Celebrating Black History Month

To celebrate Black History Month, the National Office is pleased to spotlight the many accomplishments and tremendous inspiration of the following ECOP Chairs.

2000 - The late Dr. Daniel D. Godfrey, North Carolina A&T State University, pictured left: Charges were given to 4 taskforces, 1) Health and Well-Being, 2) Employability, 3) Ag/Natural Resources/Environment Interface, 4) Resilient Children, Youth and Families. The NEDA Meeting was held February 22-24, in New Orleans and included a workshop, Knowing Impact When You See It. 

2005 - The late Dr. Clyde E. Chesney, Tennessee State University, photo unavailable: The Cooperative Extension Section approved a 2005 budget of $25,000 to support the advocacy needs of the ECOP Forestry Task Force. The eXtension (Extension Foundation) Implementation plan was completed.

2010 - Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, Virginia State University, pictured left: While leading from North Carolina A&T State University, the current regional/national staffing pattern was implemented, a search for a new ECOP Executive Director was held; the Managing in Tough Times National Initiative was moved forward, the Marketing and Communications Task Force completed the implementation phase of their work. Dr. McKinnie is still very active in national leadership, serving on the ECOP Budget & Legislative Committee and is involved in numerous national dialogues.

2015 - Mr. Delbert T. Foster, South Carolina State University: Go here for photo and list of accomplishments. 

2020 - Dr. Mark Latimore, Jr., Fort Valley State University, pictured left:  Go here for the list of accomplishments. Dr. Latimore continues to faithfully serve in a national role on the ECOP Executive Committee and represents the Cooperative Extension Section on the Communications and Marketing Committee.

Through the pioneering leadership and dedication of these individuals, the Cooperative Extension System is positioned for the future to empower the people and changes lives more than ever before. -- We thank you!

Landmark Gift to 4-H Recognizes Extension Impact - National 4-H Council has received a transformational, unrestricted, $50 million gift from writer and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in support of Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program. This landmark gift recognizes your outstanding 4-H programs and their unparalleled outcomes for youth, families, and communities. It affirms the dedicated efforts of thousands of local Cooperative Extension 4-H educators, hundreds of thousands of volunteers, and millions of 4-H youth, alumni, and donors. And it leverages decades of public investment in Cooperative Extension from counties, states, and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.



March 4 Learning for Leaders Focuses on Extension’s Role in Climate Resiliency - On 2/7/2022 USDA announced $1 billion of new funding for climate smart commodities. The ECOP Climate Priority Action Team (PAT) has been meeting for nearly two years. Given the new USDA program, now is the best time to identify national opportunities for Cooperative Extension to play a leadership role in Climate Resiliency. These 76 Extension Directors and Administrators are reminded to connect on 3/4/2022, 3:00 p.m. ET, to learn about the emerging details of the USDA Climate Smart Agriculture program and the opportunity for national collaboration along the lines of a significant multi-state grant. Contact Sandy Ruble, Assistant Director, at sandyruble@extension.org for more information.

Navigating National Identity for Local Impact - The Public Issues Leadership Development Conference (PILD) Conference sponsored by the Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP), April 3-6 in Arlington, VA has the theme, All Systems Go - Navigating National Identity for Local Impact. Participants will focus on building Extension’s national culture of creativity and collaboration for local solutions to national issues and learn how to communicate and engage with stakeholders and elected officials in advocating for Extension at the local, state, and national level. Information and registration are available at www.jcep.org/pild. National leaders contributing to General Sessions are ECOP Chair Wendy Powers, University of California, ECOP Budget & Legislative Committee Chair Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, and Caroline Henney, Cooperative Extension System ECOP Executive Director. A special breakout session for Extension Directors and Administrators will take place on Tuesday, April 6, immediately following breakfast. 

Extension Foundation Offers National Registry of Cooperative Extension Programs - The National Registry of Cooperative Extension Programs & Assets (NRCEPA) provides ready-access to a living database of efforts across the system to rapidly respond to system-wide funding opportunities. Over 200 Cooperative Extension programs & projects have been registered. Several improvements were made to the NRCEPA through feedback received from the system including improved design to show multiple questions per screen, reduced redundancy on question condition logic, and improved form accessibility for ADA compliance. The Extension Foundation would like to thank numerous individuals and organizations that have provided feedback for the past year to help us improve this technology. This includes NET, NECI, SRDC, NEAFCS, NUEL, EXCITE, and individual users across Cooperative Extension. To register a program, project, curriculum, or resource, please visit extension.org/registry.

