Leadership Transition and New MOU

On September 27, 2022, during the Cooperative Extension Section Business Meeting portion of Joint ESS/CES-NEDA Meeting in Baltimore, Members who were present witnessed the official passing of the Section/ECOP Chair's gavel from Wendy Powers, Dean, Washington State University, (right) to Beverly R. Durgan, University of Minnesota Extension (left). Bev's goal as Chair is to advance the ECOP Strategic Directions, by focusing on priorities identified by member institutions, and building on successes and recent lessons learned. The intended outcome is a cohesive Cooperative Extension System and stronger member programs, inclusive of all. Bev's Action Plan for the coming year can be found at www.aplu.org/cesgoals. Future editions of the ECOP Monday Minute will share more details regarding the year ahead. Members of the Section and 1994 Extension Directors are encouraged to save 3-4:00 p.m. ET every first Friday of the month for conversations with the ECOP Chair and occasional Learning for Leaders Sessions. Stay tuned to email for connection details. 

System MOU Aimed to Resource Development - On September 26, 2022, a new Memorandum of Understanding was established by ECOP, National 4-H Council, and the Extension Foundation. Please review the document here. Three members of the Section representing each partner in the agreement were the signers. Pictured L-R, Wendy Powers, Washington State University, ECOP Chair, Courtney Owens, Kentucky State University, Vice-chair of the Extension Foundation Board of Directors, and Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, Trustee of National 4-H Council.

2021-2022 Report and Celebration - Don't miss the Cooperative Extension Section's return on investment spelled out the interactive document version of the Annual Report available here and in this interactive slide presentation which includes Finance Update and notable expressions of appreciation to:

• Char Wenham (Michigan), CARET Liaison to ECOP;
• Edmund Buckner, Alcorn State University, and Arch Smith, University of Georgia for service on the ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee;
• Chris Watkins, Cornell University, for service on ECOP;
• Karla Trautman, South Dakota State University, for leadership of National Impact Database Committee and Communications and Marketing Committee, and 
• Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, for chairing the ECOP Budget & Legislative Committee. 

Join ECOP and the EDA Team to celebrate the outstanding leadership and commitment to the mission of Extension over the past year by Wendy Powers, Washington State University, and for the dedication by Caroline Henney (Crocoll) as Executive Director of the National Office who retired on September 30, 2022. 

National Leadership 101 Recording and Slides Available - On September 9, 2022 26 Extension Directors, joined ECOP's latest monthly Friday Zoom event. All 5 regions and the 1994 Tribal Universities participated in the Learning for Leaders Program developed by the ECOP Professional Development Committee. To share and experience the 45-minute session, which included presentation by Brent Elrod, USDA-NIFA and Doug Steele, APLU, use https://youtu.be/MuwwSxu_kMc.Slides from the presentation are available here.

Extension Foundation Selected by USDA-NIFA as Technical Provider for NEXTGEN Funding Opportunity - The primary goal of the From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program (NEXTGEN) is to enable 1890 LGUs, 1994 LGUs, Alaska Native-serving and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, and insular area institutions of higher education located in the U.S. territories to engage, recruit, retain, train, and support students to help build and sustain the next generation of the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) workforce including the future USDA workforce. The Foundation will raise awareness of the NEXTGEN program and provide technical assistance for eligible institutions to develop teams, partners, program strategies and to connect with USDA and other career opportunities. The APLU will support the Foundation in their role to help connect potential institutional partners to one another. Read more here.