ECOP Seeks Executive Director

ECOP has launched a search committee chaired by Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska, to name a DC-based executive director. ECOP encourages your assistance in recruiting appropriate applicants. See http://bit.ly/ECOPEDSearch. The current ECOP Executive Director, Jane Schuchardt, who has served since 2011, has resigned to return to the farm in Nebraska. It is expected the transition will occur near the end of 2016. 

Measuring Excellence Database Wraps Up in 2016 – The Cooperative Extension Measuring Excellence in Extension (MEiE) Implementation Team recently completed a study of the status of participation in and use of the MEiE database. In spite of excellent and consistent work of the MEiE Implementation Team and diligent work of the staff associated with the database, participation in and use of the database by Directors and Administrators and others is at such a level that the usefulness of the data is questionable. After considering the options provided from the survey conducted by the MEiE Implementation Team, the ECOP Executive Committee and ECOP approved that funding for the MEiE database be discontinued at the end of 2016. ECOP Chair Michelle Rodgers has expressed appreciation to Scott Cummings, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and the team for designing and maintaining the tool. Efforts associated with the impacts database www.landgrantimpacts.org, also managed at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, will continue under the leadership of the ECOP-ESCOP Impacts Database Committee, Tim Cross, chair, University of Tennessee. 

Celvia Stovall, Alabama A&M University, and
Gary Lemme, Auburn University

Alabama Extension Reports Impacts – Check out for the 2015 impact report and short video http://www.aces.edu/impact/# summarizing the return on investment (ROI) for Alabama residents resulting from direct contact with Alabama Cooperative Extension programs. Thanks to ECOP member Celvia Stovall, Extension Associate Director, Alabama A&M University, and Gary Lemme, Extension Director, Auburn University, for sharing this approach. About the report, Lemme says, “We are very conservative in our ROI calculations and only include public funds in the cost structure.” 

Beverly Coberly, University of Missouri

Coberly Named COO for eXtension – Dennis Calvin, Chair, eXtension Foundation Board of Directors, Pennsylvania State University, announces the hiring of Beverly Coberly as eXtension’s part-time chief operative officer (COO) effective 9.12.16. Beverly comes to this role from University of Missouri Extension, where she held a steady progression of administrative leadership roles, most recently Associate Vice-Provost and Associate Director. For more information, see https://extension.org/2016/07/28/beverly-coberly-appointed-new-coo/. 

Journal Article Features Extension Funding and ROI – For a new analysis of funding for U.S. public agricultural research and Extension and new evidence on rates of return to investments in these activities, see W.E. Huffman, “New Insights on the Impacts of Public Agricultural Research and Extension,” Choices 31 (2nd Quarter 2016): 1-6 or online at http://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/a-future-informed-by-agricultural-sciences/new-insights-on-the-impacts-of-public-agricultural-research-and-extension.

Study Documents Extension’s Value

Stephan Goetz, Penn State

Cooperative Extension programs have helped nearly 138,000 farmers stay in business since 1985, according to economists. In a recently published study, Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics at Penn State, and Meri Davlasheridze, assistant professor and economist, Texas A&M University at Galveston, said that without Cooperative Extension and the underlying land-grant university research, the country would have lost an estimated 28 percent more farmers than actually left agriculture. The broader youth, family and community development programs offered by Extension also support rural entrepreneurship and innovation, enhancing rural economic vitality. "An obvious policy recommendation for keeping farmers on their farms and supporting rural economies is to continue to fund the land-grant universities and their Cooperative Extension and related research efforts," said Goetz. Learn more at http://aese.psu.edu/nercrd/news/2016/land-grant-programs-keep-farmers-farming. 

Extension Award Nominations Due Now – ECOP in partnership with USDA-NIFA offers the 2016 nomination process for the prestigious national Excellence in Extension and Diversity awards. The due date for on-line nominations is 5.1.16 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. For details and to access the online nomination forms go to: http://www.aplu.org/CESawards. Winners are recognized at the Board on Agriculture Assembly Awards Event 11.13.16 prior to the APLU Annual Meeting in Austin, TX. Questions can be directed to Sandy Ruble sandy.ruble@extension.org, ECOP Staff Associate.

