EDEN Looks Ahead

Ed Jones (Virginia Tech), Nick Place (University of Florida),
Fred Schlutt (University of Alaska),
Chris Boerboom (North Dakota State University),
and Larry Katz (Rutgers)

Charting a course for Extension disaster education was the focus of a work session last week in Indianapolis. Joining representatives from the Extension Disaster Education Network’s (EDEN) executive committee were five Cooperative Extension directors, a USDA-NIFA liaison, and the ECOP Executive Director. Carolyn Williams, Prairie View A&M University, was also part of the team. The meeting provided input on how the network will expand its accomplishments from its first 20 years working at the local, state, national, and international levels. Discussion was informed by the results of the recent survey of Extension directors/administrators and EDEN delegates. Thanks is extended to those who completed the survey. The relationship between EDEN leadership, Extension directors/administrations, and ECOP is critical for Extension educators to be ready to serve local communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. For more information on EDEN visit www.EDEN.lsu.edu or contact Mike Yoder, EDEN Chair, mjyoder@ncsu.edu. Nick Place, University of Florida, serves as ECOP Liaison to EDEN.

ECOP Working for YOU at NEDA 2015 –

ECOP Chair Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University, invites you to the annual Cooperative Extension Section business meeting Wednesday morning at the National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Meeting October 12-14, 2015 in St. Louis. Learn the latest on the proposed 4-H field marketing plan, USDA-NIFA partnership priorities, and the status of SNAP-ED funding, along with a brief overview of ECOP’s major initiatives. NEDA registration is available at a reduced fee until 9.22.15 at www.cvent.com/d/wrq424. 

Dennis Calvin, chair (Pennsylvania State),
Jason Henderson (Purdue University),
Doug Steele (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension),
Fred Schlutt (University of Alaska),
and Vernon Jones (Langston University)

NEW eXtension Highlights Innovation – eXtension Foundation Board of Directors were on hand last week in Indianapolis to learn about new directions for eXtension. Innovation was the theme with eXtension Fellows, Innovation grantees and select user community/learning network leaders showcasing their work. The Board also met to review and approve plans and policies for eXtension. For a complete update, all eXtension members and others attending NEDA 2015 are welcome to the eXtension Foundation Membership Meeting 11:30 – Noon, Wednesday, October 14, 2015 in St. Louis. 

Tourism Conference Set for October – The National Extension Tourism Conference (NET 2015) http://extensiontourism.net is in Galveston, Texas October 27-30, 2015. The theme Coast to Coast, Tourism Matters focuses on the role that tourism plays in many aspects of business, community and agricultural landowner operations. For more information, see http://extensiontourism.net/conference/. 

Economic Engagement Focus of Toolkit – The APLU Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Economic Prosperity (CICEP) has developed an Economic Engagement Framework to help universities plan, implement, assess, and advance economic engagement efforts. See http://www.aplu.org/CICEPFramework.