Kenya: Extension and Related Activities, March 8 Zoom Meeting

On March 8 at 3:00 PM ET, APLU and Executive Director Bill Hoffman will host an information sharing Zoom meeting regarding Extension and related activities in Kenya. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture recently held a trade mission to that country and there is a very positive US agricultural benefit proposition to cooperation in Kenya. Please register here for this meeting. Also, contact Dr. Hoffman at whoffman@aplu.org to request the opportunity to share an institution’s work in Kenya during the session.



NSF Virtual Town Halls - The National Science Foundation (NSF) is hosting a series of events this month as part of its new Catalyzing Across Sectors to Advance the Bioeconomy (CASA-Bio) initiative. CASA-Bio is the latest federal effort to organize activities across agencies related to biotechnology, synthetic biology, and the bioeconomy, and follows from the September 2022 Executive Order and the March 2023 Bold Goals report on the bioeconomy. CASA-Bio aims to provide direction to the federal government (including research funding agencies) on which specific priorities within the broad bioeconomy landscape are most pressing and ripe for cross-sector collaboration. Slides from an informational webinar about CASA-Bio are available here.

CASA-Bio is hosting a series of town halls in February as an opportunity for stakeholders to provide their perspectives on the most important challenges in this space.

There are four virtual town halls scheduled for this month, all of which will have the same agenda and content according to NSF. Registration is on the CASA-Bio home page:

· Monday, February 12 – 7 PM ET
· Thursday, February 15 – 9 AM ET
· Wednesday, February 21 – 12 PM ET
· Thursday, February 22 – 5 PM ET



North American Agricultural Advisory Network (NAAAN) - The North American Agricultural Advisory Network (NAAAN…pronounced like the flat bread…nahn) is launching NAAAN CONNECT, an online community for extension and rural advisory services professionals in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, this March. Subscribe to the NAAAN Newsletter to stay updated on the launch and be a part of fostering collaboration and innovation in agricultural and rural development. This network represents an opportunity to share your state’s Cooperative Extension resources and research results across our nation, as well as with Canada and Mexico.



Priester Health Awards - Nominations and self-nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 Jeanne M. Priester Extension Health Awards. The awards are named for Jeanne Priester, former National Program Leader at ES-USDA involved in the development of such landmark programs such EFNEP and Mulligan Stew. Today, these awards recognize extraordinary programs and professionals that are modeling next generation work in health and well-being. Awards are presented in six different categories. Award recipients will be recognized at the 2024 National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference in Greenville, SC in May. The nomination deadline is March 20. For more information regarding the nomination process can be found here.

The ECOP Monday Minute will be on hiatus until February 26. 

Appreciation and Best Wishes to Dr. Castille

ECOP extends its sincere appreciation and best wishes to Dr. Carrie Castille, USDA NIFA Director, as she soon embarks on a new opportunity at University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. During her 14 months as NIFA Director, Dr. Castille hired and promoted 168 employees to build a strong, vibrant agency. Under her leadership, employee satisfaction measures dramatically increased, the agency resumed its national leadership role in 4-H, and the spirit of partnership with stakeholders across the nation soared. Dr. Castille will conclude her service at USDA in April and assume her new role July 1, 2022, pending approval of the UT Board of Trustees Executive Committee. 

 

Only 7 Weeks Left to Nominate - The 2022 National Extension Awards program co-sponsored by USDA-NIFA and ECOP was launched on February 1 and the deadline to nominate is only about 7 weeks away May 1. Winning nominations for worthy Cooperative Extension professionals (min. of 50% EFT/FTE university appointment in Extension) require an investment of time and effort to prepare. Extension Directors and Administrators are required to prepare letters of recommendation for the Excellence in Extension Awards. There is no requirement for this for the Diversity Award. For complete details, visit www.aplu.org/CESAwards. Tips for winning words are found here. 

