ECOP Monday Minute

The ECOP Monday Minute will be on hiatus until January 22, 2024, to honor the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.

Modernizing Scholarship for the Public Good Virtual Event - A special presentation on Modernizing Scholarship for the Public Good: An Action Framework for Public Research Universities has been organized by ECOP for Friday, January 19, 2024, 3-4:00 p.m. ET. Elyse Aurbach, Director of Public Engaged and Research Impacts, University of Michigan, the leader of the APLU project, will present. The framework includes helpful ways to manage organizational change.

Public research universities have over 150 years of history of spearheading scholarship that advances the public interest. Founded to serve the public through their education, research, and engagement work, they provide life-changing education to students, advance society-shaping innovations, and engage communities to tackle our most stubborn challenges. The abstract and full report are available here.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://aplu-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMscOmprDMqHt38xL5efL7Irw507p37HFBm and receive a confirmation email containing connection details.

NIFA Grants Development & Management Networking Sessions - NIFA will pilot four networking sessions to help enhance grants development and grants management. The first session on January 30, 2024, will be on allowable and unallowable costs. NIFA experts on grants management, our OGFM staff will be answering questions as a Panel. We are requesting you to share the link with your grantees. The sessions are designed to answer questions asked by attendees. Pre-submitted questions will be answered first, which can be submitted during registration. Please encourage your applicants and grantees to attend as these sessions will not be recorded.




Build and Strengthen Leadership at the JCEP Extension Leadership Conference - The Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) invites and encourages Extension Deans/Directors/Administrators to support Extension personnel to attend the 2024 Extension Leadership Conference (ELC). This event gives attendees opportunities to connect with others across Extension Associations and the U.S. Karl Bradley, Extension Foundation, will be the keynote and capstone speaker to excite and equip attendees to strengthen and grow their leadership.

Participation in ELC greatly depends on Extension Director support. Dr. Barbara Petty (pictured left), Associate Dean and Director of the University of Idaho Extension and ECOP Liaison to JCEP, shares the value of ELC. “The Extension Leadership Conference is an outstanding opportunity for field staff to learn how to be more effective in their roles as Extension Professionals. In addition to the dynamic speakers, a great benefit is the networking that occurs across the disciplines with colleagues from all over the nation. Idaho personnel have identified this conference as one of the most impactful in their professional development. I highly recommend this conference for your field staff and encourage you to support their attendance.”

ELC is February 14-15, 2024, at the Saddlebrook Resort Tampa. Registration and details are here: https://www.jcep.org/elc.



New Issue of the Journal of Extension Published - The newest issue of the flagship journal for Extension professionals, Volume 61, Number 3 of the Journal of Extension, is now available.

2022 Census of Agriculture Data Coming Soon - The 2022 Census of Agriculture data will be released February 13, 2024. NASS recently shared information about data release, preliminary return rate, and upcoming special studies. NASS Public Affairs Office states that with the census data that was collected in 2022, over 400 reports about agricultural commodities were produced. NASS reminders and updates for Extension Directors and Administrators appear regularly in ECOP Monday Minute to help track the schedule of data collection and promote the value of the census.  

SARE Coordinator Sought - In 2024, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program will initiate a $10 million national food loss and food waste grants program to support projects that align with USDA activities aimed at reducing food loss and reducing food waste, getting surplus wholesome food to individuals, and developing linkages between food producers, providers, and food recovery organizations.

To accomplish the goals of the grant program, SARE is seeking a Program Manager/Coordinator to assist in the organization, coordination, and implementation of selected grant projects. The Program Manager/Coordinator is a national seat, open to qualified applicants in the contiguous U.S.; Alaska; Hawaii; the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Micronesia, and Northern Mariana Islands; and sovereign nations Republic of Palau and Marshall Islands. Institutions, such as colleges and universities; and organizations such as non-governmental organizations meeting qualifications are invited to apply.



2023 Extension Foundation Professional Development Needs Assessment Report Available - The purpose of the Extension Foundation Professional Development Needs Assessment study was to identify professional development needs for Extension professionals at 1862, 1890, and 1994 Land-grant universities in the US and US territories. The Extension Foundation issued a request for applications for a Fellowship to complete this needs assessment. Dr. Karen Vines, Assistant Professor, Continuing Professional Education Specialist, Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education at Virginia Tech was selected as the Fellow and researcher for this project. Read the summary and access the full report at this link.