ECOP Monday Minute will return on January 22, 2018 so as to observe Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
10 Big Ideas to Think Differently About the Future of Extension: Last Friday’s web conference included 5 Extension Administrators or Directors each sharing 2 big ideas about what they see in the future of Cooperative Extension in their respective state and nationally.
More than 30 institutions participated. You can view this conference at
https://youtu.be/IXcCDGggf3U. ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd encourages Extension Administrators and Directors to continue the dialogue on this topic by reviewing the recording and sending your questions/comments to ECOP Executive Director Rick Klemme at
rickklemme@extension.org. Each Learning For Leaders web conference is
archived and available via the
ECOP Monday Minute (see Learning Center menu on Right). Stay tuned for the calendar invitation for the next web conference scheduled for February 2. The topic and other details will soon be determined.
Granting Emeritus Status to Non-Tenured Extension Educators - Scott Reed, Oregon State University, administered a survey on the granted of emeritus status to non-tenured Extension Educators last fall. The following summarizes what was reported to Scott. Of 76 Land-grant institutions 41 (54% response). Of the respondents, 25 (61%) do not award emeritus status to non-tenured and 16 (39%) do award this status. While all universities have an established process for approval, conferring emeritus title to non-tenured faculty is conditioned on special requirements at some universities. Examples include:
- Ten years or more experience and senior rank (Colorado State University)
- Ten years or more in professor rank or five years and qualifying time elsewhere (Rutgers)
- Only with district supervisor, dean, senior VP and provost approval (University of Florida)
- Only professor rank (Mississippi State University)
- Dean approval as an exception that is regularly exercised (Washington State University)
- Only to central campus-based faculty (Auburn)
The most progressive policy described was provided by West Virginia University where approval is expected next month by the Board of Governors for long-serving classified staff and the university president qualify for emeritus status.
The Food Systems Impact Collaborative Is Now Accepting Applications - The Impact Collaborative (IC) is designed to catalyze next-level Extension programs and professionals. The experience includes professional development, Designathon events, networking and much more! Through the IC, Extension professionals will follow a process for developing programs for visible and measurable local impact. Anyone at an eXtension
member institution is eligible to apply. The request for applications is available at:
https://publish.extension.org/impactcollab2018/food-systems-request-for-applications/
(RFAs for Behavioral Health and Diversity & Inclusion are coming soon!)
Extension Directors and Administrators are asked to please share this opportunity with Extension faculty and staff interested in Food Systems in your state.
Ag Outlook Forum Registration Available - The 94th annual 2018 U.S. Department of Agriculture Outlook Forum, “The Roots of Prosperity” is
Thursday and Friday, February 22-23, 2018 and will be held at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Virginia. The Forum, which has been hosted by USDA since 1923, serves as a platform to facilitate discussion of key issues and topics within the agricultural community, both domestic and international. ECOP, ESCOP, and NIFA worked together in developing several Forum sessions to be considered for this year’s Forum program. We are delighted that our sessions “Livestock Reproduction Meets Modern Technology” and “Helping Consumers to Make Informed Food Safety Choices” were selected for this year’s program. We expect a Forum attendance of 1,600, with attendees drawn from farm organizations, agribusiness, academia, and international organizations as well as domestic and foreign government officials and members of the press. The Forum program and registration information can be found at
https://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/. The registration direct link is at
http://www.youreventinfo.org/USDA_AgOutlook_Forum2018/reginfo.html.
Ag Census Questionnaires Are Due Back in Less than a Month - The 2017 Census of Agriculture questionnaire was mailed to nearly all of our nation’s farmers and ranchers in December, and there are only four weeks left to respond!* Every response to the census matters and is required by law (Title 7, U.S. Code, and Public Law 107-347), even if the person did not operate a farm or ranch in 2017 (there are just a few quick questions, in this case). The Census of Agriculture is the most complete agricultural data resource in the country. The data play a vital role in the future of U.S. agriculture – from farm advocacy and assistance programs to community planning, ag education, extension, research, rural development, even disaster relief – which is why every voice, every operation needs to be represented. Better data mean better decisions. The deadline to respond to the census is
February 5. Producers can respond online at www.agcounts.usda.gov or by mail. For more information, visit
www.agcensus.usda.gov. For questions or assistance filling out the census, call 888-424-7828. See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOqqJOcsX_c to learn more about why and how to respond to the ag census online.
*More than 35,000 producers of select commodities will receive the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, or ARMS, this month. Completing the ARMS survey fulfills the 2017 Census of Agriculture requirement.
