Monday, February 3, 2020

2020 National Awards Program Launched

Last Friday the nominations for the 2020 National Extension Awards program were opened to all 1890 and 1862 Land-grant institutions. Nominations are open for 3 months until May 1, 2020. Visit www.aplu.org/CESAwards today to learn more and nominate. The Awards include a cash prize and travel stipends to attend a reception and the Board of Agriculture Assembly Awards Session at the 2020 APLU Annual Meeting. NIFA officials and the ECOP Chair will present these prestigious awards before an audience of Extension, research, teaching and administrative faculty. The nominating experience is better than ever with suggestions from experts found in a YouTube recording, Systems Thinking, and Winning Words (26:00 - 36:00) and brand new "Prep" Forms!


Opportunity to Connect to Rural Learning Exchange Forum - Extension Directors and Administrators and their colleagues working in and/or with focus in rural communities are invited to join APLU's Learning Exchange Forum for Rural Engagement for Resilient Communities. Extension's own Mike Gaffney, Washington State University, co-chairs these forums with Sheila Martin. Each month members of the forum exchange best practices; engage philanthropic, private sector, and government funders; and more. Click Here to sign up by February 5, 2020 to connect to this month's forum and beyond, every third Tuesday at Noon ET.



Regional Rural Development Centers Work Spans the Nation - The Regional Rural Development Centers work to advance rural prosperity and strengthen Rural America. Working collaboratively throughout the past year with land-grant universities, Extension, community partners, and local, state and federal agencies, the Regional Rural Development Centers provided 76 workshops/conferences with over 1,200 participants, led 18 multi-state groups on a variety of topics from local foods and rural health to digital literacy and economic development, have published 24 research articles and delivered over 100 presentations. For program highlights from each center and funds leveraged, click here to review on the two-page impact report.



Updates from eXtension - eXtension is pleased to share highlights from 2019 including its progress on the New Technologies for Agricultural Extension Cooperative Agreement, the Pesticide Safety Education Funds Management Program, and the Impact Collaborative. Additionally, for 2020, eXtension's Impact Collaborative will be moving to a virtual format after listening to suggestions and input from members across Cooperative Extension. Unlike previous years, there are no restrictions on the number of individuals or teams that can participate in our Innovation Facilitator Training or Summits. The Innovation Facilitator training is February 18-20; more information and registration is available here. The Impact Collaborative Summits are scheduled April 28-29 and October 13-14. Registration will be available for the Summits at a later time.