Geith to Lead eXtension Foundation

Christine Geith, eXtension Foundation CEO

Geith to Lead eXtension Foundation – The ‘New eXtension’ begins an exciting phase of its development and growth with the hiring of its new leader. The eXtension Foundation Board of Directors has named Christine Geith PhD as its Chief Executive Officer effective July 1, 2015. "We are very excited that Christine Geith will lead the eXtension Foundation and help us to develop both the future of eXtension and the future of Cooperative Extension," said Dennis Calvin, chair of the eXtension Foundation Board of Directors and Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension Director. For more information go to: http://about.extension.org/2015/06/03/extension-begins-new-chapter-christine-geith-chief-executive-officer/. 

Register for 1890 Universities 125th Celebration – Registration is now available at http://www.1890universities.org/node/298 for the 125th Anniversary events on July 14-16, 2015 in Washington, DC to mark the signing of the 2nd Morrill Act establishing 1890 land-grant institutions. Registration is required to attend all events even though there is no registration fee required for some events. The schedule is as follows:  

• Tuesday, July 14th – Welcome reception 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 15th – Exhibits and a reception 11:00 – 2:00 p.m. including comments from Congressional members; 6:00 p.m. 125th Anniversary Dinner
• Thursday, July 16th – Convocation from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

All events are at the Library of Congress except for the dinner which will be at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill. A block of rooms has been reserved at both the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill and the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel under the name of 125th Anniversary of the 1890 Morrill Act at $209.00 per night plus tax. To make reservations, call the Hyatt at 1-888-421-1442 or the Liaison at 1-866-233-4642. The hotels are located directly across the street from each other. The cut-off date for making hotel reservations is June 15th. If you have questions, please feel free to contact L. Washington Lyons, Executive Administrator, Association of Executive Administrators, lwlyons@ncat.edu or 336-340-6465. 

Engage in Cooperative Extension Social Media – The effort to raise awareness of Cooperative Extension continues on Social Media. After last year's work to create a unified and regular social media presence, ECOP supports the continued operation of these platforms under the leadership of Frankie Gould, Louisiana State University, chair of the Social Media Team. Bill Woodrum, Social Media Associate for ECOP, coordinates the work across all platforms. If you have information on programs to share, please send them to Woodrum at extensioncentennial@gmail.com. Engage on the following platforms and encourage your staff to like, follow, and share on Facebook: facebook.com/Extension100Years, Twitter.com/ext100years, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9GyqMs0FKlUKBTxtcyg04w/videos and Pinterest.com/ext100years/pins/. 

Update on SNAP-ED Program Development Team – Paula Peters, Kansas State University, who provides key leadership for the SNAP-Ed Program Development Team, met in Washington, DC recently. Discussion centered on expanding Land Grant University SNAP-Ed programs to include required policy, system, and environmental (PSE) impacts. The PDT will be involved in technical assistance to states that request help with PSE work as well as providing a variety of professional development opportunities over the next several months. Michelle Rodgers, ECOP Chair-elect, University of Delaware, joined the meeting. Data will be collected early in 2016 and used to develop a national report on SNAP-ED outcomes through the Land-Grant University System. For more information on the work of the PDT, funded by assessments to universities participating in SNAP-ED, see the summary at http://www.extension.org/pages/72998/snap-ed-program-development-team-annual-meeting#.VW8Z49F0w5t.