Traveler Assistance Group (TAG Team)

The CFAES Finance Office has formed a Traveler Assistance Group (TAG Team) to improve customer service for travel approvals and reimbursements. The TAG Team consists of fiscal and administrative support staff to liaison as informational resources for both travelers and the CFAES Service Center. The Service Center will offer ongoing roundtable discussions and trainings. Topics include travel policy, insight of standardized operating procedures, OSU Travel Office initiatives, Workday communications and updates, and eTravel and Concur system user training.

Background
In the past year, CFAES Finance has received customer feedback related to overall dissatisfaction with business travel processing standards. Items cited were travel reimbursement turnaround time, lack of understanding of travel roles, convoluted and changing policies and procedures, and inconsistent messaging and communication.

On average, it took 36 days after a traveler returned from a trip to get payment requests to the service center, and 14 business days for the service center to complete a reimbursement without errors. However, 52% of requests contained errors such as missing documentation or miscalculated amounts.

Goals of TAG Team

  • Improve overall end-to-end customer service for the college’s business travelers.
  • Decrease reimbursement processing time.
  • Minimize errors on travel reimbursements submitted for processing.
  • Customize University and CFAES communications for specific units or groups of travelers.
  • Prepare for the arrival of Workday in July 2020.

TAG Team Sessions:
Monthly sessions began in April. Joe Tobias, Ellie Hoskins and Zac Cooperrider of the Service Center lead these sessions. Members of TAG Team can attend in-person, with Zoom, or on the phone.

Appointees:
Fiscal Officers have appointed over 70 support staff to be on the TAG Team.

Extension Digital Engagement Webinar Series

All webinars will be recorded and posted on the Extension Ed Tech YouTube channel.

All webinars will begin at 10am unless otherwise noted. Stay tuned for registration information.

Accessibility
Monday, September 23rd
Megan Fogel (ODEE)
Megan Fogel, Office of Distance Education and e-Learning (ODEE)
As a public institution, The Ohio State University and OSU Extension have a responsibility to create and disseminate content that is accessible to all audiences. Creating accessible contents means reducing barriers to content consumption and comprehension. Examples include ensuring that screen readers can easily read written text aloud, assigning alternate text to graphics so they may be appropriately described, and including captions with video content. This webinar will cover the basics of creating accessible digital content and cover OSU’s legal obligations in offering content that is accessible to all audiences.

Past Webinar Recordings
Creating Online Evaluations and Surveys with Qualtrics
Debby Lewis

Diversity and Inclusion
Kayla Oberstadt

Questions or comments?
Contact Danae Wolfe

2019 Teaching and Learning Symposium: Teaching Today’s Learners

August 13, 2019 at the Fawcett Event Center – Columbus, OH
Bus transportation from the Wooster to Columbus campus provided

All members of the CFAES teaching community (faculty, staff, and graduate students) are encouraged to participate. Come explore concepts, ideas, and examples of teaching excellence and innovation for the advancement of student engagement and learning, and the enhancement of effective pedagogy.

Information & Registration at: http://go.osu.edu/CFAES_2019-TLSymposium

Supported by the:
Sanford G. Price and Isabelle P. Barbee Chair in Teaching, Advising and Learning Endowment Fund

Tanzania: land of Kilimanjaro and Serengeti, the heart of African culture & tourism

Tanzania: land of Kilimanjaro and Serengeti, the heart of African culture & tourism a presentation by Hellen Kanyagha, Ph.D. Student, Miller Lab, Plant Pathology, CFAES Wooster

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019, 12 NOON-1 P.M.

Location: Research Services Building, Room 130,
Payne Dr. at Wilson Rd. OARDC, Wooster

Cost: Free • Details:  Tanzanian lunch provided, space limited,

Meal starts at noon. Presentation starts at 12:15

Rsvp at: owens.1132@osu.edu by Wednesday, May 15 BEFORE 5 PM

Or steam live at: https://osu-cfaes.zoom.us/j/6056911066
Or watch later by requesting the recording from owens.1132@osu.edu

RSVPS WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED BY AN OUTLOOK MEETING INVITE THE DAY BEFORE THE EVENT

A talk in the series Cultural Connections: “Where Culture Meets Agriculture”