Grow True Leaders Campaign Launches – The Grow True Leaders Campaign is off to a great start thanks to the support of Cooperative Extension and 4-H leaders. New, national coverage over the past week includes CNN Money, USA TODAY and Farm Journal on top of the many other national stories reaching millions via print, online and social channels. Social media activation peaked with the true leaders hash tag trending on Twitter, a first for 4-H. The campaign public service announcement has aired in 24 states. News coverage continues to highlight the 4-H National Youth Survey on Leadership conducted by the Harris Poll, which found that 90 percent of young people (high school students) say they are concerned about the future leadership of America, and nearly 70 percent are more confident in the next generation of leaders than in the leaders they see today. View and download the survey findings at www.4-H.org. Less than a week after the National 4-H Council Congressional Breakfast, the United States Senate, independently and unanimously approved a bipartisan resolution authored by Senators Roger Wicker, R-MS, and Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND, in support of 4-H and the Grow True Leaders Campaign. The measure, which was co-sponsored by 34 senators, recognizes the benefits of the 4-H program for young people and its potential growth. 

MEiE Survey Responses Due – Managing Excellence in Extension (MEiE)is a database supported by ECOP to share information amongst Extension directors and administrators. It documents institutional-level indicators of Extension’s success. The usefulness of this database will depend on the extent of participation of land-grant institutions and the quality of the information each institution provides. Please take a moment to complete the MEiE Assessment if you received an invitation to do so. Those needing to complete the assessment are users in the MEiE system and should have received an email from Scott Cummings dated April 11, 2016. If you did not receive an email and think you should have, or have questions, please reach Scott at s-cummings@tamu.edu.

Urban Extension Webinar This Week – Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7332687399589713665 for a 3:00 p.m. ET webinar 4.28.16 focused on the basics of National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL). This webinar will cover the NUEL structure, goals, engagement benefits, and action team initiatives underway, strategies for involvement and networking opportunities. Urban programming, while maintaining Extension’s impact in rural areas, is a goal of ECOP in 2016. Participation in NUEL is encouraged. 

Jason Henderson, Purdue University, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, and
CEO Bill Bynum, Hope Enterprise Corporation

Poverty Forum Highlights Extension  – Jason Henderson, Extension Director, Purdue University, joined USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Bill Bynum, CEO of Hope Enterprise Corporation of Jackson, MS, last week in Washington, DC, to speak at a Farm Foundation Forum on rural poverty. The forum focused on the costs of poverty in rural America and the role of public policy in the fight against poverty. For presentation details and to hear the audio, CLICK HERE.

FY 2016 Budget Priorities for Advocacy

In honor of Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day), ECOP Monday Minute will return on 2.23.15. 

FY 2016 Budget Priorities for Advocacy – Rick Klemme, ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee Chair and ECOP representative to the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly Budget and Advocacy Committee, University of Wisconsin, will meet with colleagues 2.10.15 to finalize FY 2016 budget priorities. Decisions and supporting documents will be posted at www.land-grant.org. Additional details about the USDA portion of the President’s FY 2016 proposed budget can be found at http://www.obpa.usda.gov. Check http://www.csrees.usda.gov/about/offices/budget.html for the expected posting of the USDA-NIFA brochure related to the FY 2016 Budget. 

ECOP Launches Innovation Inventory Project – Keith Smith, Extension Director, Ohio State University, has been retained by ECOP to develop a Cooperative Extension Innovation Inventory. The purpose of the qualitative study is to determine what innovation in programming, resource development, and administrative processes are underway as Cooperative Extension launches its second 100 years. The report will frame an October 2015 Cooperative Extension meeting where Directors/Administrators will have opportunity to learn characteristics of an innovative organization and what it takes to lead one. Cooperative Extension directors and administrators responsible for day-to-day operations will be contacted by phone. 

Measuring Excellence in Extension (MEiE) Team Meets in DC – Joe Zublena, MEiE Implementation Team Chair, North Carolina State University, meets February 18-19, 2015 in Washington, DC to continue work on the password protected portion of the web site at www.landgrantimpacts.org designed specifically for Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators. The purpose is to report management data (e.g. personnel, funding) that can be shared amongst institutions. For questions on how to submit data, contact Scott Cummings, s-cummings@tamu.edu, 979.847.9388. 

Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI) Invites Applications – Applications for a new FSLI cohort, designed to launch new leaders for food and agriculture research, Extension and academic programs, are being accepted. See www.fsli.org for details. 

World Conference Paper Deadline Extended – February 15, 2015 is the new deadline to submit papers for the June 24-26, 2015 GCHERA conference in Kaslik, Lebanon. GCHERA is the Global Confederation on Higher Education Association for Agricultural and Life Sciences. The 2015 conference theme is “Nutritional Security and Environmental Sustainability for Human Health.” See www.gchera.org for details. Ian Maw, APLU Vice President for Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources, is GCHERA vice president.

