Second Round of Institute Assignments

The next round of institute assignments and primary/secondary program emphasis surveys for Cooperative Extension staff were sent out earlier this week. The first program area to receive the proposed assignments was CNRED. The next groups will be 4-H Youth Development, ANRE and Family Living. Integrated specialists will receive their proposed institutes in late March/early April. If you have any questions about the process, please email nextgencommunications@ces.uwex.edu.

County Educator Vacancy Postings

Area Extension Directors (AEDs) continue to work through the hiring process to fill more than 40 priority vacancies through our two main waves of hiring for county educators this winter. Sixteen of the positions have been filled. The remaining positions are posted or are in various stages of the interview process. Open positions for county-based educator and coordinator roles that are posted include:

• Chippewa County – 1.0 FTE – 4-H Program Coordinator – Closes 04/05/2018
• Calumet County – 1.0 FTE – Agriculture Extension Educator – Closes 04/03/2018
• Jackson/Trempealeau County – 1.0 FTE – 4-H Program Coordinator – Closes 04/03/2018
• Dodge or Jefferson County – 1.0 FTE – Natural Resources Educator – Closes 04/01/2018

County Educator Vacancy Priorities: The Assistant Deans, Associate Deans, Program Directors, Area Extension Directors, Office of Financial Services Director and nEXT Gen implementation team met on March 23 to discuss current county staffing, the process for prioritizing hiring of additional vacant county-based positions and future staffing strategies. The group set a timeline of one month to propose solutions to meet the continued county demand for Cooperative Extension programming and minimize gaps in service, while addressing the reality that there is a limit to the number of co-funded positions that Cooperative Extension can support. They expect to agree on solutions by the end of April and develop a standardized approach to prioritize filling vacancies in the future.

Other postings related to the nEXT Generation Cooperative Extension model:

• 1.0 FTE – Farm Management Outreach Program Manager – Closes 04/15/2018
• The Search and Screen Committee for the Natural Resources Institute Director selected four finalists. Final interviews will be held on April 9-10. Each finalist will provide a 20-minute presentation and take questions for 20 minutes. Please review your inbox for the announcement (3/26/2018).
• The Search and Screen Committee for the Agriculture Institute Director selected three finalists. Final interviews will be held on April 2-3. Each finalist will provide a 20 minute presentation and take questions for 20 minutes. Please review your inbox for the announcement (3/22/2018).
• The Health & Well-Being Institute Director position posting closed on 3/28/2018.

If you have general questions, the nEXT Generation project website is available as a resource for understanding the decisions that have been made as part of this project.