Dealing with the Terminal Illness or Passing of an Extension Colleague

Dealing with the Terminal Illness or Passing of an Extension Colleague

The lead supervisor or their designee is the primary point of contact at the university when a faculty or staff member passes away or is terminally ill. It is important to be aware of the elements involved in managing the faculty member’s personal and professional affairs. The following guidance will vary if the faculty member passes suddenly, is located in a county office, at a research center, in an academic department, or is an affiliate employed by one of our county partners. Lead supervisors should ask for help from colleagues, the Extension Dean’s office, Technology Support, Business Center, and rely on delegating responsibilities.

Lead supervisors or their designeeare responsible for sharing internalcommunication regarding the passing of active Extension colleagues, including notifying immediate colleagues (e.g. county office, department, center, program area) before sharing more broadly to the allext@lists.unl.edu listserv. The lead supervisor/designee should communicate news of retired Extension colleagues passing with Keith Niemann, Extension Emeriti Liaison (keith@unl.edu) for distribution to Extension emeriti faculty.

The lead supervisor or their designee should find out who the appropriate family member or person to communicate with is, concerning benefits and administrative processes. That person might be a legal surviving spouse or legal power of attorney. Families are complex, often blended, have cultural uniqueness’s and are sometimesin conflict. The faculty/staff memberthat passes may not have communicated their wishes for power of attorney to everyone in the family. The lead supervisor/designee may need to explain why they are working with that individual concerning some issues. Support and sympathy certainly can be expressed to all grieving individuals. Remember, it is important to be culturally sensitive when providing support.

Family members and colleagues will go through the grief-loss cycle: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance in different ways (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth; On Death and Dying, 1969). These stages help individuals navigate change. The process of grieving looks different for everyone, and the stages are not linear. It can be challenging to help family members and colleagues who are upset, angry or withdrawn. It is also important for staff and faculty to recognize where they are in the process of grieving, to better help others affected. Be sure to take care of yourselves.

In some cases, it may be useful to contact the Employee Assistance Program for department grief counseling. They have trained specialists who can provide a means by which affected colleagues can face the sorrow and confusion that accompany a colleague’s death. EAP’s website is https://hr.unl.edu/eapand you can contact them at 402-472-3107, 888-445-9881 and eap@unl.edu.

Responsibility Check List for Lead Supervisors/Designees:

