Buchholz Elected to BAA Policy Board

Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University

Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, will represent Cooperative Extension on the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly Policy Board of Directors, effective November 2015. Buchholz served as ECOP chair in 2013. The alternate member is Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Daryl and Doug replace Tim Cross, University of Tennessee, and Beverly Durgan, University of Minnesota, who have served as member and alternate, respectively, for the last two years. ECOP expresses appreciation to these colleagues for serving in this national leadership role. 

Delbert Foster, South Carolina
State University

Foster Receives USDA-NIFA Honor – Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University, was inducted into the USDA-NIFA Hall of Fame last week at award ceremonies in Washington, DC. This honor recognizes contributions helping NIFA fulfill its mission to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and Extension to solve societal challenges. Foster is the current ECOP chair. 

REMINDER i-Three Corps Nomination Deadline 11.6.15 – The NEW eXtension is seeking 200 individuals to co-invent the future!!! These 200, called the i-Three Issue Corps, will join us to experiment with new tools, model new behaviors all with the goal of working effectively to make a measurable impact. eXtension is looking for individuals with plans of work including either Climate or Food Systems. Nominations can be for individuals or teams. The nomination deadline is November 6, 2015. For more information check out the blog post on the i-Three Corps OR contact Terry Meisenbach at tmeisenbach@extension.org. 

Roberta Riportella, Kansas State Univ., third from the left,
chairs the ECOP/ESCOP Health Policy Issues Ed. Action Team

Health Extension Webinar 10.27.15 – The Health Policy Issues Education Action Team, Roberta Riportella, Chair, Kansas State University, invites you to a webinar Building Cooperative Extension’s Capacity to Support Health in Policy Issues Education: A Case for Strategic Planning, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET, 10.27.15. Connect at https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/communities. The purpose of the webinar is to explore Extension capacity to inform policy, systems, and environmental approaches that impact human health. 

Urban Extension Webinar 10.29.15 – Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/396906474592232962 for the 10:00 a.m. ET webinar on 10.29.15 on Metropolitan Engagement in Oregon: Community Engagement and Partnerships within a Successful Urban Extension Model. The presentation explores contemporary and emerging issues for urban Extension programming to consider in addition to discussing key strategies in developing strategic, collaborative and mutually beneficial partnerships in urban environments with best practice models and lessons learned as OSU’s urban extension work evolves in the Portland metro region. 

ECOP Budget Webinar Recording Available – The recording of the ECOP webinar on Understanding the Federal Budget Process is available at https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p2dfeb7b8sq/. Organized by the ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee (BLC), speakers were Rick Klemme, BLC chair, University of Wisconsin, and Doug Steele, BLC Vice-chair, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, together with Rick Mertens, Texas A&M, and Hunt Shipman, Cornerstone Government Affairs.

SNAP-ED FY 2016 Guidance, Proposal Assistance

SNAP-ED FY 2016 Guidance, Proposal Assistance – The FY 2016 SNAP Ed Guidance released by USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) on March 31, 2015 http://snap.nal.usda.gov/snap/Guidance/FinalFY2016SNAP-EdGuidance.pdf includes recommendations solicited from the Land-grant Program Development Team and others. Among the changes are clarity on Policy, Systems, and Environment (PSE) interventions, targeting individuals living in low-income communities, and behavioral outcomes on portion control, increased water consumption, and reduced sodium consumption. Proposals are due to USDA-FNS by 8.15.15. State-level deadlines may be earlier. Of the approximately $411 million allocated for FY 2016 http://snap.nal.usda.gov/snap/Guidance/FY2016EstimatedAllocations.pdf, land-grant universities often are awarded a significant portion. To assist land-grant universities in developing proposals, particularly to address the PSE requirements, ECOP has endorsed a SNAP-ED Technical Assistance Team led by Paula Peters, Kansas State University, ppeters@ksu.edu, and Jo Britt-Rankin, University of Missouri, britt-rankinj@missouri.edu. Contact Peters or Britt-Rankin for a phone consultation and/or face-to-face meeting. Travel expenses are the responsibility of the requesting institution. 