Invitation to Help Identify Regional and National Investments for Rural Recovery and Development - The four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) are leading an effort to identify the issues diverse rural stakeholders see as top priorities for rural recovery and development. The RRDC's invite research and Extension Directors and Administrators and their community partners to participate in both a Regional Session (broad local context) and National Topic (issues of national importance) Sessions. Please (1) register here to participate and (2) share the invitation to participate with field Agents/Educators and community-based partners engaged in economic, workforce, and community development activities in rural and coastal areas and small towns. These 90-minute, free sessions will run from March 22 through April 26, 2022. After registering, visit the recently launched a Data Dashboard to explore outcomes from the national stakeholder survey that drove topics for the Listening Sessions. 

USDA NIFA Information Now Available in Spanish - With a key priority of enhancing accessibility, USDA NIFA is reducing barriers to agency information and programs. A first step has been to add Spanish versions of critical agency information. A list of links to resources that are now available in Spanish is located here. 

Priester Award Nominations Open - The Priester Awards will be awarded during the 2022 National Health Outreach Conference May 4-6, in Kansas City MO. The purpose of the award is to recognize Extension programs that positively influence the health of people across the US by providing leadership to expand Extension’s capacity to increase the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life. Access links to additional guidance, applications instructions, and the nomination form are available here.

APLU Draws on Cooperative Extension Expertise in Economic and Community Development

The ECOP Monday Minute returns on February 25, 2019 due to the observance of President's Day.

Extension's work with APLU's Commission on Economic and Community Engagement (CECE) is trending due to the expertise offered by the Cooperative Extension Section.

• Marshall Stewart (University of Missouri), Ashley Stokes (Colorado State University) and Jorge Atiles (Oklahoma State University; also representing BoHS), were named to the CECE Executive Committee. 
• Ivory Lyles (University of Nevada) is a member of the CECE Summer Meeting planning committee. 
• Michael Gaffney (Washington State University) is co-chairing a CECE Learning Exchange Forum around Rural Engagement for Resilient Communities. 
• Extension colleagues are engaged in their university’s pursuit of APLU's Innovation & Economic Prosperity University (IEP) designation and awards. 
• CECE is engaging the Southern Rural Development Center/Extension partnership on framing of some language to support broader university efforts in rural e-Connectivity. 
• ECOP is partnering with CECE in Learning for Leaders and other opportunities. 

Extension Administrators and Directors and/or their economic development/community engagement associates may join CECE at no cost at this link.

Rural Health Event-No Cost to Register - The Un-Meeting on Rural Health and Health Equity is set for Monday, April 8, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. An Un-Meeting is a dynamic experience where attendees drive the agenda, and the needs of communities take center stage. The goal of the Un-Meeting to forge new collaborations that bridge the translational science, Cooperative Extension and other sectors to improve rural health and achieve health equity. Partial travel stipends may be available for Extension nominees. National Extension participants are encouraged to click here to register by 2/18/19. The host is the University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS).


Priester Award Nominations Due 2/20/19 - The purpose of the Jeanne M. Priester Award is to honor sound, innovative Extension programs that positively impact the health of people at national, state and local levels and provide leadership to expand Extension’s capacity to increase the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life. This year an Extension-community partnership Culture of Health category has been added. To read about all 5 categories go to https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/nhoc/priester-awards/. Awards will be presented at the 2019 National Health Outreach Conference, A Grand Vision for a Healthy America, held May 1-3, 2019 in Fort Worth, TX. Award winners will be notified by March 12, 2019.

2019 National Extension Conference on Volunteerism - Every other year Directors and Administrator are provided the opportunity to focus on and optimize volunteer development and program management at state and local levels by widely sharing the following information with faculty and staff. Early registration ends 4/1/19.

The 2019 National Extension Conference on Volunteerism will be held May 14-16, 2019 in Billings, Montana. Extension professionals will learn latest trends and research in volunteerism and gather tools and skills through interactive sessions and networking with colleagues while developing plans to utilize these new resources in their own programs. Registration http://necv.msuextension.org/ is now open. Please forward this information to all appropriate listservs, post on blogs and other social media, and link the website to all appropriate webpages. Like and share posts found at https://www.facebook.com/1NECV.

