NACo Webinar Features EDEN

NACo Webinar Features EDEN – The Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) is the focus of a National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET, Thursday, June 25, 2015. Registration is required at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8952778193842903297. The webinar resulted from work of the NACo-Cooperative
Extension National Leadership Team created during Daryl Buchholz’s term as ECOP chair in 2013. In addition to Buchholz, Kansas State University, Rick Klemme, University of Wisconsin, and Cooperative Extension Executive Directors Robin Shepard, Lyla Houglum, and Jane Schuchardt participate in the quarterly meetings with NACo legislative and program directors. 

USDA-NIFA Convenes Plan of Work Expert Panel  – The five Cooperative Extension regions have named representatives for the USDA-NIFA 2015 Panel of Experts meeting this week in Washington, DC. They are Lisa Townson, University of New Hampshire; Deborah Lewis, Ohio State University; Scott Cummings, Texas A&M University; Debbie Carter, University of Alaska, and Benjamin Forbes, North Carolina A&T University. These panelists join regional representatives from the Experiment Stations and USDA-NIFA to review and make recommendations for implementing the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) Plan of Work requirements. This review occurs every five years. Townson, together with Cameron Faustman, University of Connecticut, representing the northeast region Experiment Stations, will work with other Extension and Experiment Station panel members to provide a report to ECOP and the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy (ESCOP). 

1890 Universities 125th Celebration Hotel Block Update –

The block of rooms for the 1890s 125th celebration at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill closes today, and has been extended until 6.22.15 at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel. Book a room under the name of 125th Anniversary of the 1890 Morrill Act by calling the Hyatt at 1-888-421-1442 or the Liaison at 1-866-233-4642. The rate is $209.00 per night plus tax. Registration, which is required for all of the 125th events July 14-16, 2015 in Washington, DC, is at http://www.1890universities.org/node/298. The welcome reception Tuesday evening and the dinner on Wednesday evening will be at the Hyatt Hotel. The Exhibition at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday and the Convocation from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on Thursday are at the Library of Congress. Direct questions to L. Washington Lyons, Executive Administrator, Association of Executive Administrators, lwlyons@ncat.edu or 336-340-6465.

Ed Jones, Virginia Tech; Renee McKee, Purdue Univ.

ECOP 4-H National Leadership Committee Meets in St. Louis – Engaging more youth to ensure 4-H grows into the future was among items for discussion at a recent meeting of the 4-H National Leadership Committee, chaired by Ed Jones, Virginia Tech, and Renee McKee, Purdue University. Other priorities of the committee made up of Cooperative Extension, USDA-NIFA, and National 4-H Council representatives relate to marketing, resources, and governance. The two-day meeting at Monsanto Headquarters in St. Louis supported the continued goal of exemplary communications about 4-H, a youth development program of Cooperative Extension, as outline in the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2014. Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska, serves as ECOP liaison to the committee. 

FFAR Names First Executive Director – The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a private foundation formed by the Agriculture Act of 2014 (farm bill) to catalyze innovation in agricultural research, has named its first executive director. Sally Rockey, the current deputy of extramural research at the National Institutes of Health, will lead the foundation starting in September. For more information, see this press release.