Leadership Transition and New MOU

On September 27, 2022, during the Cooperative Extension Section Business Meeting portion of Joint ESS/CES-NEDA Meeting in Baltimore, Members who were present witnessed the official passing of the Section/ECOP Chair's gavel from Wendy Powers, Dean, Washington State University, (right) to Beverly R. Durgan, University of Minnesota Extension (left). Bev's goal as Chair is to advance the ECOP Strategic Directions, by focusing on priorities identified by member institutions, and building on successes and recent lessons learned. The intended outcome is a cohesive Cooperative Extension System and stronger member programs, inclusive of all. Bev's Action Plan for the coming year can be found at www.aplu.org/cesgoals. Future editions of the ECOP Monday Minute will share more details regarding the year ahead. Members of the Section and 1994 Extension Directors are encouraged to save 3-4:00 p.m. ET every first Friday of the month for conversations with the ECOP Chair and occasional Learning for Leaders Sessions. Stay tuned to email for connection details. 

System MOU Aimed to Resource Development - On September 26, 2022, a new Memorandum of Understanding was established by ECOP, National 4-H Council, and the Extension Foundation. Please review the document here. Three members of the Section representing each partner in the agreement were the signers. Pictured L-R, Wendy Powers, Washington State University, ECOP Chair, Courtney Owens, Kentucky State University, Vice-chair of the Extension Foundation Board of Directors, and Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, Trustee of National 4-H Council.

2021-2022 Report and Celebration - Don't miss the Cooperative Extension Section's return on investment spelled out the interactive document version of the Annual Report available here and in this interactive slide presentation which includes Finance Update and notable expressions of appreciation to:

• Char Wenham (Michigan), CARET Liaison to ECOP;
• Edmund Buckner, Alcorn State University, and Arch Smith, University of Georgia for service on the ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee;
• Chris Watkins, Cornell University, for service on ECOP;
• Karla Trautman, South Dakota State University, for leadership of National Impact Database Committee and Communications and Marketing Committee, and 
• Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, for chairing the ECOP Budget & Legislative Committee. 

Join ECOP and the EDA Team to celebrate the outstanding leadership and commitment to the mission of Extension over the past year by Wendy Powers, Washington State University, and for the dedication by Caroline Henney (Crocoll) as Executive Director of the National Office who retired on September 30, 2022. 

National Leadership 101 Recording and Slides Available - On September 9, 2022 26 Extension Directors, joined ECOP's latest monthly Friday Zoom event. All 5 regions and the 1994 Tribal Universities participated in the Learning for Leaders Program developed by the ECOP Professional Development Committee. To share and experience the 45-minute session, which included presentation by Brent Elrod, USDA-NIFA and Doug Steele, APLU, use https://youtu.be/MuwwSxu_kMc.Slides from the presentation are available here.

Extension Foundation Selected by USDA-NIFA as Technical Provider for NEXTGEN Funding Opportunity - The primary goal of the From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program (NEXTGEN) is to enable 1890 LGUs, 1994 LGUs, Alaska Native-serving and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, and insular area institutions of higher education located in the U.S. territories to engage, recruit, retain, train, and support students to help build and sustain the next generation of the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) workforce including the future USDA workforce. The Foundation will raise awareness of the NEXTGEN program and provide technical assistance for eligible institutions to develop teams, partners, program strategies and to connect with USDA and other career opportunities. The APLU will support the Foundation in their role to help connect potential institutional partners to one another. Read more here.

2021 Annual Report

The ECOP Monday Minute will be on hiatus on December 27^th and January 3^rd to return on January 10^th. 

ECOP Releases 2021 Annual Report - ECOP is pleased to release the ECOP 2021 Annual Accomplishments Report highlighting the past year of national leadership. Chris Watkins, ECOP Immediate Past Chair, Cornell University, particularly emphasizes the release of the CES Advocacy and Education Toolkit, the development of associated ECOP Program Committee Program Action Teams providing leadership on national CES efforts, the updated National Framework for Health Equity and Well-Being, and the ECOP return on investment. Much appreciation is extended to everyone who led these efforts.



Applicants Sought for Executive Director, ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee - The ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee (ECOP 4-H) seeks an Executive Director, an 18-month contractual position funded by Cooperative Extension Section reserves and National 4-H Council. The ideal candidate is an experienced Extension Director/Administrator or State 4-H Program Leader with demonstrated past success in collaborative leadership and coordination of Extension system resources who is passionate about building partnership and policy foundations for future 4-H Youth Development programs and initiatives nationwide. The position location is flexible and some travel is expected. Primarily, the 50% time position:

• Supports the work of ECOP 4-H, including a bold vision and plan for engaging more youth in the 4-H program that also reflects the diversity of youth in the United States. 
  
