Almost half of the Cooperative Extension Section (all Regions) are currently attending the APLU Annual Meeting in San Diego. The meeting runs through Tuesday. Yesterday morning the impact of Extension was showcased during the Annual National Awards Program. The awards were presented by USDA-NIFA Director Scott Angle, USDA Chief of Science Scott Hutchins, and ECOP Chair Mark Latimore, Jr., Fort Valley State University. Follow the news here and here on Twitter. Click Here to view today's happenings.
Innovative System Staffing Model Launched November 1 - ECOP entered into a new era to strengthen organizational functioning of Cooperative Extension last week when Executive Director Rick Klemme and Assistant Director Sandy Ruble completed negotiations with eXtension Foundation, National 4-H Council (Council) and APLU to bring aboard an Extension Health Director (See below). The result is an independent contract agreement through October 31, 2021, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The administrative package is a combination of technical support (eXtension), implementing partners (Council and APLU), national leadership (ECOP) with regional support (AEA, NCCEA, NEED, WEDA, ASRED). This initiative is an example of what the Extension Resource and Program Development Committee developed as a pathway to leveraging public investment with outside funding.
Roger Rennekamp, Extension Health Director |
- Building partnerships and acquiring resources to achieve the core themes,
- Increasing understanding and visibility of the Cooperative Extension System as a national leader in health education,
- Enhancing leadership and professional development among Extension System colleagues, and
- Strengthening organizational functions to sustain health equity as a CES initiative.
eXtension Shares Results of New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Survey - eXtension appreciates the participation of Directors and Administrators in a recently conducted system-wide survey to gauge interest and identify existing Extension programs in four topic areas aligned with USDA strategic priorities. 942 Extension professionals responded to the survey. The end goal is to provide professional development opportunities focused in these areas for Cooperative Extension. The following percentage of respondents indicated interest in these topic areas:
-- Climate Smart Agriculture: 72%
-- Prevention & Mitigation of Ag Pests & Disease/IPM: 67%
-- Prevention of Foodborne Illness & Protection of Public Safety: 75%
-- Safe & Nutritious Food for Low-Income Individuals: 73%
An overview of the national results are available here. The results by region are available here.
NIFA Information Update - Josh Stull, Acting Communications Director / Congressional and Stakeholder Affairs Officer, NIFA, USDA, forwarded the following information to be shared with colleagues regarding the NIFA resources.
-- Updated NIFA org chart
-- NIFA grants page
-- NIFA Director Update Message on ReePort/Plan of Work