When:  Thursday, October 22 (8:30am) – U.S. Bank Conference Theater – Ohio Union

Dr. Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research, will deliver the annual state of research address and present the 2015 Innovator of the Year awards. Hear more about the breadth, scope and excellence of the university’s research enterprise and learn who will be named Ohio State’s most innovative researchers.

Join us for a reception honoring the Innovators of the Year in Woody’s Tavern immediately following the announcement.

The event is open to the entire research community.

We are pleased to announce an opportunity for Assistant Professors (tenure track) to visit federal funding agencies to receive a comprehensive overview of funding programs and meet one-on-one with federal program officers to discuss their specific research objectives. The program is geared toward those who have applied for federal funding, are familiar with the grant submission process—but have not been successful in receiving funding to support their research. The RFA has been attached along with an overview of last year’s event. Please let us know if you have any questions.

DC Days RFP October 2016

DC Days 2015
Sincerely,
Lori

Lori Kaser, CRA
Grants and Contracts Administrator
College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center
209 Research Services Bldg., 1680 Madison Avenue , Wooster , OH 44691-4096
330-263-3647 Office / 330-231-7165 Mobile
kaser.37@osu.edu http://grants.cfaes.ohio-state.edu.

Employees of Ohio State who are retired through OPERS and eligible to participate in OPERS health care should pay special attention to OPERS communications regarding 2016 health care open enrollment. OPERS is making changes to how its retirees will receive health care benefits in 2016. For some OPERS retirees, the cost of their OPERS medical coverage may increase if they remain employed by an OPERS employer in 2016.

The OPERS health benefit changes are effective January 1, 2016, and retirees have to make their OPERS benefit selections by October 31, 2015. OPERS offers in-person and online seminars for retirees. See opers.org for details.

What you need to do:
Please refer your OPERS retirees to OPERS for any questions at opers.org

The search committee for the Director of Marketing and Communications search and screen committee has been identified and will be meeting October 27.  The position should be posted in the next two weeks and everyone is encouraged to nominate individuals and share the position announcement with qualified candidates.  The search and screen committee is:

Kathy Lechman (Chair)
Beau Ingle
Kim Brown
Frances Whited
Molly Bean
Mitch Moser
Kelly Zachrich

Research News is a monthly electronic newsletter for faculty and other members of the FAES research community that summarizes upcoming funding opportunities, provides updates, FAES grant awards, and grant writing information.

Research News October 2015 final

The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences subscribes to the weekly news of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.  Each week we will share their newsletter as there are a number of relevant and timely articles for faculty and staff.

Read the CAST newsletter here.

Dear Colleagues,

As President Drake announced, the Bucks for Charity drive is underway! Through November 13, you can give to your favorite charity – conveniently one-time or online through payroll deduction.

David Davisson and I will be the Bucks for Charity coordinators for CFAES. Watch your email for an opportunity to celebrate your giving near the end of the campaign.

Bucks for Charity is one way all of us can come together to help transform our community and the lives of others. Our goal this year is to have 14% of our faculty and staff donate to raise $29,000. Last year, 12 % of our faculty and staff participated and we raised $23,470.

The annual drive encourages faculty and staff to donate to local organizations of their choice. There are many charities you can give to through Bucks for Charity that provide programs and services for education, health, environment, hunger, social justice or other community needs. If you’re already giving to a local organization, you can donate to the same organization through Bucks for Charity.

Please reach out to us if you have any questions. We also have paper forms if you’d prefer a one-time gift via check or cash. Printed resource guides are also available if you’d like to consider any of the participating charities.

For more information, visit bucksforcharity.osu.edu and view this video from the Bucks for Charity Chairs, Miechelle Willis, Athletics Deputy Director, and Mike Michael Hofherr, Vice President and Chief Information Officer.

If each of us gives a little – even the price of one cup of coffee – we can help someone in need and make a meaningful difference in our community.