2022 National Health Outreach Conference

Registration is now open for the 2022 National Health Outreach Conference, which will be held in Kansas City, Missouri at the Marriott Country Club Plaza from May 4-6, 2022. Early registration ends April 1, 2022. With the theme of Today's Health in a Changing World: Be the Difference, there will be sessions related to health equity, effective behavior-change messaging, policy system and environmental change, health behavior, and pandemic response programming. Keynote speakers, concurrent and posters sessions will be relevant for professionals who address health, nutrition, youth development, workforce development, and human development.

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In recognition of Presidents' Day, the ECOP Monday Minute will be on hiatus on February 21, 2022.

NIFA Seeks Hall of Fame and Partnership Award Nominees - For action no later than April 1, 2022! Winning nominations will be recognized at the NIFA Day of Appreciation in either June or July 2022. NIFA invites nominations for the following.

• Inductees into the USDA-NIFA Hall of Fame have worked, coordinated, or supported activities exemplifying NIFA’s synergy of excellence in any combination of research, education, and Extension approaches on local, regional, national, or international levels. Inductees have also demonstrated a measurable and positive impact on the lives of citizens and NIFA's mission to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and Extension to solve societal challenges. Nominations will be evaluated based on three weighted areas: measurable impact on NIFA; synergy of research, education, and/or Extension; and endorsements/letters of support. Nominations must consist of a completed nomination form and up to three endorsements/letters of support. To learn more, visit the NIFA Hall of Fame Awards website.
  
  
• NIFA also invites all Land-grant Universities, cooperating institutions, and organizations supported by NIFA to submit nominations for the 2022 NIFA Partnership Awards Program. Nominations can be submitted for individuals or teams of up to 20 members. Complete details, instructions and the form are found NIFA Partnership Award webpage.

Questions regarding these 2 types of nominations may be directed to Kelly (Michael) Sprute at kelly.sprute@usda.gov.

2022 Land-grant Administrative Officers Conference - The annual National Extension and Research Administrative Officers Conference (NERAOC) will be held from April 10-13 in St. Louis, MO.  Administrators and program directors with responsibility over USDA-NIFA land-grant programs including the 1994 land-grants, Extension, equity, research, and endowment programs are urged to learn more and register here by April 4. The event provides a venue for professional development, information sharing, and networking to state among the administrators of Cooperative Extension, and state Agricultural Experiment Stations, and USDA-NIFA staff. Thank you to Gina Eubanks, Louisiana State University, for serving on the NERAOC coordinating committee representing the Cooperative Extension Section and ECOP. 

 

2022 National Award Nominations Requested

Nominations for the National Cooperative Extension Awards program, co-sponsored by ECOP and USDA-NIFA were announced to members of the Cooperative Extension Section on February 1. Nominations requiring a letter of recommendation from an Extension Director or Administrator are --

    *  National Individual Award for Excellence in Extension, plus 5 regional prizes

    *  NEW! National Team Award for Excellence in Extension  

The National Diversity in Extension Award is open to any Extension Professional to nominate an individual or a team. Prizes for all 3 types of awards include cash and a trip to the 2022 APLU Annual Meeting in November for presentation during the Board on Agriculture Assembly's Awards session. To learn more go to www. aplu.org/CESAwards and nominate before 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on May 1, 2022. Handy prep forms and answers to the most FAQs are provided online. 

ECOP's Appointee to NCFAR - Rich Bonanno becomes Cooperative Extension's representative to the National Coalition of Food and Agriculture (NCFAR). Rich is the Associate Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Director of Extension at North Carolina State University. He has served the Cooperative Extension System as an ECOP Member since the fall of 2020, and the Cooperative Extension Section/ECOP representative to the BAA Committee on Legislation and Policy since 2019. With Caroline Henney, Executive Director for the Cooperative Extension System/ECOP National Office, Rich will inform the planning of NCFAR education activities explained here to include the value of Extension programming and participate in matters of the NCFAR Board. 

New Website for EXCITE Project - The Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement, (EXCITE) has an updated information page www.extension.org/excite hosted by Extension Foundation. The site is more focused on the EXCITE impact as a system-wide local response. It includes program success stories videos, news releases, and a map of project information and reach. The Extension Foundation will continually update the site with stories of the EXCITE program.

Food Systems Leadership Institute Accepting 2022 Applications - FSLI is accepting applications for Cohort #18 for the fall of 2022. The Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI) offers leadership development to upper-level leaders in higher education, government, and industry. The Fellows will learn strategies to handle the leadership challenges and opportunities for the future. The review for all completed application packets will be on March 28, 2022. Full details and the link to the nomination form are found at https://fsli.org/apply.