What We’ve Learned from Our Transition to Administration
Leadership and Administrative Skills
Eric Barrett
Associate Professor
Ohio State University Extension
Canfield
Abstract
Is administration for me? Both of us have thought of this possibility during our combined 50-plus years of experience as county-based Extension Educators. We served both the Extension organization and our programmatic profession in various ways through committee leadership, supervisory duties, team leader, reviewer, educational advisor to industry, community partner, mentor, and more. Over time, our focus on servant leadership led us to these new roles. Within just a few weeks of each other, we transitioned to interim state administrative leadership positions. We both took on these roles to support the profession and OSU Extension as a whole. While our paths have been different, we both grew our skillsets in similar ways. In our new roles, we serve as part of the leadership team that guides the future of OSU Extension and the 800+ colleagues we work with and for each day. Our new titles include Associate Chair in the Department of Extension and Assistant Director for Agriculture and Natural Resources. Our responsibilities as educators-turned-administrators include guiding Educators through promotion levels, assisting faculty as they navigate promotion and tenure processes, building relationships across the department and college, managing the operations of the agriculture and natural resources program in Ohio’s 88 counties, championing the collective aspirations of our colleagues, and driving positive change for the future of OSU Extension. This presentation will describe our paths to administration, our administrative structure, highlight our challenges and successes, and provide tips for other Educators interested in assuming statewide administrative responsibilities.
Authors: Eric Barrett, Chris Zoller
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Eric Barrett Associate Professor, Area Leader & Interim Associate Chair, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 44406
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Chris Zoller Associate Professor and Interim Assistant Director, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 44663