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Dr. Ivory W. Lyles |
Last March, I shared with you the goals for 2005 that were set for Extension and me during my annual evaluation with Dr. Shult. Over the past few months, I have updated you on the status of most of those goals, including ongoing projects and important accomplishments in 2005, and our cost recovery efforts. As far as the other three 2005 goals – continuing to work toward a smooth transition of comprehensive department heads, increasing the amount of grants and contracts, and raising the level of visibility of community development – you see what is happening in those areas on a daily basis. Grants and contracts continue to be a significant portion of our portfolio of funding resources; and every month, through the Blue Letter, we update you on the amount of grants and contracts that our faculty and staff have secured.
Several of last year’s goals, such as uniform funding, are long-term goals. Besides an update on uniform funding, other topics for future articles will include the organizational structure, the status of our statewide campaign for the 2008 4-H Centennial and our fund development efforts.
In this month’s article, however, I want to talk about how I plan to spend my time in 2006 and beyond on three major goals for Extension this year.
Implementation of the 2005-2010 Management Plan. The administrative faculty will go on a two-day retreat in April, where we will address who is responsible for implementing and monitoring the goals and objectives set out in the Division of Agriculture’s Management Plan.
Strengthening the 4-H Youth Development Program. Dr. Darlene Baker and the District Teams are working to fulfill the goal of having a full-time 4-H agent in every county with a population of 30,000 or more. This is tied back to the goal that was established in the Management Plan.
Multi-County Programming. Last year we started a multi-county programming effort in Family and Consumer Sciences, with a major focus on increasing the level of participation in our four program areas: Family Resource Management; Marriage, Parenting and Family Life; Nutrition and Food Safety; and Health. All indications are that the FCS multi-county program is going well. We will continue working on multi-county programming in areas where it makes sense. Dr. Mike French is leading the effort on how we can continue to increase agents’ expertise in agriculture. More information will follow in a future article on agriculture multi-county programming.
– Ivory W. Lyles
Recipients of 2006 Division of Agriculture Awards and John W. White Awards
| Award | Recipient |
| Division of Agriculture Classified Support Personnel Award | Johnny Woodley |
| Division of Agriculture Non-Classified Support Personnel Award | Charles Whitaker |
| John W. White Outstanding County Extension Educator Award | Mike McCarter and Rick Thompson |
| John W. White Outstanding State Faculty Award | Rosemary Rodibaugh |
| John W. White Outstanding Team Award | Arkansas Turfgrass Program: Mike Richardson, Doug Karcher, Gene Milus, John Boyd and James Robbins |
Smith Presents Paper at Weed Science Society of America Meeting
Dr. Ken Smith, Extension weed scientist in Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, received, along with his coauthors, the award for outstanding paper in Weed Technology at the 46th annual meeting of the Weed Science Society of America meeting in New York City in February. The paper’s title is "Determining exposure to auxin-like herbicides. II. Practical applications to quantify volatility."
– Bob Scott
Robertson and Wall Present Papers at National Convention
Dr. Bill Robertson, Extension cotton specialist, and Carey Wall, Crawford County extension agent, presented posters at the recent American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention in Nashville. It was part of Farm Bureau’s "Meet the Researcher" program.
Robertson’s poster was on COTMAN, a computerized program developed in Arkansas to help farmers with cotton management. This program is used as a decisionmaking tool for insecticide and irrigation termination and harvest aid timings.
Wall’s paper was on using integrated pest management (IPM) methods to manage parasites in goats. Wall is working with Dr. Kelly Loftin, Extension entomologist, and Dr. Jodie Pennington, Extension dairy specialist, on IPM methods to reduce the need for commercial products.
– Lamar James
Washington County Extension Wins Award
The Washington County Cooperative Extension Service recently won the inaugural award for excellence in Local Water Quality Programming. The award was presented by the Southern Region Extension Water Quality Coordinators Committee at their bi-annual conference held in Lexington, Kentucky. The region includes 13 states.
