Monday, December 16, 2013

ECOP Monday Minute 12.16.13



Congratulations, Chrystal – Please join the National ECOP Office in celebrating the exemplary contributions of Chrystal Checketts who has accepted a position at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension effective January 6, 2014. Since March 2011, Chrystal has been a critical member of the Executive Director and Administrator Team providing leadership for revamping the financial reporting system, updating the ECOP website at www.extension.org/ECOP, transitioning the Extension awards to an online process, establishing a consistent appearance for all ECOP communications, and assuming a substantial role on the ECOP Extension Centennial Task Force. She can be reached at chrystal.checketts(at)extension.org through January 3, 2014. Thank you, Chrystal, for your commitment to excellence, your attention to detail, your consistent professionalism, and for choosing Cooperative Extension for your next career move.

ACTION: NEDA 2014 Registration Open  – Register at http://muconf.missouri.edu/NeXC-NEDA2014/ for the National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Meeting, planned by the ECOP Executive Subcommittee, March 24-27 at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento in Sacramento, CA. NEDA will meet jointly with the National eXtension Conference (NeXC). These two events will highlight shared programming and independent business meetings and networking. NEDA will begin Monday evening with a reception and continue through midday Wednesday. An optional session Monday afternoon will provide tips and tools for engaging with social media. ECOP will meet Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Other NEDA participants are welcome to attend additional NeXC programming through Thursday.

ECOP Announces 2014 Directory – Appointments for ECOP and its various committees and task forces have been made by Cooperative Extension regions as shown in the 2014 directory at https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4977. ECOP Chair Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, together with immediate past chair, Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, sincerely thank those who completed terms of service and those who have accepted new responsibilities. ECOP’s key role is representing Cooperative Extension as a national system. See www.extension.org/ECOP for details.

World Hunger Summit – Auburn University and the Board on Human Sciences invites you to the 9th Annual Universities Fighting World Hunger Summit on February 28-March 2, 2014. For details, see www.universitiesfightingworldhunger.org.

USDA Ag Outlook Forum – Registration is open for the 2014 USDA Ag Outlook Forum February 20-21, 2014 in the Washington, DC area. See http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/. The Extension Centennial will be featured in an opening video, an exhibit and a session setting the stage for the next 100 years of Cooperative Extension excellence.

APLU 2014 Annual Meeting Early Registration – The pre-registration rate for the 2014 APLU Annual Meeting, November 2-4 in Orlando, FL, runs through January 31, 2014. To register, go to http://www.cvent.com/d/t4q93z.

Opportunity to Feature 4-H Talent – Doug Steele, Co-chair of the Extension Centennial Task Force, encourages directors and administrators to consider the Millennium Stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, as a way to feature 4-H and other talent from your Cooperative Extension programming during the centennial year. The Millennium Stage www.kennedy-center.org/millennium features free performances every day of the year at the Kennedy Center. For details, contact Diana Ezerins, Community Engagement Programming Coordinator, Millennium Stage, 202.416.8043, dmezerins@kennedy-center.org.

ECOP Monday Minute 12.9.13



Centennial Resolution Language – Cornerstone Government Affairs has approved resolution language commemorating the 100th anniversary of Cooperative Extension which can be found at the bottom of the Toolkit page at www.extension100years.net. Cornerstone will work to identify sponsors to introduce the resolution in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in 2014. The language can be used as presented or adapted for use with state legislatures. If you have questions, contact Vernie Hubert at Cornerstone, vhubert@cgagroup.com.

USDA Releases SNAP-Ed Study – See http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/SNAPEdWaveII_Summary.pdf for the study released December 2013.

Internet Learning Virtual Conference – Jane Hart, a keynote speaker for the NeXConf/NEDA joint meeting March 24-28, 2014 in Sacramento, CA, will present a virtual conference on Tuesday, January 21 at 2 p.m. ET on the Workplace Learning Revolution: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Learn at Work. Hart is an independent workplace learning and collaboration advisor, writer and international speaker. She is the founder of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. She will present the results of her Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013 compiled from the votes of more than 500 learning professionals (from education and workplace learning) worldwide. Go to the event page in Learn to follow this event.

USDA-REE White Papers – USDA Chief Scientist and USDA Research, Education and Economics (REE) Under Secretary Cathie Woteki recommends white papers at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=OCS that provide details of REE focus areas of global food security, bioenergy, nutrition and childhood obesity, climate change, food safety and sustainable agricultural systems.

APLU A Public Voice – APLU's Newsletter to university presidents and others featured the Extension Centennial in the December 6, 2013 issue. See https://www.aplu.org/page.aspx?pid=2844&srctid=1&erid=1771144.

Monday, November 25, 2013

ECOP Monday Minute 11.25.13



ECOP Monday Minute will return on 12.9.13. Happy Thanksgiving!

Processes in Full Swing for "New" eXtension – The eXtension Governing Committee, chaired by Dennis Calvin, Pennsylvania State University, outlines a plan for re-launching Cooperative Extension’s online initiative. See https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4962 for details about establishing a Strategic Planning Working Group, chaired by Keith Smith, Ohio State University. All directors and administrators are encouraged to engage with regional representatives throughout the process. A briefing will occur during the National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) meeting March 24-26, 2014 in Sacramento, CA, with continual updates to ECOP, chaired by Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky.

Orientation to Feature Cooperative Extension Update – About 15 new Cooperative Extension directors and administrators are registered to attend the new Dean/Director/Administrator/NPL Orientation December 3-5, 2013 in Alexandria, VA. This APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly event is designed to brief new administrators about APLU, USDA-NIFA and the Land-grant University System, how to become involved in national leadership, and provide opportunity to establish strategic networks with colleagues. The Cooperative Extension Section will feature new ECOP Chair Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, and USDA-NIFA colleagues Ralph Otto, Muquarrab Qureshi, and Brad Rein. A session on eXtension capabilities also will be included. 

