Monday, September 26, 2022

2022 Joint ESS/CES-NEDA Meeting Begins

Today at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, at least 67 Extension Directors and Administrators plus some member of leadership teams from a total of 56 Land-grant Institutions located in 43 states, plus Territories and Tribes, begin participating in the Joint ESS/CES-NEDA Meeting, Building Trust. Through dialogue and discovery, the delegation of 170+ people will cover 4 topic areas including the future of land-grant universities. The Cooperative Extension Section and the Experiment Station Sections of the Board on Agriculture Assembly will conduct respective business, too. Next week's release will include highlights and resources for the good of all. Check out what is happening here.


Executive Director Search Reminder - The ECOP Executive Director Search Advisory Committee would like to remind members of the Section that the Executive Director position headquartered at APLU in Washington, DC described here will remain open until filled. The Committee recently enhanced their process by asking the EDA Team to solicit topics for System seminars and questions to interview finalist candidates. Members of AEA, ASRED, NEED, NCCEA, and WEDA should send their ideas directly to their Executive Director or Administrator by the end of the week. 


Annual ECOP Meeting Calendar Released - ECOP is pleased to release their 2022-2023 Meeting Calendar. Members of the Cooperative Extension Section are most welcome to ECOP Meetings and should inquire with their EDA Team and/or the National Office to obtain details. Agenda items are typically established in two ways. 1) Contact with ECOP Standing Committees (Executive, Professional Development, Program, 4-H Leadership, Budget & Legislative), and 2) by the 20+Appointees and Liaisons, for example, Extension Foundation, LEAD21, Board on Human Sciences (BoHS), Journal of Extension, Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP), and Council on Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET), working through their EDA Team point of contact listed here. ECOP solicits agenda items and written reports 3 times annually by Appointees and Liaisons. All Members of the Section and 1994 Extension Directors - save the dates for the First Friday events, monthly national conversations, and the week of 2023 NEDA, October 9-12, and watch for more details.


National Leadership 101 and EXCITE Update Recording Available - On September 9, 26 Extension Directors, joined ECOP's latest monthly Friday Zoom event. All 5 regions and the 1994 Tribal Universities were present. To experience the entire 1-hour session, use https://youtu.be/qQT3UaQqNIE. The 15-minute update on EXCITE starts here, and Orientation to the National Extension Leadership and Where Do We Fit in the Scheme of Things? featuring 3 panelists starts here. Check out the Orientation slides here.



Connecting With Amish and Other Plain Communities Conference - Purdue Extension, Penn State Extension, and Elizabethtown College are presenting Working with Amish and Other Plain Communities for Extension and related agency professionals November 1-3, 2022. Participants will learn directly from a panel of Amish leaders about the industry, family life and agriculture in a Q&A session. Attendees will have the opportunity to view Amish life firsthand on tours including furniture manufacturing, agriculture, and family life. To conclude the conference, three local Amish leaders will share their valuable perspectives and summarize the conference’s key messages. Topics covered in the conference include:
· Overview of Amish, Mennonite, and other plain groups across the country
· Relations with the state and the wider English world
· Amish community organization, work, and social change
Registration is found at https://puext.in/AmishConference

Monday, September 19, 2022

APLU’s New President Mark Becker

On September 1, Mark P. Becker began his first day at APLU stating, "APLU is poised to do great things in the years ahead as we continue to innovate in new or expanded areas and double-down on our core work to equitably advance the student success, research, and engagement missions of public and land-grant universities. The success of these efforts is dependent upon a highly engaged membership. The strength of APLU and its ability to advance change has and always will be through the engagement of its members on our councils, commissions, and boards; our projects and initiatives; and, of course, through our collective advocacy in Washington." Read the full article here. Twitter users can see and hear Dr. Becker here.



Google Grant Will Expand 4-H Computer Science Career Pathways Program - Google.org has awarded National 4-H Council a $5M grant to expand computer science skills and education to underserved youth across the country. With this funding, Cooperative Extension will expand existing and bring new 4-H Computer Science (CS) Career Pathways programs to communities across Iowa, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Nebraska, and West Virginia. Since its start in 2017, 1.4 million youth have participated in Extension’s 4-H CS program, with 65% living rurally, 56% of 4-H teen CS leaders being girls, and 47% coming from racially diverse backgrounds. Read more about Google’s support of 4-H here.

 

White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health Date AnnouncedThe White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health will take place in Washington, DC or through virtual means on September 28, 2022. The conference brings government leaders, academics, activists, and Americans from all walks of life together to achieve the goal of ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases in the U.S. by 2030 – all while reducing disparities among the communities who are impacted the most by these issues. The White House has published a toolkit to an access from the conference website, whitehouse.gov/hungerhealthconference, for hosting satellite events, such as watch parties, discussions, and days of service.

 

APLU Annual Meeting Registration - The APLU Annual Meeting is in-person, and will be held in Denver, Colorado, November 6-8, 2022. The meeting is the premier gathering of senior leaders from public research universities, land-grant institutions, and state university systems. No other meeting in higher education brings together such a diverse array of public university presidents, chancellors, and other senior leaders. The theme is Future Forward. The program is designed to ensure collaboration and give attendees useful, practical strategies. Ample time for networking with colleagues from the North and Central America is built into the schedule. The Board on Agriculture Assembly sessions include USDA award presentations, Annual Memorial Lecture, and General Membership Meeting. View draft BAA/CFERR/FA NR meeting track here. View entire meeting schedule, costs, etc., and be sure to register here before rates increase. 



ERS Releases Household Food Security Report for 2021 - In 2021, 89.8% of U.S. households were food secure while the remaining 10.2% (13.5 million households) were food insecure. Read the report here.

Monday, September 12, 2022

2023 National 4-H Conference

Save-the-Date
- USDA NIFA announced dates for 2023 National 4-H Conference, to be held April 14-19, 2023 in-person at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia and online. More specific details will be announced this fall. Read more details and know who to contact here

Source: NIFA's Division of Youth and 4-H






NCFAR Latte-N-Learn Features USDA Under Secretary 9/15
-  NCFAR's next informative webinar is this week, September 15, 2022 at 10AM ET. USDA Under Secretary Chavonda Jacobs-Young presents how USDA's research community is working to advance climate-smart agriculture and nutrition security. Also, receive an update on the latest priorities from the leadership at ARS, ERS, NIFA, and NASS. The goal of these signature events is to educate and empower staff on Capitol Hill and policy stakeholders about the value of public investment in food and agricultural research. Registration here is required to attend this event. Please help spread the word through land-grant university government affairs networks. Thank you.




USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture
- According to its MOU with NASS, the Cooperative Extension Section helps spread the word to farmers and ranchers about the importance of being represented in these widely used and influential data. NASS's 2022 Census of Agriculture national press release is ready to share (also available in Spanish). Additionally, leaders and communicators may follow @usda_nass on Twitter and USDA’s Facebook page to share ag census content, including a video from NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer, infographics, kids’ ag census activity pages, blog, and more. NASS’s Partner Tools site has resources that will keep outreach momentum going through this fall and winter. There, find ads for  newsletters and social media, banners for  web pages and email signatures, videos, brochures and flyers for use at events, FAQs, and talking points. Check the page periodically for new and updated materials.