Contact information: Jason Owens, International Coordinator at the Wooster Campus, owens.1132@osu.edu  (605) 691-1066

PRESENTED BY THE WOOSTER CAMPUS DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
While tracking pesticide (mis)use by farmers seeking to combat tomato bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, Hellen began to consider low cost, environmentally friendly integrated pest management techniques on smallholder Tanzanian farms while increasing productivity, reducing operating costs, and protecting human health and the environment.  She is sponsored by The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Innovation Lab for East Africa and led by Ohio State. This major vegetable IPM project seeks to prepare the next generation of agricultural scientists, leaders and food system institutions in East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia) through graduate degree training, collaborative research, and human and institutional capacity development (HICD)

CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaesdiversity.osu.edu. For an accessible format of this publication, visit cfaes.osu.edu/accessibility.

Extension Digital Engagement Webinar Series

All webinars will be recorded and posted on the Extension Ed Tech YouTube channel.

Getting Started with Zoom
Monday, May 20th, 10-11am
Danae Wolfe
Zoom is a robust digital tool that offers HD quality video-conferencing with screen-sharing capability. From hosting small committee meetings to offering educational webinars, Zoom allows people to connect in from all corners of the state or nation. Additionally, Zoom allows you to record meetings and webinars so even those unable to join live can engage with your content. This webinar will offer best practices for using Zoom to host small video meetings and large educational webinars while showcasing built-in engagement tools like polling, whiteboard, and breakout rooms.

Click Here to Register for Webinar

Future Webinar Dates and Topics
All webinars will begin at 10am unless otherwise noted. Stay tuned for registration information.

Developing Branded Infographics with Piktochart
Monday, July 29th
Danae Wolfe
Infographics offer a great way to help audiences consume statistic-heavy information in a fun and engaging way. This webinar will introduce participants to the basics of using the free online program, Piktochart, to design and publish branded interactive infographics that can be shared on social media, posted on websites, or printed.

Assessing Impact and Engagement of Digital Learning
Monday, August 5th
Debby Lewis and Danae Wolfe
Evaluating impact is a priority of Extension programs. Assessing the impact of digital content and online learning opportunities is no less important than assessing the impact of traditional face-to-face programs, but it does require a bit more planning and preparation. Evaluation should be fully integrated into the development and design of online learning opportunities. This webinar will offer participants helpful information on incorporating evaluation into formal online learning through online courses and webinars and informal online learning through social media, videos, and e-newsletters.

Accessibility
Monday, September 23rd
Megan Fogel (ODEE)
Megan Fogel, Office of Distance Education and e-Learning (ODEE)
As a public institution, The Ohio State University and OSU Extension have a responsibility to create and disseminate content that is accessible to all audiences. Creating accessible contents means reducing barriers to content consumption and comprehension. Examples include ensuring that screen readers can easily read written text aloud, assigning alternate text to graphics so they may be appropriately described, and including captions with video content. This webinar will cover the basics of creating accessible digital content and cover OSU’s legal obligations in offering content that is accessible to all audiences.

Past Webinar Recordings
Creating Online Evaluations and Surveys with Qualtrics
Debby Lewis

Diversity and Inclusion
Kayla Oberstadt

Questions or comments?
Contact Danae Wolfe

Annual Research Conference Poster Winners

On Monday, April 22, we celebrated CFAES research at our Annual Research Conference. Gary Pierzynski, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education provided an update of activities of the CFAES Research Advisory Committee, closure to the National Council of University Research Administrators Review of 2016, and a look to the future for CFAES research. We also celebrated many faculty and staff achievements. Congratulations to our poster winners.

Masters
1. Gretchen Anchor, SENR  (Advisor Stan Gehrt)
2. Sarah Scott, Entomology (Advisor Mary Gardiner)
3. Matthew Willman, Hort & Crop Science (Advisor Jonathan Fresnedo Ramirez)

Ph.D. 
1. Yiyun Lin, Hort & Crop Science (Advisor Michelle Jones)
2. Katie D’Amico, Hort & Crop Science (Advisor Jonathan Fresnedo Ramirez)
3. Yuehan Ai, Food Science & Tech (Advisor Jiyoung Lee)