L-R, Kristina Boone, Christine Geith, Craig Wood
Candidates for eXtension CEO

eXtension Announces CEO Finalists – Dennis Calvin, chair, eXtension Foundation Board of Directors, announces three finalists for the eXtension chief executive officer position. The finalists are Kristina Boone, Manhattan, KS; Christine Geith, Okemos, MI, and Craig Wood, Lexington, KY. The next step in the selection process is face-to-face interviews with the eXtension Board in Chicago on May 13, 2015. Comments about the candidates may be made by contacting any member of the Board – Dennis Calvin, Pennsylvania State University; Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska; Vernon Jones, Langston University; Jason Henderson, Purdue University; Jane Clary Loveless, USDA-NIFA, and Jane Schuchardt, ECOP National Office. 

L-R,Muquarrab Qureshi, USDA-NIFA; Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware;
Jennifer Sirangelo, National 4-H Council; Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture,
and Sonny Ramaswamy, USDA-NIFA

Cooperative Extension Highlighted at Congressional Breakfast – ECOP Chair-elect and 4-H alumna Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware, put a spotlight on Cooperative Extension’s 4-H positive youth development program during her remarks at the 4.15.15 National 4-H Council Congressional Breakfast on Capitol Hill. The event attracted more than 250 attendees including Extension directors and administrators, government and Congressional leaders, including 19 members of Congress. Karol Mason, assistant attorney general, Office of Justice Programs, and Sonny Ramaswamy, director, USDA-NIFA, stressed the importance of young people learning essential life skills through 4-H. In addition, leaders from 4-H National Headquarters at USDA, land-grant universities, youth, 4-H professionals and National 4-H Council Trustees and staff thanked members of Congress and government leaders for their support of 4-H and recognized Congressional 4-H alumni. To see photos, click here. http://www.4-h.org/congressionalbreakfastphotos/. 

Vulnerable Youth Populations Webinar 4.28.15 – USDA-NIFA invites participants to the initial national rollout of Vulnerable Populations Program during a 2:00 – 3:15 ET webinar Tuesday. Engagement and inclusion of new youth audiences is important to the Extension System. Specific populations, including those growing up in low income households, diverse racial and ethnic groups, immigrants and children of immigrants, and others, under-served by 4-H. These same populations -- which comprise a large and growing percentage of our country’s young people -- disproportionately contend with conditions that often compromise healthy development and access to support for it, even as they carry rich cultural resources and cultivate strength and insight through adversity. Registration for the webinar is required at http://www.evite.com/event/0012YOGLZQJTCAVGQEPE4OEUFIEIUE. Connect to the session at http://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/r75cfyw2nuh/. The call in number is 888-844-9905, access code 2056866. 

Extension Award Nominations Due 6.1.15 – ECOP and USDA-NIFA announces the 2015 nomination process for the national Excellence in Extension and Diversity awards. The due date for nominations is June 1st at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Nominations, submitted online, must be completed by this date and time. Regions are subject to announcing earlier deadlines for their purposes. CLICK HERE for contact information by Region. For details and to access the online nomination forms go to: http://www.aplu.org/CESAwards. Questions can be directed to Sandy Ruble sandy.ruble@extension.org, ECOP Staff Associate.

ECOP Meets in Charleston, SC

ECOP Meets in Charleston, SC – ECOP Chair Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University,

welcomes ECOP members, liaisons and guests to South Carolina this week. Key agenda items are the Cooperative Extension Innovation Inventory, Excellence in Extension and Diversity Awards, the NEW eXtension, and SNAP-ED. ECOP’s national leadership addresses core themes of building partnerships and acquiring resources, increasing strategic marketing and communications, enhancing leadership and professional development, and strengthening organizational functioning. For more information, see www.extension.org/ecop. 

ECOP Chair Delbert Foster
UDSA-NIFA Waterfront Center
Washington, DC - 3.12.15

ECOP and ESCOP Chairs Visit USDA-NIFA – ECOP Chair Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University, and ESCOP Chair Bob Shulstad, University of Georgia spent a day last week at USDA-NIFA. A seminar Research to Application: National Leadership, Local Action was presented to NIFA national program leaders and others. The Cooperative Extension and Experiment Station leaders also met with the NIFA Executive Council and planning and accountability, budget, and grants management staff. The theme throughout the strengthening the partnership with USDA-NIFA. 

