ECOP Releases Innovation Report

Happy Thanksgiving! 

ECOP Monday Minute will return 12.5.16. 

Leadership, organizational culture, hiring practices, training and support, and learner engagement are addressed in a new ECOP report on innovation http://bit.ly/2016ECOP_Innov. Led by Keith Smith, retired Extension director, The Ohio State University, the ECOP Innovation Task Force, provides guidelines for implementation strategies within the Extension organization. ECOP expects to take follow-up action in 2017 and recommends Extension Directors and Administrators embrace the call to action to support and invest in innovation. 

Extension Focuses on Civil Discourse – In response to a charge from ECOP, a Rapid Response Team on Civil Discourse was established to explore existing resources, develop a competency framework for Extension staff, and generate a strategic plan for future work. A survey has been launched targeting Extension professionals knowledgeable about the resources and expertise within the Land-grant University System to address complex community issues through civil discourse. Extension Directors and Administrators are asked to encourage Extension faculty and staff with interest in civil discourse to participate in the short survey at https://msudafvm.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_b4xksyJwSc5Yu2x. 

Extension Celebrates Excellence

Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska, accepts the
ECOP gavel from Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware.

– At the Cooperative Extension dinner meeting last week as part of the APLU Annual Meeting in Austin, Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska, became the new ECOP Chair accepting the gavel from Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware. Three ECOP members have completed four-year terms and were recognized, along with leaders of key ECOP functions. Also recognized for six years of service was Jane Schuchardt, ECOP Executive Director, who has resigned effective the end of this year. 

ECOP members completing four-year terms are (left to right)
Tim Cross, University of Tennessee; Celvia Stovall, Alabama
A&M University, and Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University.

Recognized for ECOP leadership were (left to right): Rick Klemme, University
of Wisconsin, chair, ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee, and co-chair,
ECOP-ESCOP Health Implementation Team; Celvia Stovall, Alabama A&M
University, co-chair, ECOP-ESCOP Health Implementation Team, and co-chair,
ECOP Personnel Committee; Tim Cross, University of Tennessee, Board of Directors
representing Extension, National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research; Jimmy
Henning, University of Kentucky, chair, ECOP Budget Task Force; Chuck Hibberd,
University of Nebraska, chair, ECOP National System Task Force, and Scott Reed,
Oregon State University, chair, ECOP Private Resource Mobilization Task Force.

Extension nationwide expressed appreciation to Jane Schuchardt,
ECOP Executive Director (right), with a homemade quilt bearing the logos
of the 76 land-grant universities in the Cooperative Extension Section.
Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware, (left) presented the gift. To view
video of the presentation go to: https://youtu.be/ph6bJUXza4o

eXtension Foundation Names Evaluation Fellow – The eXtension Foundation has named Julie Huetteman, Purdue Extension, as recipient of the first 2017 Program Evaluation NAEPSDP/eXtension Fellowship. Dr. Huetteman is currently Coordinator, Extension Strategic Initiatives, and has deep experience in evaluating projects and programs and reporting Extension impacts. Throughout 2017 she will serve as a key informant to the 2017 i-Three Issue Corps, providing professional development and one-on-one consulting with Issue Corps members on measuring and reporting impacts on their innovative projects. https://extension.org/2016/07/12/naepsdpextension-fellowship-opportunities/

Foundation Announces New Innovators – The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports innovative science, announces nine winners of its New Innovator in Food and Agriculture Research Award. Winners will pursue innovative and potentially groundbreaking food and agriculture research projects and receive a total of $4.8 million over five years. Matching funds from each awardee’s respective institution will leverage the FFAR investment of up to $300,000 per recipient. The FFAR New Innovator Award is designed to provide the early investment needed to launch new faculty members into successful scientific careers in food and agriculture. Applicants were required to demonstrate a commitment to mentoring, supporting the Foundation’s interest in inspiring future generations of agricultural and food scientists. Meet the 2016 New Innovators, most of whom are from land-grant universities. 

USDA-ERS Reports on Rural America – The latest edition of Rural America at a Glance is available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=80893. Produced annually by the USDA Economic Research Service, key economic indicators point to a comeback for rural America. Rural unemployment continued to decline in 2015, dropping below 6 percent for the first time since 2007, and rural poverty rates have fallen. Median household incomes in rural areas increased by 3.4 percent in 2015, and rural populations have stabilized and are beginning to grow.