Monday, December 21, 2020

Year End Wishes From the National Office

The ECOP Monday Minute will be on hiatus on December 28th and January 4th and will return on January 11th. The National Office is closed December 24th and reopens January 4th

To Extension Directors and Administrators and System Friends,
Throughout this extremely challenging year, Extension has done what it does best-serve the people of this nation both thoughtfully and selflessly. As 2020 comes to a close, we are reminded of what it takes to truly lead the critical work we do, and we thank you for your leadership and dedication to the enduring mission of Extension. We wish you and your loved ones a safe and pleasant holiday and may the New Year be kind to each of you.
Caroline (Crocoll) Henney, Sandy Ruble, and Roger Rennekamp


Learning for Leaders Coming Friday, January 8th - Last Monday, December 14ththis list of Extension Directors and Administrators and 1994 Extension Leaders were invited to register for 2 virtual conversations on Racial Equity in Leadership. 
-- 1/8/2021, 3-4:30 p.m. ET - "Inclusive and Equitable Organizations – An Evidence Based Model"
-- 2/5/2021, 3-4:30 p.m. ET - Working Title: "Improving Inclusivity in Our Institutions and ECOP"
To learn more and register, look for the email message from carolinecrocoll@extension.org sent on behalf ECOP Chair Chris Watkins, subject: Dates for Racial Equity Leadership Sessions. Contact Sandy Ruble to answer any questions. 



Funding Opportunity Follow-up
- To review Friday's webinar regarding a pending funding opportunity with Verizon to scale the 4-H Tech Changemakers program, individuals must register to receive the link to the recording here






Cooperative Extension Helps Communities Mask-Up - This fall, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with USPS and the National Council of Textile Organizations offered to provide free face coverings to community-based organizations that would be willing to distribute them to community members. Twenty-four land grant institutions, including three 1890s and one territory ordered, received, and distributed a total of 441,000 masks to residents of their respective states. Mask were provided to food banks, childcare facilities, SNAP-Ed and EFNEP program participants, farm workers, and 4-H families. Several states engaged young people as health ambassadors to distribute masks to as many as fifty additional community-based organizations. By utilizing its distributed network, Cooperative Extension placed masks in the hands of many of the nation’s most under-resourced individuals and their family members. For more information about this effort, contact Roger Rennekamp, Extension Health Director at rogerrennekamp@extension.org.




eXtension Fellows for Health and Well-Being - Erin Yelland, LaToya O’Neal, and Caitlin O’Brien have been selected to serve in one-year fellowships dedicated to advancing Extension’s work in health and well-being. Yelland is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist at Kansas State University with a specialty in gerontology. O’Neal is a medical sociologist by training and is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Health and Wellness at the University of Florida. O’Brien is the Director of Learning and Impact at the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation and specializes in trauma-informed practice. Through their fellowships, each will devote a portion of their professional time to systemwide work. The fellowships are made available through generous support from the Molina and Scattergood Foundations. For more information about the fellowships, contact Roger Rennekamp, Extension Health Director at rogerrennekamp@extension.org.




National 4-H Council Announces Election of Two New Leaders to its Board of Trustees - Jon Boren, Associate Dean and Director of New Mexico Cooperative Extension Service, and Abby Durheim, 4-H Young Alumni Advisory Committee member and a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Boren and Durheim will support Council’s mission to increase investment and participation in the nation’s largest youth development organization. They will be key partners in the Board’s work to support the 4 H system’s ambitious goal of reaching 10 million young people by 2025, with a special focus on promoting youth voice and supporting 4-H’s ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. 