• Reports directly to the Co-chairs of the ECOP 4-H. 

The full job description is found here. To apply for the position, please submit a cover letter and resume by January 14, 2022 to ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee at ECOP4-H@4-H.org.

Next Generation Extension – Learning for Leaders #1: Opioids and Extension

On Friday, December 1, 2017, 3:00 p.m. ET, the first in a series of web-based meetings will take place for the Cooperative Extension Section called Next Generation Extension – Learning for Leaders. In communities across the Nation, opioid addiction is increasing rapidly with dreadful results – hospitalization and death, weakened parenting and increasing out-of-home child placements, and family and workplace economic collapse. Incidence of opioid abuse has risen dramatically across geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic groups. Can Extension make a difference? Chris Boerboom, North Dakota State University, and the ECOP Program Committee, Anne R. Lindsay, University of Nevada-Reno, and Mark Skidmore, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, will provide an overview of the national situation related to abuse of opioids and will highlight examples of current Extension strategies. They will also collect relevant resources and curricula from interested participants, which will be shared with the System. Directors and Administrators have received the invitation with connection details and are encouraged to participate and/or share the invite with interested faculty and staff. The session will be recorded and electronically archived. Resources are available at http://articles.extension.org/pages/74079/opioid-resources-for-extension-professionals.


REMINDER: Passing of the Gavel - The Cooperative Extension Section (CES) gathers this evening, November 13, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. ET, at the APLU Annual Meeting at the Wardman Park Marriott, Washington, DC. ECOP Chair Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska will preside and hand over leadership to Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska. Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware will receive recognition for her service, 2013-2017. The meeting will be highlighted by presentation of the 2017 CES Annual Report and the brand new CES Strategic Agenda. Follow CES activities on Twitter at @Ext100Years #leadext #CoopExtAward during the #APLU2017 meeting @APLU_News.

Promoting SNAP-Ed at LGUs - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) is a vital contributor to the Land-grant University (LGU) mission; it provides evidence based and evaluated nutrition education and obesity prevention service to high need audiences. It is critical that LGUs and Extension play an active role in the support and promotion of the strong impacts realized as a result of SNAP-Ed to ensure its continued funding. As the Federal Fiscal Year 2018 begins, please take a moment to plan how to promote, educate, and advocate on behalf of SNAP-Ed. Consider the following options to formulate a plan:

• Convene a meeting between Extension and SNAP-Ed leadership to discuss the importance of SNAP-Ed at your LGU, promotion and educational priorities, and strategies for sharing the impacts of SNAP-Ed with internal and external stakeholders. 
• Connect SNAP-Ed staff with your institution’s legislative liaisons to ensure SNAP-Ed impacts and value are part of educational and advocacy priorities for the coming year. 
• Engage critical SNAP-Ed partners as advocates for SNAP-Ed within and beyond your state. 

For more information, please review national reports, and state reports, about SNAP-Ed within the LGU system, or contact Christine Hradek (hradek@iastate.edu) of the Legislative Education Committee of the LGU SNAP-Ed Program Development Team.

eXtension Offers Course on Civil Rights Training and Ensuring Inclusiveness - Civil rights are front and center in our nation’s news, which makes Extension professionals' responsibility for understanding the importance of civil rights training and ensuring inclusiveness in programming more important than ever. A new online course developed by more than 40 University of Minnesota Extension faculty and staff and led by Renee Pardello, Key Informant for the eXtension Impact Collaborative, is now available nationwide through eXtension. The course, which works best as a small-group activity, can be accessed at: https://campus.extension.org/course/view.php?id=1481

Beverly Samuel, NIFA and
NEAFCS President Theresa Mayhew

Beverly Samuel Receives NEAFCS Award - National Program Leader Beverly Samuel of USDA NIFA in Division of Family & Consumer Sciences was honored at the National Extension Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) 2017 Annual Session. She received the “Friend of NEAFCS Award” at the conference held September 16-20, in Omaha, Nebraska. Initiated in 2005, the annual “Friend of NEAFCS Award” is the highest honor bestowed by the Association in recognition of an individual or organization, who has made significant contributions to Cooperative Extension Family and Consumer Science education programs across the nation. To read full article, CLICK HERE.