11 MSU Extension professionals promoted to Senior status

A few years ago, the MSU Extension administrative team began exploring ways to recognize team members for their scholarship and leadership as Extension professionals. After receiving input from a variety of groups and investigating promotion policies at other Cooperative Extension programs, we developed a career path process that recognizes and rewards career advancement for academic staff that mirrors the promotion process for faculty in academic units. We implemented the first level of promotion review, Step II, in 2006, and began implementation of the second level of promotion review, Step III, last fall. That implementation is now complete with the announcement of the first group of MSU Extension professionals to be promoted to Senior status.

Promotion to Senior Status is an opportunity to recognize excellent employees for their scholarly work while allowing them to continue to excel in their in their current positions. In other words, it’s a way to give people props and a pay raise for what they do best – developing and delivering programs that “help people to improve their lives” (from our mission statement) and “bring knowledge to life” (our tag line).

The following individuals were successful in the presentation of their senior-level experience and expertise, resulting in a promotion to senior status within Extension.

• Roger Betz, senior district Extension educator
• Dawn Contreras, senior program leader
• Tom Dudek, senior district Extension educator
• Kathy Foerster, senior program leader
• Ron Goldy, senior district Extension educator
• Norm Myers, senior Extension educator
• Jill O’Donnell, senior district Extension educator
• Bill Robb, senior Extension educator
• Dean Solomon, senior Extension educator
• Mike Staton, senior Extension educator
• Steve Stewart, senior district Extension educator

Congratulations to this great group of people. If you’re interested in pursuing Step III status, please refer to the administrative handbook, and contact Michelle Rodgers.

I want to thank another group of individuals for their help in carrying out the inaugural review process: Ben Bartlett, Julie Chapin, Ron Kinnunen, Dale Mutch, Chuck Pistis, Steve Poindexter, Natalie Rector, and Marilyn Rudzynski. These individuals have been awarded the MSU Distinguished Academic Staff award in the past and were granted Senior status based on that award. Together with the newly named senior Extension professionals, this group will provide consultation on the review process for promotions to Senior status in the future. Michelle Rodgers, Nancy Axtell, Judy Lentz-Bishop and Julie Kiesling all helped to implement a process that we plan to repeat each year.

Thanks and congratulations to all.