No. 2931
February 20, 2008

CONTENTS:

Comments From the Dean
     - Congratulations and Good Luck Reception!
     - eXtension
UNL Campus Corner -- UNL in the News
Personnel Changes
Extension Educator Position - 4-H and Youth Development, Dodge County
National Integrated Water Quality Program
Control Diabetes for Life ... Satellite Broadcast - April 16, 2008
Extension Publications Online Survey
Promoting Regional Publications
February Connect Newsletter Now Available
General Distribution Publications
CPI Database Worksheet

Comments From the Dean:

Congratulations and Good Luck Reception!

The UNL Extension Dean’s office will host a reception for Jolene Allen on Thursday, Feb. 28, from 3-4 p.m. in 211A Agricultural Hall. Jolene has accepted a new position outside the University system. Her last day of employment with us is Feb. 28. Please help us in wishing Jolene the best and let her know how much we appreciate her 26 years of dedicated service to the University!

eXtension

Tomorrow, Feb. 21, at 2:15 p.m. (CDT), is the eXtension national launch celebration, a part of the 2008 USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum in Washington, D.C. Opportunities for you to tune in are described at the end of this note.

We are excited that eXtension, an interactive learning environment bringing clientele the best of the best in expertise to improve daily living, in partnership with 74 U.S. land-grant colleges and universities, now is going public.

What is even more exciting, however, is the leadership by UNL Extension faculty for several Community of Practice teams in developing eXtension content and providing expertise. We are celebrating our contributions to eXtension with a 2:30 p.m. reception March 17 in the Arbor Suites of the Nebraska East Union. Refreshments, displays, demonstrations and registration for eXtension all will be available.

Five UNL extension specialists will be recognized March 17 for major eXtension leadership in their areas of expertise: Kathy Anderson, horses; Rick Rasby, beef cattle; Rick Koelsch, livestock and poultry environmental learning center; and Scott Hygnstrom, wildlife damage management. Shirley Niemeyer also will be recognized for major content contributions to EDEN (Extension Disaster Education Network), as will Dan Cotton of Nebraska for overall eXtension leadership. Details on the statewide broadcast of this event soon will be available.

Many other individuals contributed to eXtension in various ways and we thank them as well. Those involved will describe their roles and assist extension faculty and staff on campus March 17 to register for eXtension.

While the public http://www.eXtension.org site is available for all to view, registering allows extension individuals to work in the eXtension collaborative space, become a member of one of the 16 Communities of Practice, and receive email updates on the initiative.

I encourage UNL extension faculty and staff statewide to register as potential content contributors with eXtension to take advantage of these additional offerings. You may register at https://people.extension.org/account/signup .

Members of the general public also are encouraged to register. Subsequent signed-in visits will provide information tailored to their interests, as well as local events. The public may sign up at http://www.extension.org (note this is a different site than for extension employees) and click on 'register' in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Each county office will receive approximately 100 informational cards in the end-of-the-month mailing Feb. 29. These cards describe the benefits of eXtension, including a searchable knowledge database, Ask the Experts options, blogs, online chats, content evaluation and rating, and more. In addition, an online fact sheet is available at http://about.extension.org/mediawiki/files/2/2e/Fact_Sheet_Final.pdf .

In addition, the CIT News Section is preparing materials for your use such as articles for Educator Extra and a general news release that will go directly to Nebraska news media next month.

Following is a listing of tomorrow's activities for the eXtension launch in Washington, D.C., and links for online viewing:
      - Ribbon cutting by the USDA Secretary of Agriculture [invited].
      - Recognition of Cooperative Extension, USDA, CSREES and Congressional supporters of eXtension.
      - Recognition of 16 Communities of Practice.*
      - Videostreaming of the ceremony available http://www.extension.iastate.edu/webcast/ .

Following the launch, eXtension will host a series of "Briefings" on various aspects of eXtension, its Communities of Practice and collaborative tools at: http://about.extension.org/wiki/Briefing_Final.
*As a part of the Ag Outlook Forum, eXtension will staff a large exhibit area with exhibits on each of the current 16 Communities of Practice:
      Beef
      Cotton
      Dairy
      Disaster Education
      Diversity
      Entrepreneurship
      Family Caregiving
      Fire Ants
      Horses
      Gardens, Lawns, & Landscapes
      Livestock & Poultry Environmental Learning Center.
      Map@syst
      Parenting
      Personal Finance
      Wildlife Damage Management
      Youth SET for Life

Elbert Dickey

UNL Campus Corner -- UNL in the News:

- 2008 Kiplinger Best Value. Nebraska again ranks as one of Kiplinger’s (2008) 100 best values among public colleges and universities. Rankings are based on measures of academic quality (nearly two-thirds) and affordable costs. In case of a tie, academic-quality scores and the average debt at graduation were used to determine rankings. See http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/pubcollege.php?sortby=OUTRANK04&orderby=flip&states%5B%5D=NE&myschool%5B%5D=none&outputby=table for Nebraska’s information and http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/methodology.html for information about the methodology.

