Culture of Health Focus of Planning Grant

In recognition of President’s Day, ECOP Monday Minute will return 2.22.16. 

Efforts led by ECOP Chair Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware, and Jennifer Sirangelo, National 4-H Council Chief Executive Officer, on the planning grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) have shifted from a focus of eliminating childhood obesity to building a culture of health. RWJF requested this change, plus time to get better acquainted with the structure and reach of the Cooperative Extension System (CES). During a recent meeting of the planning grant’s National Leadership Advisory Team, RWJF asked attendees to generate ideas for what could be done in partnership in the next six months giving the CES an opportunity to demonstrate capacity for rapid response. Under exploration is a webinar in March to introduce the CES to the 2016 County Health Rankings released by RWJF, and feature ways CES has used the rankings to improve health. The planning grant is overseen by National 4-H Council. For further information, contact Bonnie Braun, Project manager, bbraun@umd.edu.

National System Survey Due 2.19.16 – Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chair of the ECOP National System Task Force, expresses thanks to Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators for participating in a recent survey on Cooperative Extension as a National System and encourages further involvement. Forty-five responses were received. The purpose of this work is to identify common themes that describe the intent, the work and the results of Cooperative Extension. Common themes will assist in obtaining national resources and establishing programs important to our future. A new survey asks you to review and reflect on initial findings. Please respond by 2.19.16 by clicking on this link – Common Themes for Cooperative Extension - Reactions to Initial Survey Results. Other members of the task force are Mark Latimore, Fort Valley State University; Scott Reed, Oregon State University; Deb Sheely, University of Rhode Island; and Doug Steele, Texas A&M University.

eXtension Announces Speakers for March National Conference – The eXtension Foundation announces speakers for its National eXtension Conference: From Innovation to Impact March 22-25 in San Antonio, TX. John Stepper is author of Working Out Loud, widely heralded as the new roadmap for working more effectively in an increasingly digital environment. Paul Pangaro, Chair of the MFA Interaction Design program at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, focuses on how to apply “designing for conversation” to developing and implementing innovations, software and organizational processes. ECOP Chair Michelle Rodgers and Keith Smith, Ohio State Extension Director (retired) and chair of the new ECOP Innovation Task Force, will spotlight the Cooperative Extension Innovation Inventory. The task force is charged with building on the findings of the inventory and developing guidelines to implement innovation strategies throughout the Extension system.

M. Ray McKinnie,
Virginia State University

USDA Event Features Extension – M. Ray McKinney, Interim Dean/Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Assistant Administrator of Extension Programs, at Virginia State University, will be part of a panel at USDA’s Tomorrow’s Table, a two-day event February 17-18 in Washington, DC. The purpose is to bring stakeholders together to discuss how beginning farmers can connect with new markets. USDA will highlight Cooperative Extension as an educational resource.


Volunteerism Conference Set for 2017 – The next National Extension Conference on Volunteerism will be April 10-13, 2017 in Asheville, NC. The conference is designed to focus on volunteer development and program management for all Extension priorities. Direct questions to Doug Swanson dswanson@nifa.usda.gov at USDA-NIFA. 

Awards Reminder - Nominate by 5.1.16 – ECOP in partnership with USDA-NIFA offers the 2016 nomination process for the national Excellence in Extension and Diversity awards. The due date for on-line nominations is May 1, 2016 at 5:00p.m. Pacific Time. For details and to access the online nomination forms go to: http://www.aplu.org/CESawards. Questions can be directed to Sandy Ruble sandy.ruble@extension.org, ECOP Staff Associate.