Sincerely,

David C. F. Davisson | Media Distribution
College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences | Marketing and Communications
264 Kottman Hall | 2021 Coffey Road | Columbus, OH 43210
davisson.12@osu.edu | 614-292-1607 Office | 614-292-2270 Fax | http://estore.osu-extension.org

Gwen H. Wolford, Ph.D.
Director, Government Affairs
College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Suite 25, 2120 Fyffe Rd., Columbus, OH 43210
614.563.1307 cell 614.292.6738 FAX
wolford.1@osu.edu http://cfaes.osu.edu/govt-relations

Our college is filled with outstanding staff who contribute significantly to our tripartite mission of teaching, research and outreach. It takes the collective contributions of so many individuals to have the positive impact we have on our students, community members and partners and our staff play a critical role in realizing that success.

Our Staff Advisory Council has been hard at work developing a new program to recognize the outstanding contributions of our staff members and we are excited to share this opportunity with each of you. In the very near future, additional information will be mailed to CFAES offices, but you can check out the details now by going to go.osu.edu/OutStandingU Offices will also receive materials from SAC that provide more information about services of the group and opportunities to become involved.

When your office receives the promotional materials, please take the opportunity to review the information on how to use each item. This is a great way to thank and recognize our outstanding staff members and I encourage you to begin thinking about those staff members that may be nominated.

Should you have any questions about this new program, please email cfaes-sac@osu.edu
Out

An email to all faculty and staff will be sent on October 5 outlining resources they can use to assist them with making decisions about medical plan elections.

First, OSU Health Plan is mailing Informed Enrollment (IE) Statements in October to the homes of faculty and staff enrolled in a medical plan before August 1, 2015.

Second, Informed Enrollment Online is a new web-based tool that takes an individual’s information from the IE Statement and allows them to further model anticipated 2016 scenarios.

Both IE resources can help faculty and staff project their anticipated 2016 costs to help them make plan decisions during Open Enrollment. The Informed Enrollment Online tool will be available starting October 5 by logging into Employee Self Service and selecting ‘Informed Enrollment Online’ on the right side.

For faculty and staff enrolled in a medical plan before August 1, 2015, the IE tools will include a summary of medical and pharmacy costs incurred from January 2014-July 2015. Those who were not enrolled in a medical plan before August 1 will have access to Informed Enrollment Online, but it will not be populated with historical claims data.

It’s scary to think about, but an active shooter can strike any place, at any time. For this reason, The Ohio State University Department of Public Safety, in partnership with the Office of Student Life, has released a video called “Surviving an Active Shooter” to educate our campus community. The 6-minute video follows the national”“Run. Hide. Fight.” best practice.

What you need to do:
Share this video with faculty and staff in your college or unit.

Archived videos of the 2015 Farm Science Review Lunches:

Celebration of Ohio Agriculture

Celebration of CFAES

Effective October 1, 2015 The Ohio State University implemented a new travel policy that applies to all faculty, staff, students and eligible guests traveling on behalf of the university. The university policy, FAQ’s and an overview of the substantive changes may be found on the travel website:https://osutravel.osu.edu/policy/ A summary of changes for CFAES employees, including an updated mileage form, can be found on the CFAES Finance website: http://cfaesfinance.osu.edu/news/travel-policy-changes-1012015

Like most new policies, there are substantive changes that are important for all travelers to understand, before planning or seeking reimbursement of expenses. Specifically, please note changes relative to charges for upgrade of airfare; mileage calculation and its relation to your daily commute; and lodging costs.

Questions about the policy should be directed to CFAESBusiness@osu.edu, or directly to your CFAES Finance Service Center Representative. Additionally, the CFAES Finance Office will post a Frequently-Asked-Questions document.

I would encourage everyone who is traveling or plans to travel on behalf of the university to review the new policy and please ask questions on components that need further clarification. Each of our fiscal representatives are available to answer questions and/or help find the answer for you.

Sincerely,

Eric Bode
Senior Fiscal Officer
College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

Please see the attached flyer promoting an upcoming training focused on accessibility of eLearning initiatives.

ACCESSIBILITY TRAINING 

The college has football game tickets available from our allotment for Homecoming, Saturday, October 10, that are now available for purchase by any member of our faculty or staff. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis by calling the Alumni Association Customer Service Center at 800-762-5646. Tickets are $85.00 each and payment is required when you reserve them with the Alumni Customer Service Center.

Individuals purchasing tickets will be able to pick them up on game day at the 4-H Center between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.; please know that we are not able to mail or make other arrangements for ticket pick-up.