New Leaders in Programs and Professional Development

During the Spring Meeting in Oklahoma City last month, two new Cooperative Extension System Leaders were announced. Lisa Townson, University of Rhode Island, is Chair of the ECOP Program Committee, and Karl Martin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, is Chair of the ECOP Program Committee. Click on the images below to learn more about each Chair. Thank you Lisa and Karl!

Lisa Townson, Chair
ECOP Program Committee Chair

The ECOP Program Committee actively identifies, recommends action on emerging future Extension programs, program related issues, and delivery systems important to the Extension System and scans the System to identify critical issues and determine if an issue requires a rapid system-wide response. Guided by ECOP, the committee oversees the work of the Program Action Teams (PATs). The committee also currently provides leadership for the National Extension Diversity Award recognizing, honoring, and promoting inclusive programming for and with diverse audiences.

Karl Martin, Chair
ECOP Professional Development
Committee

The ECOP Professional Development Committee actively identifies, recommends, and directs professional and organizational development activities for Extension Directors and Administrators and all Extension professionals. This includes leading some First Friday Events and the orientation and onboarding session for new Extension Directors and Administrators at the annual NEDA Meeting. The committee also provides leadership for the national Excellence in Extension awards.

Learn more about the organizational structure of ECOP using it's organization chart.

Update on Efforts to Build Capacity - ECOP will spend a block of time on building capacity funding during the July face-to-face meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. This is the next step in a process lead by ECOP Past-chair, Bev Durgan, Dean of Cooperative Extension, University of Minnesota. A few weeks ago, a dialogue session on the initiative was conducted with Extension Directors and Administrators attending the PILD meeting. Notes from that meeting are available upon request.

A long-term joint “Capacity Funding Task Force” of Administrative Heads, agInnovation and Cooperative Extension is also in progress. The tri-chairs of the group advancing this effort are Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota; George Smith, AgBioResearch Director, Michigan State University; Moses T. Kairo, Dean, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Other members are:

• Steve Lommel, Associate Dean and Director, NC Agricultural Research Service
• M. Ray McKinnie, Virginia State University
• Jason Henderson, Vice President for Extension and Outreach, Iowa State University
• Dennis Becker, Dean of the College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho
• Malcolm Warbrick, Director of Federal Relations, Penn State University
• Tom Thompson, Associate Dean in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Virginia Tech, Director of CALS Global
• Stacey Stearns, Communications Specialist, University of Connecticut
• Rich Bonanno, Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement, North Carolina State University
• Stephan Goetz, Professor of Agricultural and Regional Economics, Penn State University and Director of The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
• Jeanette Thurston, North Central Executive agInnovation Executive Director
• Lewis-Burke Associates LLC
• Staff lead: Doug Steele, APLU VP Office of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources

APLU has distributed a Request for Proposals to consulting firms that will help the group gather data, author a report, and develop common and consistent language surrounding this issue. Several firms have expressed interest and some have formulated preliminary proposals. Full proposals were to be examined by the tri-chairs last week after an APLU triage. 



Collaborations Between 1890 and 1862 Land-Grant Institutions - A new publication from the Southern Region Rural Development Center titled, “Collaborations that Work Analysis of Successful Extension Efforts between 1890 and 1862 Land-Grant Institutions” is now available.

USDA-NIFA Grants Modernization Stakeholder Survey - NIFA has launched a short Stakeholder Survey to assist with the Grants Modernization Initiative (GMI). Participation is a crucial component in ensuring that GMI is successful and can help improve user experience over time. The agency requests that all relevant voices be heard. This survey is designed to take approximately 10 minutes to complete.




Demystifying the Panel Review Process for Grant Funding - NIFA offers several technical assistance events to help prospective applicants understand NIFA funding opportunities. Supporting material from these events — which also provide guidance on grant development and grant management — is available here. The next session, that may be of interest is Demystifying the Panel Review Process for Grant Funding on May 2, 2024, 12:00 PM ET. Click here to register to attend and submit questions ahead of time. While this session is conducted by NIFA, the concepts taught in the session will be transferrable to other granting agencies.

Award Nominations Reminder

Now is a good time to check in on the status of preparing nominations for the three categories of National Cooperative Extension Awards offered by ECOP and USDA-NIFA. The deadline to submit nominations online is less than a month away, May 1, 2024. Letters from respective members of Section are required for the individual and team Excellence in Extension award nominations. The gateway to all of the details may be found at awards.extension.org. Questions about these awards may be directed to Sandy Ruble, Assistant Director, Cooperative Extension System/ECOP at sandyruble@extension.org. The value of the prizes exceed $38,000 annually.

