming.

Our College has committed to developing innovative learning opportunities as we build our global land grant impact. In this short 17 question survey (mostly multiple choice), we ask a few questions about your experiences with blended/online learning approaches so far, use of electronic learning materials and devices in your courses/workshops, your plans and brainstorming thoughts on collaborative online projects such as College Credit Plus, merging extension and academic efforts, teaching with colleagues across the world, etc. We also want to know what is going well so far and where you are finding roadblocks that are keeping you from reaching your aspirations.

Your answers will remain anonymous and the summarized data will only be used by those of us in the college working on plans for this next Chapter of Buckeye Nation. Here is the link to the survey (you can take it on your phone, too):
https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_57KnDbEkjvMTRul

If you have any thoughts/questions, just send me a quick email.

Thanks!
-Dr. Deana Namuth-Covert
Namuth-covert.1@osu.edu

P.S. So far 70 people have signed up for the May 13th eCourse workshop. We still have a few seats available at Wooster and Columbus, plus online. Feel free to sign up and/or your send your graduate student teaching assistants at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W8KJCH3 Please sign up by May 5th so we can have a complete count for lunch arrangements. We are also recording the day’s sessions and will make those available soon after.

Survey: Columbus Campus Bike-Share Locations

Ohio State plans to adopt a bike-share system at the Columbus Campus and is seeking your input regarding possible bicycle station locations. Preliminary plans call for 15 strategically-placed campus stations to provide an alternative transportation option for students, faculty, staff and visitors. Your input is important to us. Please indicate your preferences by taking our survey prior to Monday (5/4) at surveymonkey.com/s/DDNX99Z

President & Provost Council on Women

The President and Provost’s Council on Women (PPCW) is seeking nominations for the next term.
As you may be aware, the PPCW advocates to the president and provost for the advancement of women at The Ohio State University and provides leadership for the development of policies and practices that positively affect the working environment for women employed at Ohio State.
Nominating your best and brightest to the PPCW will give a voice to the interest of women’s advancement and our best asset: our faculty and staff.
We are accepting nominations for new members from all faculty and staff through April 27th. There are 5 positions to be filled and both faculty and staff nominations are encouraged. We appreciate your suggestions for new additions as we look forward to the upcoming academic year.

Sincerely,
Wendy Smooth, PPCW Past Chair
Nominations Committee Chair
smooth.1@osu.edu

Free Pancake Breakfast – April 15 in Ag. Admin. Auditorium!

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By giving back through Campus Campaign, you have supported the following:
· students who may not have had the opportunity to attend Ohio State without a scholarship
· groundbreaking research towards better care and possible cures
· community outreach across all 88 counties in Ohio
· so much more!

Our college, our university, and the local, national and international community would not be what it is today without you. Help us continue to make a difference through Campus Campaign. We need just 246 more people to donate to a fund of your choice to reach our 45% participation goal.

Your impact does make a difference, and we want to thank you. We have partnered with the Staff Advisory Council to host this year’s Staff Appreciation Pancake Breakfast next Wednesday, April 15, from 8 to 10 a.m. in the Agricultural Administration Auditorium! Help yourself to pancakes, fruit, yogurt and morning beverages as we celebrate our reaching record-breaking Campus Campaign numbers last year, our college, and your everyday accomplishments.

AZP Spring Hog Roast

It’s time for the AZP Spring Hog Roast!! It will be Monday, April 27, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Ag Admin Auditorium. This year we are going to try the delivery option again. If you want to pre-order your lunch, we will deliver it. Please return the information below to me (pfister.1@osu.edu) or Seth Erwin (Erwin.104@osu.edu). Please mark your calendars and AZP will appreciate your participation. We look forward to seeing you Monday. Have a great weekend!!

Name ________________________________________________________________________

Campus Address ________________________________________________________________________

Time of Delivery ________________________________________________________________________

# of Meals ________________________________________________________________________
Hog Roast File

VP Conversation on the Future of Extension

Vice President’s Conversation: Looking to Ohio 2035

More than a year ago, Vice President and Dean, Bruce McPheron asked OSU Extension to take leadership of the Vice President’s Conversation on the Future. One of his goals for this strategic foresight project was to challenge the organization to be adventurous and explore the opportunities to create a new century of Extension work and scholarship. In December 2014, the VP Conversation team transitioned the project work from futuring to visioning, engaging Extension staff at the VP Summit during OSUE’s Annual Conference.   The feedback collected at the Summit was used to develop a variety of opportunities to provide additional, more in-depth ideas about preparing for and successfully navigating 2035.