ESCOP Chair Bob Shulstad &
ECOP Chair Delbert Foster
USDA-NIFA Waterfront Center
Washington, DC - 3.12.15

EFNEP Conference Features ECOP – The 2015 National Coordinator’s Conference for EFNEP themed Promoting Healthy Lifestyles this week in Arlington, VA features a Tuesday keynote by ECOP Chair-elect Michelle Rodgers on Health in America: A Framework for Extension’s Second Century. Wrapping up the meeting on Thursday will be ECOP Chair Delbert Foster together with L. Washington Lyons, Executive Administrator, Association of Extension Administrators, providing an update on ECOP national leadership and summarizing details of the 1890 universities 125th celebration www.1890universities.org. Cooperative Extension/ECOP Executive Director Jane Schuchardt speaks as part of a Monday panel on Educating, Not Advocating – Hill Visits for a Lasting Impression.

6th Annual Legacy Awards April 23 – The 2015 Legacy Awards, National 4-H Council's largest fundraising event, is April 23, 2015 at the Newseum in Washington, DC. The annual event celebrates the accomplishments of 4-H and Cooperative Extension, including the young people, volunteers and professionals who make life-changing experiences possible for millions of 4-H'ers. Among the highlights will be the introduction of the 2015 Youth in Action Award winner, 4-H'er Nosa Akol from New York. Donations to the Legacy Awards can be made here and tickets to the event can be purchased here. Direct questions to National 4-H Council’s Special Events Manager, Rachel Mentzer at rmentzer@4-h.org. 

Extension Producer Education Update – As a result of Title I of the Agriculture Act of 2014 (farm bill), Cooperative Extension nationwide is collaborating with the USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) to provide producer education related to federal farm programs. An eXtension site http://blogs.extension.org/farmbilleducation/ aggregates information and highlights program efforts.

USDA-NIFA Announces New Web Site – See www.nifa.usda.gov. Note especially the user-friendly navigation and compatibility with mobile devices. Cooperative Extension is highlighted on the site at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/extension. From the home page, go to About NIFA, then How We Work. 

National 2015 Extension Awards Due June 1 – ECOP and USDA-NIFA announces the 2015 nomination process for the national Excellence in Extension and Diversity awards. The due date for on-line nominations is June 1st. Regions are subject to announcing earlier deadlines for their purposes. CLICK HERE for contact information by Region. For details and to access the online nomination forms go to: http://www.aplu.org/CESawards. Questions can be directed to Sandy Ruble sandy.ruble@extension.org, ECOP Staff Associate.

ECOP Monday Minute 7.28.14

ECOP Meets in San Diego – Among action at the meeting 7.22.14 in San Diego, ECOP accepted the interim report of the eXtension Strategic Planning Committee (see next item), approved continuation through 2015 of the AES-CES Communications and Marketing Project, endorsed a Futuring Task Force to be funded and managed by the BAA Policy Board of Directors, and accepted the recommendation by the ECOP National Task Force on Health to establish an implementation team. Votes are in process to approve an ECOP representative to the BAA Committee on Legislation and Policy and to approve a joint ECOP-ESCOP memorandum of understanding with USDA regarding regional climate hubs. Jimmy Henning, ECOP Chair, University of Kentucky, appreciates the strong participation at the meeting and critical national leadership of ECOP.

eXtension Strategic Plan Interim Report – ECOP has accepted the interim report on the eXtension Strategic Planning process chaired by Keith Smith, Ohio State University. See http://bit.ly/InnovStratFrame for a summary of the new Innovation Foundation (working title) designed to augment electronic capabilities of participating institutions. The business model calls for a membership structure in place of the current assessment process. The final report is due to ECOP at its October face-to-face meeting in Lexington, KY.