1. Keep the Extension Dean and Director or Associate Dean/Associate Director (402-472-2966) aware of what is happening. Limit email communications to legally authorized family members and appropriate UNL Offices. Chooseyour words carefully. Save all email communications and document the situation and your actions. You might also keep a log of phone conversations.
2. For University employees, contact the IANR Human Resources Director for guidance at 402- 472-5730. For County affiliates, contact the County Human Resources office or the County Clerk.
3. Suggest to the legal partner or power of attorney that they contact UNL Human Resources (402-472-3101) or County Human Resources to get a clear understanding of the benefits arrangements that are available to the surviving beneficiaries. The most importantof these are health insurance benefits and retirement accounts. This information can be confusing and difficult to process. Indicate you will work with them later to manage the individual’s professional resources, equipment, and office.
4. Contact members of Extension that are (were) close to or frequently work(ed) with the individual. Keep them updated so they can support each other and if appropriate the faculty/staff member or member’s family. Offer them information about grief counseling through UNL Employee Assistance. EAP’s website is https://hr.unl.edu/eap and you can contact them at 402- 472-3107, 888-445-9881 and eap@unl.edu.
5. Contact the Information Technology Services Client Services Coordinator, 402-472-7717. Your Extension ITS contact may also provide this assistance. If possible, get permission in writing to gain access to email and other accounts normally used by the individual. Coordinate with the individual’s legallyauthorized representative as advised by NU legalcounsel. Give this access to your IT Specialist as directed by Human Resources, so they can:
   • Immediately manage the individual’s email account so that we can archive the entire account for later use. Many people rely on their university account for both personal and professional correspondence. Email access might be necessary to bring ongoing university projects to a close. It might also be necessary to help the faculty member’s legal representative access personal and financial (bills) emails.
   • Identify if the faculty/staff had a Twitter account, Facebook page, YouTube for business purposes or other social media accounts used for teaching. Decide on an appropriate way to communicate with individuals who follow the faculty member or participate in educational opportunities via social media and these accounts.
   • Look at accounts in Google Docs, MS SharePoint, MS Teams for information that may need to be archived or removed. Program Leaders, Lead Educators, Engagement Zone Coordinators, Department Heads, and other administrators may be a resource in helping with these accounts.
   • Access all requests made through Concur for travel or other reimbursements as they are being processed. In some cases, there may be requests for refunds pending that require receipts. In general, if we can gain access to these receipts, the refund will be completed, but if we cannot, the refund will not usually be offered.
   • Gain access to program calendars/schedules, program registration lists, curriculum, and other pedagogical materials you, the Engagement Zone Coordinator, the Program Leader, the Department Head, or Lead Educator may need to coordinate program coverage.
6. Arrange for coverage of both focused programming in the accountability region and other local program responsibilities.
   1. Contact the Extension Program Area Leader, Engagement Zone Coordinator or appropriate Department Head for the faculty/staff member’s main program area. Together with colleagues or co-workers involvedi n any ongoing projects, design a plan to cover immediate focused programming in the Accountability Region.
   2. Contact Lead Educators in the Accountability region with updated program coverage plans.
   3. Work with local offices to plan for coverage of other local programming areas. Discuss ways to enlist volunteers or other staff to cover programs and ways to discontinue some efforts.
   4. Meet with the Extension Board to discuss programming responsibilities. Keep them updated on Accountability Region plans and on local programming effort plans. Ask for ideas and assistance to cover immediate needs. Discuss the current process to refill positions (this may need to be a second meeting giving individuals time to grieve loss).
   5. If possible, get permission in writing from the individual regarding how to end their participation in project(s) with external funding. Contact the appropriate IANR Business Center so that funding agencies, sponsored programs, and compliance offices can be notified as needed. In some situations, an alternate PI can be identified so that existing grants and supports can be maintained.
7. Contact all students or interns directly involved with the employee. The Graduate Chair should be included in these conversations when they involve graduate students.
8. Using the individual’s Annual Report of Faculty Accomplishments or CV, contact all professional organizations, boards, and journals to notify them of the end of the individual’s services. If possible, obtain permission in writing from the individual or their power of attorney.
9. Arrange for the disposition of equipment and materials depending on funding source and as appropriate considering unique circumstances.
   • Retrieve university and/or county property including items like office keys/keycards, computers, iPads, vehicle keys, purchasing card,etc. These items are on inventory so work with Human Resources or IT to change ownership.
   • Items purchased with grant funds, revolving funds and program accounts are owned by the university. Work with grant Primary Investigators, Program Leaders, and Unit Leaders to collect and possibly redistribute these items. These items are on inventory so work with Human Resources or IT to change ownership.
   • If possible, get the individual’s wishes, ideally in writing, for disposition of personal possessions used at work. In most cases,they will be given to the survivors, but in some cases, as with specialized technical instruments, computers, and other materials not owned by the university, there may be particular people the individual wishes to have them.
   • Review articles, books, curriculum and other publications or products of the individual; the survivors might want them, and it is likely that colleagues will consider a memorial volume in some cases. Ask the Program Leader for assistance in appropriately reviewing these items.
   • The University Libraries’ Archivist can assisti n the disposition of the individual’s faculty papers, including any associated paperwork, and the removal of materials from the office with the help of the university’s moving services for campus-based employees.
   • Arrange with the survivors a mutually satisfactory way of dealing with the individual’s books and program curriculum. They may desire to keep many books, but in other cases, the survivors or individual may have colleagues in mind to receive them. The Program Leader can be of help assessing the concepts and research base current value of the materials and identifying the faculty who might make use of the materials. Contact University Libraries at 402-472-2531 or archives@unl.edu to see whether any volumes might be included in the library’s special collection or if help is needed to discard unwanted materials.
10. Maintain regular contact with the local office, Extension Board, Program Area Leader, Engagement Zone Coordinator, Department head, and the Extension Dean and Director or the Associate Dean/Associate Director as appropriate and during transition in theweeks and months following the death of an individual. Note the process and timing for filling the vacancy utilizing compassion and regular communication.
11. Be prepared to assist with a memorial service with survivors if they express a desire for this. You may be asked to provide information on the individuals career accomplishments for the paper and the memorial service. This can be an important means by which members of the administrative unit, colleagues, and office team members can acknowledge the death of one their colleagues, and an opportunity for compassionate interaction that will allow the surviving family members to appreciate that their grief is shared.

Sources:

This resource was adopted from “Dealing with the Death of a Faculty Member” for Department Executive Officers (DEOs)which was prepared by Faculty Affairs in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, in consultation with representatives from Human Resources, the Employee Assistance Program, the Office of Research and Economic Development, Information Technology Services, and University Libraries. Last updated December 2020

Compiled and customized for Extension Professionals by Nebraska Extension Dean’s Office— November 29, 2022.

Updated – January 6, 2025