Team members include Merle Gross (retired), Johnny Gunsaulis, Berni Kurz, Julie Speight, Michele Steele and Katie Teague. In accepting the award, team members cited the cooperation from neighboring agents who helped to make the award possible. They include Leon Duncan from Carroll County; Darrin Henderson and Gerald Van Brunt (retired) from Madison County; and Robert Seay and Steve Simpson from Benton County.
Their accomplishments have led to documented in-stream reductions of nutrients resulting from voluntary adoption of agricultural water quality Best Management Practices as a result of education and financial incentives.
– Mike Daniels
ASRED Survey of Starting Salaries for County Agents
A recent comparison of starting salaries for county agents places Arkansas as third highest for a master’s degree and 12th for a bachelor’s among the Southern Region Extension Services and Programs. Sixteen institutions reported in the recent salary poll.
Arkansas’ $35,000 starting salary for county agents with a master’s put us ahead of the Southern Region average of $32,691. Our starting salary of $27,000 for a bachelor’s put us below the average of $28,830.
"Our starting salary for county agents with a master’s reflects our commitment to seeing county agents pursue higher education opportunities," said Dr. Ivory W. Lyles.
"By achieving a master’s, county agents show their commitment to education and determination to become more knowledgeable in their field," Lyles said.
The lowest reported starting salary for a master’s was Oklahoma at $30,000 at the 1890 campus, and $30,450 at the 1862 institution.
The lowest for a bachelor’s was $26,000, a tie between Mississippi and both institutions in Alabama.
Florida had the highest for a bachelor’s, $33,000, and master’s, $37,000.
"We will continue to look at our salary schedule for county agents. We are dedicated to supporting our county programs and continuing our emphasis on encouraging county agents to pursue greater knowledge in their area of expertise," said Lyles.
– Bob Reynolds
Financial Services Launches Purchasing Cards Program (P-Cards)
The Financial Services staff is currently working to launch the UACES Purchasing Card (P-Card) Program. The P-Cards are VISA cards issued by US Bank through the State of Arkansas to UACES to be used to make approved purchases. They provide an additional option to staff members for making certain purchases such as FSNE demonstration materials, small dollar amount items, internet and telephone purchases, film processing, etc. The Wal-Mart charge cards that are currently being utilized by many staff members for these types of purchases will no longer be effective after April 1, 2006.
The P-Card Guidelines and several other documents relevant to the P-Card Program can be found on the Financial Services intranet page (http://www.uaex.edu/depts/financial_services/).
For those supervisors who determine that a staff member needs to obtain a P-Card, the P-Card application form can be found on the UACES intranet under templates. It is listed under the purchasing templates and is PURCH-400. After the employee completes the application and the supervisor signs it, it should be forwarded to Financial Services so that we can fax it to US Bank and obtain a card for that employee.
Mandatory training will be required of any staff member who makes application for a P-Card prior to their receiving and using the card. Financial Services has scheduled a training session at the Little Rock State Office on Monday, March 13, 2006, at 1 p.m. You can go to the In-Service Training section on the intranet to sign up. The Financial Services staff will also attend the District Spring Conferences to present training.
Please do not hesitate to contact the following Financial Services staff members should you have questions: Karen Scott (671-2045), Renee Perkins (671-2047), or Jim Lipsey (671-2296).
– Karen Scott
Race for the Cure
On Saturday, October 22, 2005, a group of employees from the Little Rock State Office and the Garland County Cooperative Extension Service Office participated in the Little Rock Race for the Cure, sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Foundation to raise funds for breast cancer research. We were very excited to have 26 participants on our team for the first year. However, it is our desire to have a much larger team for the 2006 Race for the Cure.
Design Specialist Chris Meux created the logo for the T-shirts, which the members wore on the day of the race. The T-shirts were black with a psychedelic pink guitar and the team name, Pink Rockers, inscribed in psychedelic green letters on the front. Bernadette Hinkle provided funding to purchase the shirts.