10.13.14 - Cooperative Extension, USDA-NIFA Announce 2014 Awardees

Cooperative Extension, USDA-NIFA Announce 2014 Awardees – Seven exemplary Cooperative Extension educators will be honored at the 2014 APLU Annual Meeting, November 2-4, 2014 in Orlando, FL. Awards recognizing excellence in programming and celebrating diversity are co-sponsored by ECOP and USDA-NIFA and selected through a competitive process. The National Excellence in Extension Award winner is Robert Kallenbach, Plant Sciences Extension Specialist and Program Leader, University of Missouri. Regional Excellence in Extension Award winners are Henry English, Small Farm Program Director, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; Rick Funston, Beef Cattle Reproduction Specialist, West Central Research and Extension Center at North Platte, University of Nebraska; Richard VanVranken, County Extension Department Head, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic County; John Jacob, Environmental Quality and Coastal Community Development Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and Madeleine Sigman-Grant, Extension Specialist, University of Nevada. The National Extension Diversity Awardee is Cesar Asuaje, Regional Extension Specialist in Agriculture, Farm Labor, Pesticide and Farm Safety Education, University of Florida. 

ECOP to Meet in Lexington, KY – Regional scans kick off the fall ECOP meeting October 15-16 in Lexington, KY, chaired by Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky. The purpose of the scans is to indicate program and administrative themes where national leadership is warranted. Other key decision points on the agenda are approval of the 2015 ECOP goals and budget, private resource development at the national level, eXtension’s transition to a new model, a health and wellness implementation team, and formalizing a National Impacts Database Committee. 

Excellence Data Due 12.31.14 – The ECOP Measuring Excellence in Extension Implementation Team chaired by Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, has shifted its call for data input to the fall of each year. While data is appreciated at any time, this shift is designed to coordinate with most university’s fiscal years. In addition to entry of data directly into the system at www.landgrantimpacts.org (formerly excellenceinextension.org), there is an option to fill out a form and the data will be entered for you. The form is available from Scott Cummings at s-cummings@tamu.edu. The database is only valuable if it is complete. 

PILD Save the Date – The Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) will focus on the 125th anniversary of the passage of the 2nd Morrill Act creating 1890 Land-grant Institutions at the April 12-15, 2015 conference in Crystal City, VA. The 2015 Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) Conference theme is “Imagining Extension – Eyes to the Future …”. ECOP 2015 Delbert Foster is among the invited keynote speakers. Registration opens 1.12.15 at www.jcep.org. 

National Extension Conference on Volunteerism – This conference, designed for professionals of all disciplines with Cooperative Extension who work with volunteers and/or volunteer programs is May 4-7, 2015 in Portland, ME. Proposals for workshops, research presentations, and the poster showcase are due November 7, 2014. See http://extension.umaine.edu/programs/necv/.

ECOP Monday Minute 11.4.13

ACTION: Send Centennial Message with Every E-Mail – The ECOP Extension Centennial Celebration Task Force encourages you to celebrate Extension’s 100 years with every e-mail message you send. See www.extension100years.net for details on how to add the centennial logo on your e-mail signature line and connect to the toolkit. Also encourage Extension colleagues and others to engage in the Centennial discussion on social media: Twitter (twitter.com/ext100years), Facebook (facebook.com/Extension100Years), Pinterest (pinterest.com/ext100years/pins).

ACTION: Need Program Impacts – To date, 43 institutions have entered data in the Measuring Excellence system at www.excellenceinextension.org and 31 institutions have entered impact statements. Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, chair of the ECOP Measuring Excellence in Extension Implementation Team, and Mary Jane Willis, Rutgers University, chair of the ECOP Program Subcommittee, encourage 100 percent participation in both systems in order to provide the most complete picture of the nationwide Cooperative Extension System. Impact statements are especially important now as Cooperative Extension gears up for advocacy related to federal budget deliberations. For assistance, contact Scott Cummings, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, at s-cummings@tamu.edu.

USDA Ag Outlook Forum Features Centennial – “Launching Cooperative Extension’s Next Century” is the theme of a session accepted for presentation at the 2014 USDA Ag Outlook Forum http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/ February 20-21 near Washington, DC. Working with USDA-NIFA, the Cooperative Extension centennial also will be featured in the display area.