Power of Excellence in Extension Database (by Deborah J. Maddy, Associate Director, Oregon State University Extension) – You never know when comprehensive data, at your fingertips, might be needed to tell the Extension story to elected officials, to university administrators or to members of your own organization. The Excellence in Extension database provides historical and comparative information for Cooperative Extension systems across all land-grant universities. This important tool designed especially for Extension leaders is most powerful if everyone participates. As of the June 30 data entry due date, only 17 out of 75 Extension organizations had complete or partial data in the database, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, Virginia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota (partial), Alaska (partial), Oregon, and Wyoming. Special thanks to those who made it a priority to provide Excellence in Extension data by June 30. If the due date slipped by you, it’s not too late to enter 2014 data. The recent program upgrade has many improvements, making entry easy. The data is used to describe the overall scope of Extension, market it as a national system, document Extension’s strengths, and focus on areas of impact.

USDA Announces Foundation for Food and Ag Research – For details about the new Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR) and the appointment of its 15-member board of directors, see http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2014/07/0156.xml. The foundation, authorized in the Ag Act of 2014, will leverage public and private resources to increase scientific and technological research, innovation, and partnerships critical to boosting America's agricultural economy. Congress provided $200 million for the Foundation which must be matched by non-federal funds as it identifies and approves projects.

USDA-NIFA Requests Comment on Centers of Excellence – Join a webinar 7.31.14 (1:00-3:00 p.m. ET) about the Centers of Excellence, which will receive priority for funding for competitive research or Extension grant programs. Stakeholder input is welcome at any time, but to be incorporated into planning for the 2015 cycle, must be received by 7.31.14 via email to vbest@nifa.usda.gov (please put “comments” in the subject line) or sign up to speak during the 7.31.14 webinar. NIFA is particularly interested in input on how best to define the scope of a Center of Excellence, whether there are models being used by other federal agencies that might be useful to examine, and at what point in the review/selection process “priority” should be given to applications submitted by Centers of Excellence. For more information, go to http://www.csrees.usda.gov/about/offices/legis/pdfs/excel_stkhold_wbnr_announce.pdf

ECOP Monday Minute 2.24.14

ACTION: Register for NEDA 2014 – Early registration deadline for NEDA, offered this year in conjunction with the National eXtension Conference March 24-27 in Sacramento, runs through March 3. See http://muconf.missouri.edu/NeXC-NEDA2014/ for details. This is the one opportunity each year for Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators to engage in a dialogue about national opportunities affecting state and local programming. In addition to joint sessions with eXtension featuring keynote speakers, the NEDA and Cooperative Extension Business Meeting will consider such topics as improving health in America, building Extension’s human capacity, the new 4-H National Leadership Team, resource opportunities, and telling the impact story. The ECOP Executive Committee which plans NEDA under the direction of immediate past ECOP Chair, Daryl Buchholz, encourages representation from all institutions in the Cooperative Extension Section. Join us in Sacramento for Launching Cooperative Extension’s Next 100 Years: Celebrate, Innovate, Engage.

FCS Master Volunteer Program – Learn about the Master Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) Volunteer Program during a webinar  2:00-3:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, 2.26.14 targeted for FCS program leaders and county educators. See the newly developed website to help plan, implement and evaluate a successful volunteer program, plus preview a 13-lesson series on volunteer development. This program will help build FCS capacity, critical to Cooperative Extension programming nationwide, by using trained volunteers at the local level. The program was developed through a partnership of USDA-NIFA and  Montana State University Extension. Space is limited for the webinar. Pre-registration is required at

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/master-family-consumer-sciences-volunteer-program-webinar-tickets-3703112108.

“New” eXtension Planning Underway – Dennis Calvin, Pennsylvania State University, Chair of the eXtension Governing Committee, and Keith Smith, Ohio State University, Chair of the eXtension Strategic Planning Committee, announce work to set out a plan for the “new” eXtension. Thanks to all Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators for expressing your views over the last year. The next step is to take action for change. Cascade Center for Community Governance has been contracted to lead the effort. The first meeting, which includes representation from all five Extension regions, is scheduled for March 4-5, 2014 in Washington, DC. An update will be provided at the 2014 NEDA meeting in Sacramento in late March.

ACTION: Impacts Database – Forty-four of 75 Land-grant institutions in the Cooperative Extension Section are represented in the Impacts Database. If your institution is not represented, the ECOP Program Subcommittee requests that you please consider doing so. The impacts are already being used to support funding requests and for various presentations to key influential groups. Go to https://excellence.tamu.edu/database to enter impacts so that your institution and your region can be appropriately recognized.