Post Docs
1. Juliana Vasco-Correa, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
2.  Hardy Castada, Food Science & Tech
3. Vishal Srivastava, Food Animal Health Research Program

Research Staff
1. Alyssa Zearley, SENR
2. Christopher Okonkwo, Animal Sciences
3. Patricia Boley, Food Animal Health Research Program

Sesquicentennial Scholars

Ohio State awarded 150 sesquicentennial scholarships to students across the university for the 2019-20 academic year in honor of the sesquicentennial. The Sesquicentennial Student Scholar Leadership Program is one part of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration and demonstrates a commitment to increasing access and affordability while recognizing students’ academic and non-academic accomplishments and diverse interests.Eleven of the scholarships went to CFAES students (five ATI students, four undergraduate students and two graduate students).

Wooster – ATI:
Sarah Doner – Animal Sciences-AS – Lancaster, Ohio
Courtney Krieger – Agribusiness-AS – Wauseon, Ohio
Bayley Myers – Biochemical Sciences-AS – Lancaster, Ohio
Hunter Sandwisch – Agribusiness-AS – Oak Harbor, Ohio
Aaron Smith – Agronomy-AS – Norwalk, Ohio

Columbus – Undergraduate:
Chris Baird – Agricultural Systems Management-BS – Springfield, Ohio
Mary Buehler – Agribusiness & Applied Economics-BS – Anna, Ohio
Emily Kanney – Food Science & Technology-BSF – Plymouth, Ohio
Xamarie Ruiz – Animal Sciences-BS – Fort Myers, Florida

Columbus – Graduate:
Melena Dillingham – Agricultural & Extension Education-MS – Columbus, Ohio
Mackenzie Hannum – Food Science & Technology-PH – Worthington, Ohio

May CFAES Equity and Inclusion Workshops

Identity, Power, and Privilege
What does it mean to have privilege? How do your social identities (e.g., race, gender, class, religion, sexuality, etc.) grant or deny you privilege? How do you know when you have it and when you don’t? How can we use power and privilege to break the cycle of oppression? This workshop will explore these questions, offering participants an opportunity to delve deeply into their social identities by creating a Multiple Social Identity Profile – a process that reveals how we all have and lack privilege simultaneously. Participants will begin to uncover sources of bias that have been reinforced by an unrelenting cycle of socialization, develop skills for effective allyship, and learn how taking even the smallest of steps toward equity, inclusion, and justice can transform an individual into an agent of change in their communities and profession.

This workshop is free and open to all CFAES faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students on a first come basis. Cap: 30 participants.
Light refreshments will be provided.

Facilitator:
Dr. Leo Taylor, Program Director for Equity and Inclusion, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

Offerings:
Columbus – May 10th
(registration deadline May 6th), 9:00AM-12:00PM, Location: 4-H Center Eastman Room
Wooster – May 24th (registration deadline May 20th), 1:00PM-4:00PM, Location: 126 Research Services
Registration: CFAES_May_Workshop_Power and Privilege

Here is a quote from a participant who attended this workshop in February:
“I was a little hesitant about attending the class – recognizing that I am part of the “privileged” group. I appreciated the fact that I was not “made” or “encouraged” to feel guilty about my place in the system. It was a very safe environment that enabled some very open dialogue on some difficult topics. I also benefited greatly by the open discussion of experiences by the folks of color who attended the training. I have been to many trainings on a variety of topics, and this was one of the very best in terms of preparation, organization, delivery, content and audience engagement.”

BuckeyeBox – Box University

Have you accessed your BuckeyeBox account yet? Box University is a great way to get familiar with using BuckeyeBox. Start by launching the “Navigating Box” course to understand the look and feel. Next the “User Essentials” course will give you all the basics to start using box. For a more in depth tutorial, launch the “Box Education New User Course Series” that explains best practices for sharing, communicating and organizing your files within box. You can also join live Webinars to learn the basics. 

Get started by visiting my.osu.edu. Once logged in, you need to click BuckeyeBox from the left hand menu. Then, simply accept the Terms and Conditions to enable your account. Go to Box University for training or box.osu.edu to log in (and authenticate with BuckeyePass) and begin viewing, sharing and editing files online. 

If you are having any issues logging in please contact the IT Service Desk via Self Service or by phone at 614-514-IT4U (4848)