NEW eXtension Conference Proposals Due 12.20.15

The NEW eXtension is a knowledge-to-action service that is an integral part of the U.S. Cooperative Extension System. It is designed to help Extension professionals increase program visibility and measurable impact locally and system wide. eXtension’s i-Three Event (formerly the National eXtension Conference) in San Antonio, Texas, March 22-25, 2016 will bring together Cooperative Extension educators, communicators, and communities with eXtension’s i-Three Corps members for an exciting co-learning and co-creating adventure. The i-Three Event will focus on the NEW eXtension’s three pillars--Issues, Innovation, Impact—and will equip attendees with the ability to tackle emerging issues with innovative approaches that deliver measurable impact. Proposals for workshops and presentations for the professional development track are due 12.20.15. For details, see https://extension.org/extension-i-three-event-2016. 

Climate Hubs Webinar This Week – For an update on how USDA Climate Hubs are collaborating with research and Cooperative Extension, join a webinar 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET, 12.10.15 at http://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/climatehubs/ or by phone at 888-844-9904, code 3964989. Speakers are Randy Johnson, National Program Leader, USDA Regional Climate Hubs; David Hollinger, Lead, Northeast Regional Climate Hub, and Michael Hoffman, Executive Director, Cornell Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture. See http://climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/ for details about the climate hubs and http://bit.ly/ClimateHUBMOU for the Memorandum of Understanding signed by USDA and the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly Cooperative Extension and Experiment Station Sections.

Fred Schlutt, ECOP Chair-elect,
University of Alaska

Schlutt Contributes to Urban Agenda – ECOP Chair-elect Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska, discussed strategy and policies of urban Extension programming at a Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research workshop last week in Sacramento, CA. Amongst ECOP’s goals for 2016 is to engage with the National Urban Extension Leaders www.nuelaction.org to assist in advancing Cooperative Extension urban programming while maintaining critical rural presence. For all 2016 ECOP goals, see http://www.aplu.org/members/commissions/food-environment-and-renewable-resources/CFERR_Library/ecop-goals/file.

Michelle Rodgers, ECOP Chair,
University of Delaware

Rodgers at Pesticide Safety Summit – ECOP Chair Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware, represents the APLU Cooperative Extension Section at a December 9, 2015 Pesticide Safety Education National Stakeholder meeting in Washington, DC. The dialogue is designed to chart the future for pesticide safety education. She joins critical stakeholders from USDA-NIFA, the APLU Experiment Station Section, private companies, and others to engage in this critical discussion.

Cooperative Extension Book Available on Demand – Education Through Cooperative Extension is available as print on demand through the University of Arkansas bookstore. To place an order, go to http://shop.uofastore.com/p-32983-education-through-cooperative-extension-156502107x.aspx. For assistance or to place a mass order, Kathleen Smoot at 479-575-4495 or at ksmoot@uark.edu. 

Call for Nominations: Family Life and Human Development Awards – The National Awards Committee for Family Life and Human Development State Specialists is now accepting nominations for awards to state Extension specialists who have made important contributions to the work of Cooperative Extension and who provide clear evidence of program impacts. Nominations will be accepted for awards in two categories. The Early Achievement Award is for persons with 6 or fewer years as a state specialist with Cooperative Extension. The Career Impact Award is for persons with 7 or more years. Awards will be presented during a USDA-NIFA national webinar. Send nominations to Jean Edwards Jean.Edwards@usu.edu by 12.15.15. For additional information, see Link to Information and Nomination Forms. 

Call for Nominations: 2015 Jeanne M. Priester Awards – Nominations are now being accepted for the 2016 Jeanne M. Priester Award. The awards will be presented at the 2016 National Health Outreach Conference Priester Award Luncheon, April 8, 2016 in Roanoke, Virginia. Nominations are due 12.11.15. For details, see http://www.nationalhealthoutreach.org/. The purpose of the award is to honor Extension programs and professionals that positively impact the health and wellness of people across the United States and provide leadership to expand Extension’s capacity to increase the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life.