Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders Postponed Until May 18

ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd has postponed the next in the series of Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders from Friday, May 4 until May 18, 2018, 3-4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This allows the time needed to assemble key presenters on the topic of inclusivity of our 4-H programs. Extension Directors and Administrators are encouraged to stay tuned to email to receive more details. Feedback continues to be collected from earlier conversations on the topics of Rural Development, Well-Connected Communities, and more. Go to http://ecopmondayminute.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html to listen and react.


2018 NEDA - October 1-3: Registration Scheduled for Release in Early June - Past ECOP Chair Fred Schlutt who now chairs the 2018 National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Meeting Planning Committee calls for the Cooperative Extension Section and Partners to prepare for travel to Portland, Oregon for the great annual gathering! In the state with the deepest lake in the US, Crater Lake, Cooperative Extension will engage in deep learning opportunities that have real impact today and in the future. Members of the planning committee include Dawn Mellion Patin, Southern University; Marshall Stewart, University of Missouri; Amy Ouellette, University of New Hampshire; Laura Perry Johnson, University of Georgia, and Scott Reed, Oregon State University.



Well-Connected Communities Designated as Top Wellness Program -  The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement released its first Harkin on Wellness report recently, recognizing 11 wellness programs from across the country that exemplify best practices for how communities and organizations can invest in health. Well-Connected Communities (WCC) was among the designees selected from more than 60 submissions. The programs were selected based not only on their individual success but also their ability to be replicated by other communities. The full report is available on The Harkin Institute’s website, HarkinInstitute.org. "Well-Connected Communities brings together the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), National 4-H Council and Cooperative Extension to empower communities to come together to help their residents be healthier at every stage of life," said WCC National Project Director, Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware Extension. "Leveraging the proven power and innovation of 4-H youth leadership, young people will work alongside community Health Councils to provide their ideas and perspective to help create and drive change." WCC will be featured at a National Press Club event in Washington, D.C. on May 11.

SNAP-ED Program Development Team Meets - The annual meeting of the Land-grant Universities SNAP-Ed Program Development Team (PDT) was held in Alexandria, VA on April 10-12. Representatives from USDA Food Nutrition Service, and National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Cooperative Extension and Experiment Station Sections met with current and incoming members of the PDT. The PDT reviewed progress on the strategic plan and developed goals for the upcoming year. Highlights of the meeting and the past year are now available for review. Thirteen (photo) of 16 members were able to attend with the remaining joining by Zoom. The work of the PDT is funded through assessments to Cooperative Extension Services providing education to SNAP recipients.


2018 Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) Conference - The Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) is a mix of state-public and private institutions with a goal to work collaboratively to build strong university-community partnerships anchored in the rigor of scholarship, and designed to help build community capacity. Lou Swanson, Colorado State University and Marshall Stewart, University of Missouri from the Cooperative Extension Section serve on the ESC Board of Directors. Although this year's conference conflicts with 2018 NEDA and Cooperative Extension Section (CES) Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd wishes to inform the CES of this opportunity. More details are available at https://engagementscholarship.org/conference/esc-2018-meeting.