Would you like to help envision opportunities for OSU Extension in 2035? If so, please visit the link below to learn more information about and to register for one the numerous face-to-face meetings, located across the state, designed to engage your imagination and gather your insight and ideas. A web-based survey will also be available in May 2015, along with other distance/off-site and digital options to provide input. OSU Extension is looking forward to learning where ingenuity, courage and creativity can lead!

http://go.osu.edu/osue2035

To learn more about the VP Conversation, visit go.osu.edu/OSUEFuture.

Clarification of Process for 2016 Promotion and Tenure Reviews

I write to advise tenure- and clinical-track faculty about processes for three topics related to 2016 Promotion and Tenure reviews.

First, with input from the Faculty Leaders, Faculty Cabinet Chairs, Faculty Council and the Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, please note revisions to Volume 3 of the OAA Policies and Procedures Handbook – 3.6.2, 5.1.1, 5.2.1, and 6.1 APT Document Used for Promotion and Tenure Review. In sum, this document advises tenure- and clinical-track faculty members that they may be reviewed using their unit’s current APT Document. Or, instead, they may be reviewed under the document that was in effect when they signed their letter of offer or on the date of their last promotion, whichever is more recent. Please refer to the handbook for the specific policy, procedure and timeframe limitations.

Second, we will continue to use Research in View during the 2016 Promotion and Tenure reviews. As you recall, last year Thomson-Reuter decided to discontinue Research in View. At that time, Provost Steinmetz appointed an advisory committee to consider a new scholarly activity tracking tool. In this regard, the committee has completed its work, and a new tool has been chosen. To ensure time for a smooth transition, we will continue to use Research in View during 2016 Promotion and Tenure reviews, and I want to assure faculty that they will be able to access their data. Research in View data will be migrated to the new system, including data entered during the 2016 cycle. In addition, faculty members may contact the Research in View Support Team (riv@osu.edu) for assistance with or questions about Research in View.

Third, if you intend to conduct peer evaluations this semester, please keep in mind that reviews must be completed before the end of spring semester on Monday, April 27.

Sincerely,
Kay Wolf, PhD
Vice Provost for Academic Policy and Faculty Resources

Dependent Eligibility Verification Deadline Reminder

If you were one of the approximately 6,900 Ohio State employees required to verify your dependents’ eligibility for Ohio State health benefits, you will need to submit a reply by the April 16 deadline. Those who do not verify eligibility by the April 16 deadline will lose coverage immediately.

The university has contracted with Xerox HR Solutions (Xerox) on the verification process. During the week of March 16, Xerox sent U.S. Mail contact to those 6,900 employees chosen for verification.

The Office of Human Resources has put together a FAQ document for those affected who have questions regarding the process. http://hr.osu.edu/benefits/hb_dependentcertification

If you have additional questions, you can contact the Office of Human Resources Customer
Service at service@hr.osu.edu or 614-292-1050/1-800-678-6010.

Ohio State is committed to offering high-quality health care coverage while being good stewards of its resources by managing costs of its benefits programs. Covering ineligible dependents may be unnecessarily increasing plan costs by millions per year based on an average annual per dependent cost of more than $4,600.

Associate Dean & Director, OSU Extension Search Update

Over the past two months, our search committee for the Associate Dean & Director, OSU Extension has been working hard to develop and finalize the position profile as well as a timeline for the search process. We are pleased to share that the position profile will be widely available early next week and has already been posted on the Journal of Extension Job Board.

We strongly encourage you to take the opportunity to review the full position profile on the CFAES website and share it with appropriate and qualified individuals. As the search progresses, we will widely distribute additional information regarding the overall schedule and opportunities for engagement.

Again, we encourage you to disseminate the announcement broadly among your colleagues and professional networks. This is an outstanding opportunity to attract world class candidates to Ohio State, and it will take each of us promoting the tremendous opportunities that exist here at The Ohio State University.

Jeff Sharp, Ph.D.
Chair, Associate Dean & Director Search Committee
Professor & Director, School of Environment and Natural Resources

Development Brown Bag Lunch

Development Brown Bag Round 3! Please plan to join us for our 3rd Brown Bag lunch anytime between Noon – 1:00 pm on Monday, April 20th. We will be meeting in Parker Food Science room 120, connecting via video to Research Services 200 in Wooster.

Hear the latest from Advancement as it pertains to you and meet our newest team member Jody Poth, Director of Alumni Engagement.

Bring your lunch and questions! Lemonade, iced tea, and fresh fruit will be provided.