- We’re No. 1. UNL is the No. 1 ranked (most popular) public university in the nation, according to US News and World Report . We are ranked sixth in the nation among all universities, public and private. The five institutions ranked ahead of Nebraska are Brigham Young University, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT. The rankings are based on yield rate, which is the percentage of students admitted to an institution who actually go on to enroll in that school. According to US News, “If a school has a high yield (a large proportion of those admitted enroll), it means that the school is most likely very popular with a top reputation and that the students are highly motivated to go there.”

- UNL given an “A” for safety. UNL was one of just 45 schools given an “A” in Campus Safety by Reader’s Digest, and just one of three Big 12 universities. For more information, see http://www.rd.com/family/parenting/parenting-and-education/is-your-college-student-safe-at-school/article.html

Lila Tooker

Personnel Changes

Listed below are Extension personnel changes that have occurred recently. If we have missed someone who is new or who has left our system, please contact Keith Niemann.

New to Extension:

Dr. Richard Randle, Extension Beef Cattle Veterinarian, Vet & Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Randle received his DVM degree from Mississippi State University in 1982 and had a private practice in West Point, Miss., from 1982-84. He completed his MS degree at the University of Illinois in 1987. He served on the faculty at Mississippi State University prior to joining University of Missouri Outreach and Extension in 1991. In 2005, he joined the technical services group with Monsanto Dairy Business. He came to UNL in December 2007 as the Extension Beef Cattle Veterinarian. He specializes in beef cow/calf production management and his research emphasis includes young stock management, disease surveillance, biosecurity and quality assurance.

Emily Hulse, Extension Assistant (NEP), Lancaster County
Emily received her BS degree in Nutrition, Exercise and Health Sciences from UNL in May 2007. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in Nutrition and Exercise. While she was working on her undergraduate degree, she had the opportunity to work at the Campus Rec Center as a personal trainer, as well as a Product Development Assistant at the Food Processing Center. Through these two experiences, she was able to apply the knowledge she had gained in the classroom plus learn new things at the same time. After graduation in May, she worked for the Union Pacific in Omaha as a Health Fitness Specialist which included the on-site fitness center and with their health promotion team. She grew up in western Nebraska and is a native Nebraskan. She enjoys reading, scrapbooking, being outdoors, cooking and spending time with her husband.

Krista Dybdal, Extension Assistant, Cedar County
Krista received her Master’s degree from Wayne State College in Counseling Education and her BS degree from Doane College in Special Education and Sociology. She has been the guidance counselor at Cedar Catholic High School for nine years and also a special educator at Wayne Middle School for two years. Krista and her husband, Larry, have been married for 15 years. Their children are: daughter Taylor, 14; son Ty, 12; and daughter Trisha, 8. They operate a farm/ranch near Hartington. They raise and market Pure Bred Charolais Cattle.

Left Extension:

Kim Schalch - Douglas/Sarpy Counties

Keith Niemann

Extension Educator Position - 4-H and Youth Development, Dodge County

Full-time, non-tenure leading, faculty position located in Dodge County. This position will develop educational programs and provide leadership for focused, comprehensive educational programs of excellence in volunteer development and school enrichment.

Required Qualifications: Master's degree with one degree in Youth Development, Family Development or closely related field. Outstanding teaching skills, excellent oral & written communication skills and experience with computer and information technologies. Criminal history background check will be conducted. Must meet driver standards according to UNL policy and have a Valid Driver's License.

Review of applications will begin on 3/5/08 . Position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found or search is closed. For a detailed job description, additional preferred qualifications and how to apply, go to http://employment.unl.edu and search for requisition #080070 .

UNL is committed to a pluralistic campus community through AA/EOE. We assure reasonable accommodation under the ADA; contact Trish, (402) 472-5730 for assistance.

Trish Dezort

National Integrated Water Quality Program

On Feb. 14, Mike O’Neill, National Program Leader for CSREES, and Jerry Miller, Ag & Natural Resources Program Leader for Iowa State, introduced UNL and ISU extension faculty to the request for proposals for the National Integrated Water Quality Program. Their presentation can be viewed at http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p31819371/ . This program funds integrated research/extension/education projects (up to $220,000 per year for 3 years) as well as extension (up to $80,000 per year for 3 years) only and education (up to $60,000 per year for 3 years) only projects. In 2008, the priorities for the Watershed program area target 1) conservation of watershed resources to meet diminished water supply and 2) improved effectiveness of conservation practices by targeting critical areas in a watershed. There are also opportunities for national and regional programs. Proposal due date is April 29, 2008. More information can be found in the RFA at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/waterqualityicgp.cfm .