ESCOP Update – Steve Slack, Ohio State University, chair of the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy (ESCOP), encourages Cooperative Extension colleagues to view presentations at http://escop.ncsu.edu/ from the recent Experiment Station System meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Amongst topics addressed are water quality, global climate change, and budget management strategies.

National Student Competition – Student team entries are due February 28, 2014 for the National Agricultural Innovation Prize. The competition encourages the development of real-world plans to address social and agricultural challenges within food systems to improve the standard of living and quality of life for the world’s population. For details, see http://agprize.com and http://www.40Chances.com.

ECOP Monday Minute 9.23.13 - Strategic Opportunities and Measuring Excellence Database

Strategic Opportunities and Measuring Excellence Database – The ECOP database at www.excellenceinextension.org has been rebranded to include expanded salary data, the ability to input and retrieve impact statements, and new options for charting data. Scott Cummings, who manages the database, reports that of the 75 institutions in the Cooperative Extension Section, 35 have reported excellence data and 27 institutions have reported impacts. For more information on how your institution can be represented, contact Scott at s-cummings@tamu.edu. 

Galaxy IV Update – Among highlights of the Galaxy IV Conference last week in Pittsburgh, ECOP Chair Daryl Buchholz received the prestigious Ruby Award from Epsilon Sigma Phi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcIHoc1EUmY; the forward-looking, outwardly-focused Cooperative Extension centennial celebration was launched www.extension100years.net; Chuck Hibberd, ECOP Personnel Subcommittee co-chair, facilitated a discussion of the 21st Century Extension Professional Project, and ECOP chair-elect Jimmy Henning escorted and introduced USDA Secretary Vilsack for a keynote address. ECOP met during Galaxy. Action included approval of the 2014 budget, acceptance of the Cooperative Extension vote to continue the SNAP-Ed assessment for three more years, and a discussion of next steps for eXtension following release of the external review. 

Executive Director Search – The Northeast Extension Directors ask your help in identifying qualified candidates for executive director, replacing Linda Kay Benning who retires this year. In the national Cooperative Extension Director and Administrator structure, this position dedicates 25 percent full-time equivalent to national goals of ECOP and other time on regional priorities. The job announcement is available here with review of applications beginning 10.4.13. 

FY 2013 Capacity Funds – USDA-NIFA has an updated website providing final allocations for capacity/formula funds. See http://www.nifa.usda.gov/business/awards/formula.html and here for a summary of how the agency calculated the final total funding levels for various FY 2013 programs. 

Household Food Security – USDA Economic Research Service has a new release on food security in the United States. Seehttp://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err155.aspx#.UkBo57zlUUs. "Ensuring an abundant and safe food supply for all" is a strategic priority for Cooperative Extension. See http://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4096.  

ECOP Monday Minute 8.12.13

Communicating Impacts Focus of DC Meeting – The ECOP Measuring Excellence in Extension Implementation Team, chaired by Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, and the ECOP Program Subcommittee, chaired by Mary Jane Willis, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, met last week in Washington, D.C., together with representatives from the Association for Communications Excellence, ESCOP and USDA-NIFA. The meeting provided a forum to discuss the national Extension system and other land-grant system partners, ideas for how the information gathered can be marketed to a variety of audiences, and how we can deliver training to ensure we gather the highest quality information from across the system. Cooperative Extension directors and administrators are encouraged to enter state impact information and other data at www.excellenceinextension.org. Questions can be directed to Scott Cummings at s-cummings@tamu.edu.

Dan Cotton Resigns, Accepts UNL Position – Dan Cotton, Executive Director of eXtension, has announced his resignation, effective December 31, 2013.  Cotton will rejoin the University of Nebraska –Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources as Director of Integrated Technologies for Nebraska Cooperative Extension and Coordinator of Online Education with the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources on January 1, 2014. See http://about.extension.org/2013/08/09/dan-cotton-resigns-accepts-unl-position/.

Funding Opportunity – USDA-NIFA reports that the due date for submission of proposals for the Extension Outreach on the Marketplace Exchanges of the Affordable Care Act (MEACA) has been extended to Aug 15, 2013. The RFA on page 7 indicates the revised amount of $100,000 for the project lead institution. Access to the revised RFA is at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/affordablecareact.cfm or http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html.

APLU Annual Meeting Room Block – Make hotel reservations for the 126th A۰P۰L۰U Annual Meeting scheduled for November 10-12, 2013 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel (2600 Woodley Park Road, NW, Washington, DC  20008) by clicking here. The cut-off date is October 11, 2013.

