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.”
