Free Virtual Conference on “Learning Through Change”

ECOP Monday Minute will resume on September 11, 2017. Have a safe Labor Day holiday. 

eXtension Foundation Announces a Military Families Learning Network Virtual Conference for military family service providers to LEARN strategies for managing change, GROW in their understanding of capacity for change and begin to THRIVE as they connect with colleagues facing similar challenges. September 26-29, 2017. Registration is found at  https://militaryfamilies.extension.org/2017virtualconference. 

4-H and Google to Bring Computer Science Education to Young People Nationwide - 4-H and Google are coming together for a first-of-its-kind computer science (CS) collaboration thanks to the STEM outcomes and expertise that are a hallmark of the Cooperative Extension System. The partnership is funded by a $1.5 million grant from Google.org to establish a computer science program that will empower more than 100,000 kids across 22 states in its first year. The 4-H and Google partnership, featured on many news outlets, including CNN.com, was announced on August 11 at the Illinois State Fair in collaboration with the University of Illinois Extension. National 4-H Council is grateful to the Illinois 4-H team for its support of this important partnership and help with the launch announcement. The partnership will establish an official 4-H CS Career Pathway, which helps kids progress from casual interest in CS to dedicated studies and career experience. Utah State University Extension’s 4-H program is a key partner in co-creating the pathway and developing tools for educators to implement the program. Click here for more information.


West Virginia University Launches Center for the Future of Land-Grant Education - To support the creation of a 21st century land-grant mission for West Virginia University and beyond, the WVU College of Education and Human Services will open the nation’s only higher education research institute dedicated to land-grant colleges and universities, the Center for the Future of Land-Grant Education, in the Fall of 2017. The Center will focus on advancing knowledge of the policies, leadership, students, faculty, and organizational practices of land-grant institutions. Faculty affiliates within the Center are leading higher education scholars dedicated to finding innovative solutions to preserve these unique institutions for future generations. Dr. Nathan Sorber, the Center director, is a national expert on the land-grant movement and public higher education, having three recent books on the topic for Transaction, Routledge, and Cornell University Presses. Other Center scholars have national profiles in rural education, education and community engagement, student access, public policy, and higher education organizations and management. The Center scholars have been recruited from leading education programs in the country, having worked previously in national research institutes such as the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Penn State University and the Education Policy Center at Harvard University.

NIFA Supports Federal Initiative to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance - Antimicrobial drugs (antimicrobials) are important for preventing, controlling, and treating diseases that harmful microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites) cause in humans, food animals, and plants. These types of drugs include antibiotics, which are types of antimicrobials that specifically kills or inhibits bacteria. Through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI and other competitive and capacity programs, NIFA funds many types of basic and applied AMR research. From 2012-2015, the AFRI Food Safety Challenge Area program priority “Effective Strategies for Mitigating AMR” awarded $11,049,195 in research, education, and/or extension projects. Currently, “Understanding Antimicrobial Resistance” is an AFRI Foundational Program that will fund AMR research in both the private and public sector. In addition to these NIFA-funded programs, the USDA contributes to a number of other AMR activities related to surveillance, research, development, extension, education, and outreach. To learn more about antimicrobial resistance, view the full infographic.