We have quite a few Cooperative Extension Service employees who have had or are still battling breast cancer, and one out of every six women will face breast cancer during their lifetime. Let’s show our concern and support by signing up to run or walk in the race. Men may also participate by joining the "Three Miles of Men" that stand along the raceway and cheer the participants on.
If you are interested in participating in the 2006 Race for the Cure with the Cooperative Extension Service team, please contact Deborah Grimmett or Linda Meeks in Financial Services before September 1, 2006.
– Deborah Grimmett
The Results Are In
The Department of Information Technology surveyed the organization for input into the types and timing of training that should be offered in 2006. The 140 respondents gave insight into our training needs and preferences on how that training should be delivered. The 2006 IT training schedule was developed exclusively from the survey results.
Top Choice: Excel was the top topic selected for training, followed by PowerPoint, Access/NAMES, Blue Ribbon, GroupWise and Using Centra.
Top Method: Centra was, by far, the most desired method for training, saving time and expense. Centra classes are typically shorter, covering one targeted topic per training. Because of their nature, the Centra classes do not require a minimum of ten students to meet. Educator and traditional classroom instruction were also selected as methods to teach core curriculum and more lengthy trainings.
Top Time: February was the most requested month for training, followed by November. Our classroom training has been scheduled only during these months in response to the survey. The core curriculum class, Introduction to GroupWise, is offered year round through Educator. The first Centra classes were clustered in February. More Centra classes will be offered throughout the year, beginning with the Excel and PowerPoint classes we plan to announce in March, another popular month identified by the survey. Sign up for all training via http://inservice.uaex.edu.
Other Findings: Two items stood out from the survey. (1) Several of us use the IT Department page for help with passwords and other issues, and (2) very few of us are taking advantage of the excellent training available from Microsoft.
– Nina Boston
GroupWise 6.5 Keeps You in Contact With Your Favorite Address Book
The new Contacts folder that arrived with GroupWise 6.5 keeps you connected with your favorite address book. This is especially helpful if you synchronize GroupWise with your PDA or maintain an address book for those contacts outside of Extension. To set up the Contacts folder to point to your favorite address book:
1. With your mouse, right click on the Contacts folder and select Properties. [Without a mouse, highlight the Contacts folder and choose File and Properties].
2. In the Address Book dropdown box, scroll to the address book you want to make the default.
3. Select OK.
4. From this point forward, each time you select the Contacts folder, the addresses from your favorite address book will be displayed.
– Nina Boston
February 2006 - Grants and Contracts
| Project Title | Award Amount | Principal Investigator | Granting Agency |
| ASWCC/Urban Hispanic Outreach | $300,000.00 | Katherine Teague | Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation |
| USDA/AES/Improving Water Quality | $194,549.00 | Berni Kurz | Arkansas Agriculture Experiment Station |
| AR Blue & You/AR HOPE Project | $88,482.00 | Dr. Rosemary Rodibaugh | AR Blue & You Foundation |
| Wildlife Habitat Management | $76,988.00 | Dr. Becky McPeake | Arkansas Game & Fish Commission |
| USDA/Operation: Military Kids | $65,319.00 | Connie Phelps | USDA, ARS MSA |
| Chaubey/L'Anguille River Watershed | $65,188.00 | Phil Tacker | CSREES |
| Wheat Verification | $40,049.50 | Dr. Jason Kelley | Wheat Promotion |
| Southern Plant Diagnostic Clinic | $37,500.00 | Dr. Richard Cartwright | CSREES |
| EYSC/Rural Youth Development | $25,000.00 | Brian Helms | National 4-H Council |
| Phillips/Eating & Moving for Life | $15,016.00 | Easter Tucker | University of Arkansas Medical Sciences |
| AR Science & Tech Authority | $7,500.00 | Dr. Susan Watkins | AR Science & Tech Authority |
| WFA/Girls Going Global | $5,000.00 | Willa Williams | Women Foundation of Arkansas |
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© 2006 |
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