Rick Koelsch

Control Diabetes for Life ... Satellite Broadcast - April 16, 2008

Control Diabetes for Life is available statewide via satellite broadcast on Wednesday, April 16, from 1:30 - 4 p.m. This is the first of three programs planned for the 2008 statewide program. Remaining programs will be aired on Wednesday, June 25, and Wednesday, Dec. 3. You can still join the project and provide participants in your area with diabetes self-management at a very low cost or for free. Teachers for the program are Phyllis Heimann, RN and Certified Diabetes Educator; Stacie Petersen, RN and Certificated Diabetes Educator; and Mary Clare Stalp, RD, all from Franciscan Care Services in West Point along with Debra Schroeder, UNL Extension Educator in Cuming County. The complete media package will be posted on the UNL server for use in promoting the program. To learn more about the series and to become a facilitator in your area please contact Debra Schroeder in Cuming County.

Debra Schroeder

Extension Publications On-line Survey

We're looking at making some updates to the Extension Publications Web site this spring and first wanted to survey our readers about how they use the site and what features they might like it to include. We've developed two online surveys -- one for Extension faculty and staff and one for our public readership. We’d like to invite you to take the survey for faculty and staff using the URL listed below. Please complete this survey by Friday, March 7, to be included in the responses.

http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB227FX5EWQ8T

If you would like to invite your clients to take the public survey, please encourage them to access the survey using the link on the Extension Publications Web site.

Lisa Jasa

Promoting Regional Publications

If you have contributed to a peer-reviewed, regional Extension publication published by another state and would like to have information about it featured on our Extension Publications Web site, please notify Lisa Jasa in CIT Publishing. If the publication is available online, a description can be created in the Publications Web site with a link to the publication. If the publication is only available in a print format, information on how to order it can be included. These entries will come up for annual review by the recommending author(s). When submitting a publication for inclusion, be sure to include the publication title, number, publishing institution, authors, 25-35 word description, abstract/summary, subject matter area where it should be indexed on the publications Web site, and any other information you think would be helpful to our readers. For-sale publications that need to be ordered can include an image of the cover or a typical interior two-page spread to provide more information about the publication.

Lisa Jasa

February Connect Newsletter Now Available

The February University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Connect newsletter was distributed earlier this month. Connect is extension's three-times-a-year newsletter that showcases a number of extension programs and the diverse and important ways extension benefits Nebraskans. Connect can serve as a real springboard for you in talking with stakeholders about extension work statewide, as well as the specific programs you want to highlight in your areas.

Stories in the February issue highlight diverse extension education programming that ranges from the Nebraska Turfgrass Conference, to beef home study courses, parenting classes to help parents and children cope in divorce, and partnerships with the Kimmel Education and Research Center and with communities to enhance youth involvement with community pride. More stories describing how UNL extension helps people "Know how, Know now" are in this issue.

Connect is distributed to many audiences, including Agriculture Builders of Nebraska, Inc., state senators, U.S. senators and representatives from Nebraska, LEAD alums, Nebraska AgRelations Council, Natural Resources District managers, extension board members, county supervisors/commissioners, select media, NU and UNL administrators, extension faculty and managerial/professional personnel, and extension retirees.

For more copies of Connect, contact the state extension office at 472-2966 or Cheryl Alberts in Communications and Information Technology at 472-9707.

Cheryl Alberts

General Distribution Publications

CD14        Pest Private Eye and the Case of IPM in Schools

EC219      2008 Nebraska Swine Report

Now Available on the Web

EC219      2008 Nebraska Swine Report
                 http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec219.pdf

G1627      A Guide to Grasshopper Control in Cropland
                 http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/g1627.pdf

G1819      Healthy Homes: Should I Test for Mold?
                 http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/g1819.pdf

Lisa Jasa

CPI Database Worksheet

DEFINITION OF CATEGORIES

New	--	Publications never listed on database
Revised	--	Publications listed in which content has been changed or updated and will replace older copies
Delete	--	Remove publication record from the CPI database, publication is out of print. Do not discard old copies, use until existing supplies are exhausted.
Destroy	--	Remove publication record from the CPI database, publication is out of print. DISCARD OLD COPIES, CONTAINS OBSOLETE INFORMATION, DO NOT USE
Corrections	--	Lists publication records that exist on current database but require revision of some sort (i.e. title, price code, price, subject, Department corrections, etc.)
Out of Stock Publications (Now Available to Order) -- Publications that have been reprinted with NO CHANGES and are back in stock

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