Celebrating 100 Years – Cooperative Extension was well represented at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum February 20-21 in Arlington, VA. The forum kicked off with video http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/friday.htm#celebrating, included an ongoing centennial exhibit, and featured a concurrent session moderated by Krysta Harden, USDA deputy secretary,  called Launching Cooperative Extension’s Next Century. ECOP Chair Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, and ECOP Centennial Task Force co-chairs, Doug Steele, Texas A&M University, and Frankie Gould, Louisiana State University, were speakers.

ECOP Monday Minute 1.13.2014

 In observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday on 1.20.14,

the ECOP Monday Minute will return 1.27.14.

ECOP Staff Associate Search – Your help is requested to recruit qualified candidates for the position of Cooperative Extension/ECOP Staff Associate working in the National ECOP Office at APLU in Washington, DC. Details are available at http://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4979. Review of applications will begin 1.16.13.

eXtension Names Interim Director – The ECOP eXtension Governing Committee chaired by Dennis Calvin, Pennsylvania State University, has named Elbert Dickey as Interim Executive Director, replacing Dan Cotton. Dickey is former dean and director of Nebraska Extension http://about.extension.org/2014/01/07/dickey-named-interim-extension-director/. Dickey welcomes comments from Extension directors and administrators about how eXtension can better meet educational needs in your state and why you choose to invest time and resources in eXtension. Send comments to Michelle Giddens, assistant to the director, at michellegiddens@extension.org.

Northeast Names Executive Director -- The Northeast Extension Directors (NEED), Rick Rhodes, chair, University of Rhode Island, has appointed Nancy Bull as Executive Director for a three-year, part-time term. Bull, who replaces Linda Kay Benning, will lead the region in the creation of partnerships among the northeast land-grant institutions, focusing on collaboration and funding opportunities for Cooperative Extension and represent the northeast region on the ECOP Executive Director and Administrator Team. Bull previously served as the Associate Director of Connecticut Cooperative Extension and as the Chief Information Officer at the University of Connecticut. She continues as University of Connecticut interim chair and professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences.   

NeXC/NEDA Pre-session 1.21.14 -- Jane Hart, a keynote speaker for the NeXConf/NEDA joint meeting March 24-28, 2014 in Sacramento, California, will present a virtual conference on Tuesday, January 21 at 2 p.m. ET. The session is Workplace Learning Revolution: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Learn at Work. Go to the event page in Learn to follow this event. Jane Hart is an independent Workplace Learning & Collaboration advisor, writer and international speaker. The title of Hart’s NeXConf/NEDA keynote address is Next Generation Learning Practices in the Age of Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration. For more information on the NeXConf/NEDA joint meeting go to http://muconf.missouri.edu/nexc-neda2014/.

Outreach and Engagement Meets in June – Make plans to join your colleagues and meet new ones at the APLU Council on Engagement and Outreach (CEO) Summer Meeting, June 8-11, 2014, in San Diego.  This year, CEO will be meeting jointly with the APLU Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Economic Prosperity (CICEP) and the University of California, San Diego. More information is available at http://www.aplu.org/page.aspx?pid=255 (click on 2014 summer meeting).

World Food Day Keynote Address – Iowa Extension Director Cathann Kress shares the following link to keynote address delivered by Ken Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation -- http://bit.ly/1iFbke8. He spoke at the World Food Day Observance at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on November 23. 

Keeping our lists up to date – Please inform Joy Jones ecop@aplu.org of changes in Directors or Administrators and Associate Directors or Administrators at your University.

