Staff members: Save the date for a town hall forum with President Drake on Wednesday (12/9) noon-1 p.m., hosted by the University Staff Advisory Committee (USAC), in the U.S. Bank Conference Theater at the Ohio Union. It will also be streamed live (link will be shared closer to the date). To submit questions in advance, or for more information, visit usac.osu.edu.

Applications are being accepted for Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Research Grants; deadline is Tuesday (2/16). Full-time faculty, graduate students and PhD candidates working on dissertations, and students in terminal MA or MFA/MBA programs are eligible.

Contact: pugsley.8@osu.edu
Read more: wgss.osu.edu

We’ve received a few inquiries across the college about upgrading to the recent computer operating system releases of Microsoft Windows 10 and Apple OSX El Capitan. At the present time, we are not able to provide support for Windows 10 or OSX El Capitan within the CFAES environment as there are some known compatibility issues with the systems we rely on to keep the computers managed and secure. It is also important that we evaluate the “by default” cloud services that are introduced through the Windows 10 operating system.

To assist you in navigating these as well as other technology issues, be sure to work with an IT staff member when contemplating an upgrade to your computer operating system or the purchase of a new computer to ensure it will work properly in our environment.

Matt DeVore
Chief Information Officer
College of Food Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
131C Research Services, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691
330-202-3577 Office
devore.38@osu.edu cfaes.osu.edu

Buckeyes ACT is Ohio State’s comprehensive plan to combat sexual misconduct and relationship violence. Earlier this fall, Ohio State introduced online training for faculty, staff and student employees focused on preventing and responding to these issues. A video describing the importance of this training has been produced to help you encourage participation in the training within your college or business unit. You are encouraged to direct faculty, staff and student employees to view this video in your college or business unit communications.

In addition to this online training, the Office of Human Resources offers an in-person training specific to the university’s Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, and Relationship Violence policy. This training expands upon and complements the information available in the online training, and will be particularly helpful for HRPs, managers and supervisors. For your convenience, a training comparison flyer is also available and details some of the topics covered by both trainings. Registration for both trainings is available in BuckeyeLearn.

What you need to do:
Watch the Buckeyes ACT training video and share it with your college or business unit.
Review the training comparison flyer for more information on the training opportunities available related to sexual misconduct and relationship violence.
Register for the online training and in-person training via BuckeyeLearn.
Contact Kristi Hoge with questions at hoge.42@osu.edu.

The Ohio State University offers eligible employees and their dependents the opportunity to advance their education at Ohio State. For dependent tuition assistance, applications must be submitted each term. Spring 2016 term enrollment window opens Monday, November 16. Faculty and staff can apply online using Employee Self Service or paper applications.

What you need to do:
Direct interested faculty and staff to http://go.osu.edu/tuitionbenefit for more information.
Direct questions to the Office of Human Resources Customer Service Center at
hr-Customer_Service@osu.edu or 614-292-1050.

Faculty and staff 2016 Benefits Confirmation Statements will be available November 16-20 online via Employee Self Service and will also be sent to the home addresses of faculty and staff. The statements reflect enrollment elections in university-sponsored benefits for 2016. This is the final opportunity, outside of a qualifying event, to change 2016 elections. To view their statements and make changes, faculty and staff should visit Employee Self Service.

Emails will be sent about this on November 16 to benefits-eligible faculty and staff.

Questions? Contact the Office of Human Resources Customer Service at hr-Customer_Service@osu.edu.

What you need to do:
Encourage faculty and staff to review their confirmation statements November 16-20 at Employee Self Service.

Direct faculty and staff to review 2016 open enrollment information posted at hr.osu.edu/oe.

The search and screen committee for the Chair of the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership:

Sheryl Barringer, Committee Chair – Food Science and Technology
Annie Spect – Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership
Deana Namuth-Covert – Ohio State ATI
Jamie Cano – Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership
Jeff King – Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership
Erik Nisbet – School of Communication
Tim Ray – Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership
Emily Wickham – Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership

The search and screen committee for the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education:

Terry Niblack, Committee Chair – Plant Pathology
Karen Argabright – Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership
Jonathan Flad – Ohio State ATI
John Fulton – Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Monica Giusti – Food Science and Technology
Charles Goebel – School of Environment and Natural Resources
Peggy Hall – OSU Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Daral Jackwood – Food Animal Health Research Program
Alessandra Faggian – Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics
Dan Kramer – OSU Industry Liaison Office
Andy Michel – Entomology
Erin O’Brien – Entomology Graduate Student Association
Monique Pairis Garcia – Animal Sciences
Pierce Paul – Plant Pathology
Terry Snoddy – CFAES Finance
Jan Weisenberger – OSU Office of Research
Search Firm – Baker and Associates, LLC (Martin Baker)

On June 1, 2015, Amazon began collecting sales tax on purchases made by all Ohio customers. The University is an instrumentality of the State of Ohio, whose purchases are exempt from Ohio sales tax. To maintain the benefit the University’s sales tax exemption while preventing any improper use, the University has established an Amazon Business Account to ensure only business-related transactions are treated as tax-exempt. Please follow the process below in order to comply with OSU policy.

Highlights:
· Units should maximize the use of University contracts found in eStores before considering Amazon.
· The OSU Amazon Business Account must be used for University business purposes only.
· No personal purchases may be made from a University email address (name.#) in the OSU Amazon Business Account. Using this tax-exempt account for personal use may cause the University to lose its tax exempt status and the individual may be held liable for fraud by the State of Ohio.
· All business-related expenses procured through the OSU Amazon Business Account must comply with University Expenditures, PCard, Purchasing and Internal Controls policies.
· Purchases from personal Amazon accounts are no longer permitted on a University PCard.
· Personal Amazon accounts should be set up with a personal email address, not your University email address (name.#)
· PCard Managers will be the only individuals permitted to use the account. All PCard managers will be given access to the system.

After your PCard Manager places your order with Amazon Business, you will need to process an eRequest. Below are steps you should follow:
1. Type in Amazon Business as the Vendor name on the eRequest
2. Attach itemized receipt (either online invoice or detailed packing slip mailed with package)
3. Attach Amazon Business Account order confirmation email (you will need to receive this from your Pcard Manager).
4. If you did not receive a packing slip you will need to make a comment that item(s) have been received.

Please contact cfaesbusiness@osu.edu if you have any questions or need clarification.

Weekly newsletter from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology may be read here.

The Accelerator Awards provide Ohio State researchers with a small amount of capital to further develop and validate inventions, software, and technologies. Concept development, prototyping, coding, market studies and customer validation efforts are eligible uses for an Accelerator Award. Available to all Ohio State researchers who have disclosed their inventions to the TCO, awards are distributed in amounts up to $50,000. Applications for this round of funding are due November 16th.

To apply for an award please visit:
https://innovate.osu.edu/accelerator_awards/

The annual Poinsettia Sale on the Columbus campus is December 2-3.  See link to a flyer, below, for more details and for a $1.00 off coupon on a $10.00 purchase.

2015 Poinsettia Sale