APLU Annual Meeting on YouTube – Alcorn State University President M. Christopher Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY0cxDoZb_g references Cooperative Extension repeatedly and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_FRpNH6gnE charges universities to focus on rural vitality. Both were among keynote speakers at the November 10-12, 2013 APLU Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

CBO Releases Report on Deficit – See http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44715 for a Congressional Budget Office publication on Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023.

Monday, November 18, 2013

ECOP Monday Minute 11.18.13



ACTION: Submit Impact Statements by 12.15.13 -- Tom Coon, Michigan State University, member of the Measuring Excellence in Extension Implementation Team chaired Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, urges every director and administrator to submit impact statements to www.excellenceinextension.org by mid-December 2013. Full participation is needed in order to provide national impact statements to be used for advocacy related to federal budget deliberations. For assistance, contact Scott Cummings, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, at s-cummings@tamu.edu.

One Voice Benefits Federal Budget Advocacy – ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee Chair, Rick Klemme, University of Wisconsin, reminds all directors and administrators about the critical need to speak with one voice about Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) federal budget priorities, which include Smith-Lever 3(b)&(c) and 1890 Institutions Extension. Advocacy related to other budget lines without going through the BAA process, which engages Cornerstone Government Affairs, undermines the system’s credibility on Capitol Hill and can have an overall negative effect. Details of BAA Budget priorities are provided at www.land-grant.org along with a best practice guide at http://www.land-grant.org/guides.html that outlines the BAA process.

1890 Institutions Region Names ECOP Chair-elect – Following the regional rotation for ECOP chair, Delbert T. Foster, South Carolina State University, has been named by the 1890 Institutions Region as chair-elect for ECOP. He will assume responsibilities as chair during the APLU Annual Meeting November 2-4, 2014 in Orlando, Florida. 

Steele to Co-chair Extension Centennial Task Force – Doug Steele, former ECOP chair and director, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, has assumed the co-chair responsibility with the ECOP Extension Centennial Task Force, replacing Bill Woodrum, formerly of West Virginia State University. He joins Frankie Gould, Louisiana State University AgCenter, with the co-chair responsibility. Steele and Gould encourage directors and administrators to check www.extension100years.net for updates and a toolkit to plan state and local celebrations.

Banner Year for eXtension Applications – Check out new features added in 2013 for eXtension applications Ask an Expert (http://ask.extension.org), People (http://people.extension.org) and Learn (http://learn.extension.org). Ask an Expert’s new enhancements included the introduction of group collaborative features, improved mobile experience, more powerful search, enhanced reporting capabilities, and built-in customer satisfaction survey technology. The new version of People makes it even easier to find, connect and collaborate with Extension colleagues. Learn was enhanced with a built-in mechanism for custom per-session evaluations, improved editing and commenting, and links to external files such as supplementary fact sheets and slides, and improved learner interactions through an enhanced social commenting feature.

113th Congress, 2nd Session Schedules
– For the House schedule, see http://majorityleader.gov/Calendar/. The Senate calendar is at http://democrats.senate.gov/2013/11/07/2014-senate-calendar-113th-congress-2nd-session/.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

ECOP Monday Minute 11.11.13



SAVE THE DATE: Centennial Convocation – The ECOP Centennial Task Force, chaired by Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and Frankie Gould, Louisiana State University AgCenter, asks you to mark your calendars for May 7-8, 2014 for the Cooperative Extension Centennial Convocation.  The event will be in Washington, D.C. starting the evening of May 7 and running through the afternoon of May 8. This event provides a unique opportunity to gather in our Nation's Capitol to celebrate the impact of Cooperative Extension's first hundred years and to set the stage for another century of excellence. Registration and hotel information will be available soon. Please plan to bring a delegation from your state to honor the Cooperative Extension System.

ECOP Releases 2013 Accomplishments – ECOP Chair Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, presents the ECOP 2013 Report http://www.aplu.org/CESannualreport today at the Cooperative Extension dinner meeting at the APLU Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Daryl expresses his thanks for the opportunity to serve the Cooperative Extension Section as chair and extends his appreciation for working with him on national leadership of benefit to state and local Cooperative Extension programming. The report also is highlighted as part of the APLU report to the Board of Directors http://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4933.

ECOP Gavel Passes to Henning – Today Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, assumes the role of chair of ECOP, the representative leadership and governing body of Cooperative Extension. Goals for ECOP’s work for the next year are at https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4949.

ACTION: Comment on USDA-NIFA Plan of Work/Annual Report Process – Proposed revised guidelines for the USDA-NIFA Plan of Work and Annual Report data collection were published in the Federal Register on November 1, 2013  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-11-01/pdf/2013-25990.pdf. Comments are due December 31, 2013. For more information, contact Katelyn Sellers, USDA-NIFA Planning, Accountability & Reporting Staff, 202-401-5482, ksellers@nifa.usda.gov.

Congratulations to Award Winners – Seven exemplary Cooperative Extension professionals were recognized at the APLU Annual Meeting in Washington, DC yesterday. The awards are sponsored by USDA-NIFA and ECOP. See https://www.aplu.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=2828 for the press release.

REMINDER: Early Orientation Registration Ends This Week – Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators who have been in their positions less than three years are encouraged to attend the New Deans/Directors/Administrators/NPLs Orientation Workshop December 3-5, 2013 in Alexandria, VA. Early registration ends November 15. The Cooperative Extension Section will have a breakout session to answer any questions about ECOP and its functions. Click here for schedule, registration, and hotel information.