Job opportunities – To post or search for job opportunities:
-- on the APLU website, visit https://www.aplu.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=813
-- on the Extension Journal, Inc. website, visit http://jobs.joe.org/
-- on the Board on Human Sciences, Inc. website, visit http://thebohs.org/job_postings0.aspx

Calendar – For dates of upcoming meetings, visit: https://www.aplu.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=426   

ECOP General Update Webinars for all Directors and Administrators:
     5.17.12 - Budget and Legislative Update https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p34d81l2zw8/
     1.19.12 - Review of 4-H Summit Work https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p2v5fs58yr8/
     10.18.12 - Brand Value Toolkit and Measuring Excellence in Extension
https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p4oq7nsvini/
     9.9.13 - eXtension External Evaluation https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p56t0sqnne7/

ECOP Professional Development Webinars:
     7.2012 - eXtension Basics https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p4kh2wq6k84/
     3.2.12 - Measuring Excellence in Extension https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p6eem4gtn0w/
     9.15.11 - Understanding the Role of ECOP https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p5z5w5my0r8/ 
     11.19.12 - Celebrating Excellence: A Conversation with 2012 Extension Award Winners  https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p6obx6qq3ss/
     6.20.13 - Skills and Attributes of 21st Century Extension Professionals https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p9qxc1vehka/

ECOP Monday Minute 11.25.13

ECOP Monday Minute will return on 12.9.13. Happy Thanksgiving!

Processes in Full Swing for "New" eXtension – The eXtension Governing Committee, chaired by Dennis Calvin, Pennsylvania State University, outlines a plan for re-launching Cooperative Extension’s online initiative. See https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4962 for details about establishing a Strategic Planning Working Group, chaired by Keith Smith, Ohio State University. All directors and administrators are encouraged to engage with regional representatives throughout the process. A briefing will occur during the National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) meeting March 24-26, 2014 in Sacramento, CA, with continual updates to ECOP, chaired by Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky.

Orientation to Feature Cooperative Extension Update – About 15 new Cooperative Extension directors and administrators are registered to attend the new Dean/Director/Administrator/NPL Orientation December 3-5, 2013 in Alexandria, VA. This APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly event is designed to brief new administrators about APLU, USDA-NIFA and the Land-grant University System, how to become involved in national leadership, and provide opportunity to establish strategic networks with colleagues. The Cooperative Extension Section will feature new ECOP Chair Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, and USDA-NIFA colleagues Ralph Otto, Muquarrab Qureshi, and Brad Rein. A session on eXtension capabilities also will be included. 

APLU Annual Meeting on YouTube – Alcorn State University President M. Christopher Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY0cxDoZb_g references Cooperative Extension repeatedly and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_FRpNH6gnE charges universities to focus on rural vitality. Both were among keynote speakers at the November 10-12, 2013 APLU Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

CBO Releases Report on Deficit – See http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44715 for a Congressional Budget Office publication on Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023.

ECOP Monday Minute 10.28.13

NEW: Assessment Policies and Procedures – Daryl Buchholz, ECOP Chair, alerts you of two new documents which outline policies and procedures related to assessments. This action was necessary due to changes in procedures adopted by the Board on Agriculture Assembly Policy Board of Directors, of which the Cooperative Extension Section and ECOP are a part. See https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4905 for Cooperative Extension Section Assessment Policies and Procedures and https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4906 for eXtension Assessment Policies and Procedures.  The SNAP-ED assessment, which applies to participating institutions, is not addressed in these documents.

ACTION: eXtension Announces Two Searches – The eXtension Governing Committee, Jimmy Henning, Chair, and Dennis Calvin, Chair-elect, request your assistance in identifying applicants for two critical eXtension responsibilities. Applications for the Interim eXtension Executive Director are due 11.27.13 and for the eXtension Strategic Planning Consultant on 11.15.13. For details, see http://create.extension.org/node/98153.

Professional Development Conference – See www.naepsdp.org for details about the December 3-5, 2013 National Association of Extension Program & Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP) conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Early registration goes through 11.4.13. The conference theme is Show Me the Value.

Benning Receives Evaluation Honor – Linda Kay Benning, Cooperative Extension Northeast Region Executive Director, has been named recipient of the 2013 Mary Nell Greenwood Extension Evaluation Award by the Extension Education Evaluation Topic Interest Group of the American Evaluation Association http://www.eval.org/. For a complete listing of awards, see https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4907.

USDA Farm Bill Campaign – The USDA Office of External and Intergovernmental Affairs encourages your participation in the #MyFarmBill social media campaign. Share stories, photos, and videos of how the farm bill impacts your state and locality.