Monday, January 27, 2014

ECOP Monday Minute 1.27.14

REGISTER FOR NEDA: Social Media Session – Thanks to a request from Tom Coon, Michigan State University, an optional pre-National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Meeting workshop is offered 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Monday, March 24th on Building Connections - Social Media in Extension.  The session, designed with directors/administrators as the target audience, will focus on 1) why Extension needs to have a large presence in social media, 2) how Extension directors/administrators can encourage and promote social media use in their organizations, and 3) how social media can be evaluated and used in promotion and tenure practices. To register for NEDA, go to http://muconf.missouri.edu/NeXC-NEDA2014/ at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento in Sacramento, CA. NEDA will meet jointly with the National eXtension Conference (NeXC). NEDA programming continues through midday Wednesday and participants are welcome to attend additional NeXC programming through Thursday.

SAVE THE DATES  Centennial Celebration Update  Excitement continues to grow for activities across the country related to the Cooperative Extension Centennial. Invitations have been extended for the Capitol Hill Reception Wednesday evening, 3.5.14. Plans are being finalized for the Convocation on May 7-8, 2014 in Washington, DC and registration will soon be announced.  Please keep up on all the latest activities by tracking Centennial progress on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Extension100Years You can also follow updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ext100Years   Pictures and videos are also being archived on Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/ext100years/ and a YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9GyqMs0FKlUKBTxtcyg04w/videos  If you have media to add or suggestions, please contact Bill Woodrum for more information, extensioncentennial@gmail.com.

ECOP January Update – ECOP Chair Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, facilitated a meeting of ECOP on 1.22.14 where members approved the formation of the 4-H National Leadership Committee with initial leadership by Charlotte Eberlein, University of Idaho; tasked Mike O’Neill, University of Connecticut, and Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware, to consider ways of collaborating with USDA-NIFA program leaders; and charged the ECOP Personnel Subcommittee co-chaired by James Trapp, Oklahoma State University, and Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska, to review the Executive Director and Administrator Team model. ECOP welcomed Bob Holland assisted by Bill Hoffman, who replaces Ralph Otto, as the USDA-NIFA liaison to ECOP. In addition, reports were accepted by the SNAP-ED Program Development Team; the “new” eXtension strategic planning effort led by Keith Smith, Ohio State University; and funding priorities by ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee Chair, Rick Klemme, University of Wisconsin.

Super Panel Featured at NeXConf/NEDA  Four dynamic online “masters” will be gathered for a panel discussion on learning, working differently, and technology integration at the NeXConf/NEDA meeting in March.  Two of the speakers, Dave Gray and Jane Hart are keynote speakers for the conference:  Gray specializes in innovation and networked organizations, Hart works to help organizations understand and implement new workplace learning trends and networking.  Joining them on the panel will be Beth Kanter, an expert in technology, training, capacity building, evaluation, and marketing for non-profit organizations, and Harold Jarche, an expert in connected leadership, social learning, personal knowledge management, and workplace collaboration. These four individuals will bring new insight and ideas to conference attendees with a special emphasis on transforming organizations through learning networks and connectedness.


Positive Results for Youth from 4-H Involvement – Compared to their peers, 4-H'ers are nearly four times more likely to contribute to their communities. This is one of several powerful statistics included in a new report -- The Positive Development of Youth: Comprehensive Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. For more than a decade, preeminent youth development scholars, Drs. Richard M. Lerner and Jacqueline V. Lerner and the team at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University, partnered with faculty at more than 20 land-grant universities and colleges to conduct this ground-breaking research. This scientific research shows that the 4-H approach to high-quality positive youth development works. See http://www.4-h.org/about/youth-development-research/positive-youth-development-study/.