Climate Extension Summit Report – A workshop organized and conducted by USDA-NIFA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) resulted in the report The Role of Extension in Climate Adaptation in the United States, which highlights current Extension work being done in climate science, educational needs, and next steps recommended for better preparing the next generation of Extension professionals.

ECOP Monday Minute 6.10.13

NEDA 2014 in Sacramento – The ECOP Executive Committee, Daryl Buchholz, Chair, announces a new location for the next National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Meeting March 24-27 at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento in Sacramento, CA. NEDA will meet jointly with the National eXtension Conference (NeXC). These two events will highlight shared programming and independent business meetings and networking. NEDA will begin Monday evening with a reception and continue through midday Wednesday. ECOP will meet Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Other NEDA participants are welcome to attend additional NeXC programming through Thursday. To accommodate both groups, the venue, previously announced for Albuquerque, NM had to be changed. Watch the ECOP Monday Minute for further details.

Update on Expanded Salary Data – As mentioned in last week's ECOP Monday Minute, the Excellence in Extension Implementation Team, chaired by Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, announced expanded salary data available at www.excellenceinextension.org. To view this data, go to the database tab and login into the database.  The data can be viewed in the 'All Data' tab and entered under the 'My Data' tab.  Visualizations will be available soon under the 'Report' tab.  Users must have a login to access this data.  Logins must be sent to Scott Cummings at s-cummings@tamu.edu and approved by the institution's Director/Administrator.

Galaxy Registration Open  – Reduced registration runs through July 15, 2013 for the September 16-20, 2013 Galaxy IV conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA. The theme is Bridging the Centuries: A New Era for Extension. Registration details can be found at www.galaxy-2013.org. 

Public Value Webinar 7.17.13 – The National Association of Extension Program and Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP) will host an Introduction to Extension’s Public Value webinar 2 p.m. ET, Wednesday, July 17, 2013 by Nancy Franz, Iowa State University. Connect at http://connect.cals.uidaho.edu/fourh. All Extension professionals are invited to participate. For more information, contact NAEPSDP Chair-elect, Carrie Stark, 208-885-2156.

Join USAID e-Consultation – Extension professionals are invited to join the USAID Bureau of Food Security e-Consultation June 18-19, 2013 on Examining Sustainable Intensification Research Priorities. This is part of the Feed the Future initiative. Go to http://bit.ly/14gQ33v to register.

ECOP Monday Minute 6.3.13

ECOP Webinar 6.20.13 – ECOP member Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska, encourages a broad audience of Extension professionals and partners to the 2-3 pm ET, Thursday, June 20, 2013 webinar on the 21st Century Extension Professionals Project. The flier found here can be used for publicity. To participate, go to https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop.

Expanded Salary Data – The Excellence in Extension Implementation Team, chaired by Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, announces expanded salary data now at www.excellenceinextension.org under the “personnel tab”. The goal is to replicate the salary survey previously conducted by USDA-NIFA. This data includes low, average, and high salary data points, and other important aspects for various Cooperative Extension positions. The data can be used to benchmark your institution against others similar in size and structure.

eXtension Impacts (by Sarah Baughman, eXtension Evaluation and Research Leader) –  To remain relevant, Cooperative Extension needs to reach and engage with the generation born in the digital age.  Ninety-one percent of those born between 1982 and 2004 are internet users who access information, entertainment and learning resources in vastly different formats than previous generations. eXtension leverages the resources of the CES to reach an online audience and engage with them through social media, Ask an Expert and various mobile applications. In 2012, eXtension and its Communities of Practice reached 25,493 people via online professional development, 378,202 people via Facebook, and 6,938,325 page views. eXtension engaged with users by answering 37,138 questions submitted via Ask an Expert, interacting on social media with 3,574,454 contacts, providing online course completion certificates to 10,958 people, providing 214 webinars for 14,539 participants and hosting 7,000 visitors in Second Life.

ESCOP Responds to PCAST Report – ESCOP Chair Mike Hoffmann, Cornell University, brings to your attention the ESCOP response to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Report on Agricultural Preparedness and the Agriculture Research Enterprise. The response can be found here.

On Agriculture Research – The US Government Accountability Office GAO Report prepared a report, released April 3013, for the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on Agricultural Research – Two USDA Agencies Can Enhance Safeguards against Project Duplication and Strengthen Collaborative Planning. See http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653752.pdf.