Monday, December 14, 2020

Urban Extension Conversation Shared

Last Thursday, 32 Extension Directors and Administrators gathered on Zoom for Learning for Leaders - Urban Agriculture: Needs, Opportunities, and Actions. A panel of experts joined ECOP Chair Chris Watkins (Cornell University). Strategies were presented that support the sustainable development of commercial and community-focused urban agriculture, use the following link:
--> YouTube Video Recording: https://youtu.be/2zUlp5iZ5Rw
--> Slides with Links/Chat/Poll Results: Click here
--> May the conversation continue: ecopblog@gmail.com




Potential Funding Opportunity
- The ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee Co-chairs Jon Boren (New Mexico State University) and Andy Turner (Cornell University) invite Extension Directors & Administrators and 4-H Program Leaders to join an informational webinar on Friday, December 18, 2020, 12:00 – 12: 45 PM ET, regarding a pending funding opportunity with Verizon to scale the 4-H Tech Changemakers program. Register for the webinar here, which includes a brief overview of the program, the potential for leveraging it for greater visibility across campus and the timeline for submission (possibly early January 2021) and funding. Apologies for the short notice as this opportunity is evolving quickly. National 4-H Council, source for the opportunity and webinar, will record it for anyone unable to attend. Details will be released next week here on the ECOP Monday Minute. Additional contact is Heather Elliott, National 4-H Council, at helliott@4-H.org



2021 Military Family Readiness Academy Series - The Military Families Learning Network will launch its 2021 Military Family Readiness Academy series. In this series, dialogue will be a central component. Eight sessions will offer guidance on how to work effectively with families during disasters and hazards, and many will draw from recent and ongoing situations Extension educators and providers are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. A workshop based on the Asset-based Community Recovery Framework, will allow for the discovery the assets and capacities of communities to make military families more resilient and aid in their recovery after a disaster. This framework is different because it’s a bottom-up approach allowing individuals, organizations, and businesses to think about the roles people and communities play in moving forward. Extension educators are encouraged to contribute their voices, experiences, and lessons learned to this workshop and register here



Urban, Indoor and other Emerging Agriculture and Food Systems - In May 2020, Western Center for Metropolitan Extension & Research (WCMER) and National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) hosted listening sessions related to NIFA developing an Urban and Emerging Agriculture grant program. The Western Experiment Station and Extension Directors have formally created a development committee with a charge to establish a Western Urban, Indoor and other Emerging Agricultural Production Research, Education and Extension Initiative to facilitate and promote multi-state research and extension projects. Anyone, including those outside the Western Region, interested in joining this effort (all aspects of the food system including production, marketing, distribution, access, equity, and resource recovery) are encouraged to do so. The specific details of how to join can be found here or contact Brad Gaolach (Washington State University) gaolach@wsu.edu | 425-405-1734. 

Monday, December 7, 2020

NIFA Reporting Web Conference Series

The NIFA Reporting Web Conference Series is a bi-monthly series run by the NIFA Planning Accountability and Reporting Staff (PARS), which seeks to foster consistent, quality communication between NIFA leadership and its partners, including the Land-Grant University system. During the conferences, NIFA explains new or emerging reporting policies and procedures and gives grantees and administrators/business offices at the LGUs an opportunity to participate in real-time Q&A sessions. The next session will be held December 10, 2020, 2:00-3:30 pm ET. Conference link: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1617169794 Dial to connect audio: US: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666. Meeting ID: 161 716 9794.



APLU Policy Considerations for President-Elect - APLU shared comprehensive higher education, research, and community engagement priorities with President-elect Biden's transition team. APLU's priorities fall under three main categories: 1) Expanding higher education access, affordability, and student success; 2) Fostering scientific discovery; and 3) Welcoming the contributions of immigrants to our nation. Click here to review the document published by the APLU Governmental Affairs Office.  



eXtension Launches Ask Extension - Building upon 14 years of Ask An Expert, eXtension's NEW Ask Extension platform is now available for Cooperative Extension at all Land-Grant Universities regardless of membership. For every question an Extension Expert answers through this platform, it reaches an additional 200+ people. Additionally, groups and experts that use Ask Extension can brand it any way they want. Other top features include a streamlined email system that allows simple replies, contact information for clientele now being available to experts, clientele login accounts for accessing question history, and greater control for groups and experts on who can access questions. Learn more and share with your faculty and staff here.



Enriching Resources Reminder - Use this full view version of the ECOP Monday Minute, a weekly news blog that appeals to the work of land-grant university system Extension Directors and Administrators in the USA, to check out the resources found on the right panel of the blog page. This includes links to Learning for Leaders, EDEN, NIFA, JOE, and much more.