Monday, September 29, 2014

9.29.14 - ECOP Names Health Steering Committee Representatives

ECOP Names Health Steering Committee Representatives – Celvia Stovall, ECOP member and Extension Associate Director, Alabama A&M University, and Rick Klemme, ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee chair and University of Wisconsin Extension Director, will represent the Cooperative Extension Section on the new Healthy Food Systems, Healthy People Steering Committee. The purpose of the committee, operating with leadership by the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) and the Board on Human Sciences, is to develop a broad-based initiative for which funding will eventually be sought. The current emphasis by the BAA is water security. The health committee resulted from action taken by the BAA Policy Board of Directors following a work session at the summer 2014 Joint COPs session in Sacramento. Efforts by the ECOP National Task Force on Health https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=5134 led by Michelle Rodgers, ECOP member and University of Delaware Extension Director, contributed to the development of the steering committee. 

Lantagne Joins Futuring Group – Former ECOP chair (2011) Doug Lantagne, University of Vermont Extension Director, has been named by ECOP to represent Cooperative Extension on the Futuring Task Force. At its July 2014 meeting, the BAA Policy Board of Directors approved the Futuring Task Force plan including funding to engage a facilitator. It is expected all Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators will be engaged in the data collection process. ECOP thanks its former representative to the group, 2013 ECOP Chair Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University Extension Associate Director. 

LEAD21 Applications Due 11.14.14 – ECOP representatives to the LEAD21 Board of Directors, Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, and Nick Place, University of Florida, alert you to the call for nominations for Class XI www.lead-21.org/program-application-schedule/. The LEAD21 program provides leadership and professional development training for faculty and professionals in the Land-grant University System. The Board of Directors represents the various sections of the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly. The University of Georgia provides oversight and management of the program. 

Extension at APLU Annual Meeting – Extension Directors and Administrators attending the APLU annual meeting in Orlando, FL November 2-4, 2014 are encouraged to join the Sunday noon luncheon hosted by the National 4-H Council and the Cooperative Extension Section dinner meeting Monday evening. The discounted rate for rooms at the conference hotel ends 9.30.14 and for registration, 10.1.14. See http://www.aplu.org/page.aspx?pid=1462 for details. 

EFNEP Updates – The FY2013 National Impact Report for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is available at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/food/efnep/impacts.html. In addition, Helen Chipman, USDA-NIFA National Program Leader for Food and Nutrition Education, announces new social media guidelines for EFNEP. Social media offers an exciting opportunity for peer-to-peer communication. These guidelines, developed by Southern Region EFNEP Coordinators and staff, provide a framework for a cohesive and consistent voice for EFNEP on social media nationally. See http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/food/efnep/pdf/efnep_social_med_guide.pdf. These guidelines, developed by Southern Region EFNEP Coordinators and staff, will contribute to a new national initiative to explore the use of social media and/or other technology that can complement the face-to-face learning provided by EFNEP paraprofessional staff. In announcing this initiative, Helen Chipman, stated, “While our primary delivery strategy will continue to be hands-on, in-person education using EFNEP’s paraprofessional model, we are exploring new strategies and delivery mechanisms to further engage and encourage participants toward positive health behaviors. Social media has become an integral part of Americans’ lives, including EFNEP’s target audience. In order to remain relevant and accessible, EFNEP is exploring the appropriate and effective use of social media in engaging our target audience.”

Monday, September 22, 2014

9.22.14 - SNAP-ED Information Needed by 9.26.14

SNAP-ED Information Needed by 9.26.14The annual request for information to set the SNAP-Ed assessment for the coming year has been sent. This assessment to support the SNAP-ED National Office at South Dakota State University and the Program Development Team was approved by ECOP for a three-year period through 2016. Institutions are asked to report if they participated in SNAP-Ed for FY 2014 and the amount received. Please respond to sandra.jensen@sdstate.edu at the LGU SNAP-Ed Office by September 26, 2014. 

Stronger Economies Together Gets New Funding – USDA-NIFA National Program Leader Brent Elrod reports USDA Rural Development has provided an additional $1.5 million to continue the program Stronger Economies Together (SET), http://www.srdc.msstate.edu/set/ primarily led by the Regional Rural Development Centers. The SET planning team meets in Washington, DC in early November 2014. 

Emerging Administrator Award – This award, co-sponsored by the APLU Board on Human Sciences (BoHS) and the Council of Administrators of Family and Consumer Sciences (CAFCS), recognizes significant potential as a new administrator in academia or Cooperative Extension. A call for nominations, due October 8, 2014, and selection criteria are available at http://thebohs.org/emerging_administrator_award.aspx. For further information, contact the BoHS Executive Director Carol Kellett at carol.kellett@thebohs.org. The award, which includes an honorarium, will be presented biannually at the BoHS/CAFCS joint conference. 

Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Annual ReportThis program served 10,700 youth and families at risk in 42 states and U.S. territories during the 2013 program year. The Annual Report highlights stories, outcomes and program impacts across the four CYFAR national outcomes of Early Childhood, School Age, Teens, and Parent and Family. The overall CYFAR Program aligns with the USDA-REE mission areas of Education and Science Literacy, and Rural-Urban Interdependence and Prosperity. CYFAR is supporting the mission of educating the next generation of scientists through STEM projects that include hands-on activities that promote inquiry and thinking. CYFAR is building and enhancing partnerships with underserved and non-traditional populations. See http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/family/cyfar/annual_report.html

Food and Poverty – In its Choices magazine, the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) has a series on poverty and the relationship between poverty and food. For an overview of the articles, see Rural Poverty and Food.

Monday, September 15, 2014

9.15.14 - ECOP Chair to Address FCS Program Leaders

ECOP Chair to Address FCS Program Leaders – Community and Rural Vitality, Health and Wellness will be the focus of the 2014 Family & Consumer Sciences State Program Leaders Meeting at the Annual Session of the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS), September 17-18, 2014 in Lexington, KY. ECOP Chair Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, will speak at the opening session. Representatives of the Board on Human Sciences, Council of Administrators for Family and Consumer Sciences, and the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences will attend. USDA NIFA’s Division of Family & Consumer Sciences, under the leadership of Caroline Crocoll, coordinates the two-day annual meeting of state leaders. Regional Rural Development Center Directors will also participate. 

Bioproducts World Conference in Ohio – Keith Smith, Extension Director, Ohio State University, encourages colleagues to take advantage of a special academic rate of $125 for the Bioproducts World 2014 Showcase and Conference October 5-8, 2014 in Columbus, OH. To register, go to http://bioproductsworld.org/general_registration.php and note the special rate. For a schedule of events, see http://bioproductsworld.org/schedule_of_events.php

WVU Announces Centennial Celebration – West Virginia University will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act with a two-day symposium September 24-25, 2014 focusing on the future of Cooperative Extension. A presidential panel features three WVU presidents — Gordon Gee, David Hardesty and Peter Magrath — who will each give their unique perspective and insight on the role Cooperative Extension plays in fulfilling the land-grant mission. See http://go.wvu.edu/ZeKCE0 for more information. 

Blog Post Features Cooperative Extension’s Next Century – ECOP chairs Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University; Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, and Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and other leaders were featured in the PEW Charitable Trusts article Cooperative Extension Reinvents Itself for the 21st Century. See http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2014/09/09/cooperative-extension-reinvents-itself-for-the-21st-century

NRC Completes AFRI Review The National Research Council (NRC) has completed its review of AFRI and provides the report Spurring Innovation in Food and Agriculture: A Review of the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Program http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18652. Reference to Cooperative Extension is found in Recommendations 2-A and 3-B. 

USDA-NIFA Director Speaks at Centennial Celebration Extension in the 21st Century was the theme of Sonny Ramaswamy’s presentation at the USDA Cooperative Extension Centennial celebration last week in Washington, DC. View his presentation at http://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/p3n5jte2826/.

Monday, September 8, 2014

9.8.14 - Calendar Items of Note

Debut of the National Cooperative Extension Leadership Calendar – Introducing a convenient, interactive calendar designed to track dates and details of events of national and regional significance as announced in the ECOP Monday Minute. Bookmark your browser for: http://nationalcooperativeextension.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html. On the calendar you will find the following items.

National Extension Master Gardener Coordinator Conference – October 27-29, 2014, New Brunswick, NJ, https://sites.google.com/site/2014nemgcc/, conference registration deadline is October 13, hotel room rates guaranteed through October 6. Direct questions to 2014NEMGCC@gmail.com.
 
APLU Annual MeetingNovember 2-4, 2014, Orlando, FL, http://www.aplu.org/page.aspx?pid=1462, Cooperative Extension awards presented Sunday morning; Cooperative Extension dinner Monday evening.

Joint Council for Agricultural Research, Education, and Teaching/Academic Heads Section (CARET/AHS) Meeting – March 2-5, 2015, Washington, DC. 

Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) Conference – March 16-19, 2015, Crystal City, (Arlington) VA, contact Stephanie Blake, USDA-NIFA, sblake@nifa.usda.gov

Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) Conference – April 12-15, 2015, Crystal City,
(Arlington) VA, http://www.jcep.org/pild-conference. A letter of invitation with highlights to Cooperative Extension leaders is available at: https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=5484. Registration begins January 12, 2015.

National Urban Extension ConferenceMay 4-7, 2015, Atlanta, GA, http://urbanextension2015.com; proposal deadline October 1, 2014. 

National Extension Conference on VolunteerismMay 4-7, 2015, Portland, ME, contact Doug Swanson, 202.690.1227, dswanson@nifa.usda.gov

National Health Outreach ConferenceMay 6-8, 2015, Atlanta, GA, contact Janet Valente, University of Georgia, 706.583.0343, jvalente@uga.edu


1890 Institutions 125th CelebrationJuly 15-16, 2015, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 

National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) and Cooperative Extension Section MeetingOctober 12-15, 2015, location to be determined. 

APLU Annual MeetingNovember 15-17, 2015, Indianapolis, IN. Future conferences November 13-15, 2016 in Austin, TX, and November 12-14, 2017 in Washington, DC.