Hales Returns to Serve ECOP Through 2027 - The Western Extension Directors Association has appointed Dr. Brent Hales (picture left) is Associate Vice President of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) to serve on ECOP. The required 4-year term ends in the fall of 2027. Brent returns to ECOP after serving for the Association of Northeast Extension Directors from 2020-2023 when he was Associate Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Director of Penn State Extension. In addition, Brent returns to the ECOP Program Committee which he chaired in his earlier term. More about Brent is found here. Thank you and welcome back to Dr. Brent Hales!

First Friday Event on Cooperative Extension’s Growing Health Infrastructure - Last Friday, the Extension Health Director Roger Rennekamp and researchers from the Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE) at Kaiser Permanente in Seattle, reported that Cooperative Extension has made great strides in building its capacity for health-related work over the past five years. According to the fifty-one responding land-grant institutions, 81% indicated that they had increased external funding for health-related programming. The total amount of external funding received by these institutions was approximately $140 million (excluding EFNEP and SNAP-Ed). Elements from the presentation are available at the following links:

• The 19-page report summary
• The Slide Deck
• The video is available on ECOP's YouTube Channel - 

EDEN Mini-Grant RFA Deadline is May 10 - The deadline for the EDEN Mini-Grants program RFA Advancing Disaster Education in America is set for May 10. The goal of the grants program is to fuel the development of creative educational resources and Extension initiatives. These resources will empower EDEN's mission and the broader land-grant and sea-grant systems to effectively address all phases of disaster management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.




Partnering Opportunities with Cities - Land-grant University research and Extension professionals are invited to participate in a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) by Washington State University Extension's National Urban Research & Extension Center (NUREC) to determine where the opportunities lie for partnership and collaboration with the National League of Cities. NUREC will utilize RFEI data to assess interest and gather information to create projects, build project teams and/or craft responses to RFP’s. Learn more here.

EXCITE Bridge Access Project RFA

 The EXCITE program has a fully executed agreement for an additional $6 million for the purpose of increasing awareness of the Bridge Access program for COVID-19 vaccine for uninsured and underinsured individuals. The Request for Application (RFA) for Implementation teams and EFNEP is announced HERE is open to ALL institutions receiving EFNEP funding and to existing EXCITE implementation teams. 

The downloadable RFA guide is found HERE. The deadline to apply is April 24. Michelle Rodgers, EXCITE Program Director, calls attention to the requirement of a letter from Extension Directors or Administrators to accompany each application, and expresses deep gratitude to ECOP, CDC, NIFA and Extension Foundation for the continued support. 

There is a multi-pronged approach in place.

• Current EXCITE Implementation teams can apply for $30,000 to augment their ongoing work;
  
  
• EFNEP programs at each LGU can apply for $70,000 to incorporate an awareness campaign regarding the free Bridge vaccination program;
  
  
• 1994 Institutions will coordinate with Ruth Hursman, 1994 Engagement Coordinator, to participate a mixed media campaign designed for tribal communities; and
  
  
• A social media campaign regarding Bridge vaccinations will be provided to targeted areas of the states not covered by any of the above efforts through a national marketing firm.

With this funding, EXCITE Immunization Education which is a part of the Health and Well-Being PAT, has received $23 million dollars. The impact of this funding is stated in the Extension Foundation annual report.




Food Waste Prevention Week Webinar - This week is Food Waste Prevention Week, an annual week committed to educating and encouraging culture change around wasted food. On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, from noon to 1:00 pm ET, USDA will host its own webinar titled, USDA Programs, Investments, and Innovations to Prevent and Reduce Food Loss and Waste, to learn about some of the different ways USDA is advancing and engaging with food loss and waste prevention and/or reduction efforts. Registration for the webinar is required.

ECOP Liaison to EDEN Executive Committee - The ECOP Executive Committee recently appointed Amanda Marney (pictured left) as the Section’s representative to the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Executive Committee. Dr. Marney, “Mandy,” has served as the Associate Director of University of Wyoming Extension since January of 2000. She previously served as district director for research and extension at Kansas State University and a program Director for the University of Missouri’s Agricultural Experiment Station. The ECOP National Office engages with Mandy and many others with national appointments with partnering entities at least three times annually to help fulfill their liaison roles and responsibilities. 

Soils in the City Webinar - The National Urban Research & Extension Center (NUREC) invites interested parties to attend the Urban Underground: Agroecological Functions of Soils in the City Webinar to be presented on April 17 at 12:00 PM ET. Attendance is free and registration here is required. To learn more, visit the webinar announcement here.

National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals Annual Meeting - Registration is now open for the 2024 NACDEP Annual Conference, which will take place June 17-20, 2024, in Houston, TX. Hosted by Prairie View A&M University Extension in collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, this conference offers a unique opportunity for community development extension professionals to collaborate, grow professionally, and network. Held in downtown Houston at the prestigious Marriott Marquis-Houston, TX, attendees can expect engaging sessions and discussions focused on leveraging "The Power of Together" to enhance the impact of land-grant institutions on research, teaching, and Extension.