Klemme’s Appointment Extended

ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd is pleased to announce that Rick Klemme has agreed, and the ECOP Executive Committee has unanimously approved, to extend his contract to work as the Executive Director of ECOP through April 2020. "Rick will continue the important work he is doing to advance Cooperative Extension nationally through strengthened relationships and partnerships with federal agencies as well as key organizations such as NC-FAR, NACo and many others. Rick’s ability to stay on top of a large number of conversations with APLU, BAA, BAC, CLP, ECOP BLC as well as Cornerstone and kglobal and insert our reactions, comments or position at the right time is critical to our success," says Hibberd. "Please join me in recognizing Dr. Rick Klemme for his continued commitment to Cooperative Extension in service to all of us."

Next Generation Extension – Learning for Leaders Webinar Series #3 - ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd’s 3rd Web Conference, designed for Extension leaders across the country, takes place this Friday, February 2. The topic is how Cooperative Extension can contribute to the university-level mission of our Land-grant Universities. The intended audience, Extension Administrators and Directors, will address ways to align with, and contribute to, the university-level mission. Each is asked to come to this conference prepared to share one idea, a practice or a project they are engaged in, to advance the university-level mission of their institution. As a reminder, each Learning For Leaders conference is promptly archived for continued learning and engagement by the Cooperative Extension Section. Previous topics are Making a Difference with the Opioid Epidemic and 10 Big Ideas to Think Differently About Extension. The archive is perpetually available via the ECOP Monday Minute (see Learning Center menu on Right). For more information contact Rick Klemme.



Designathon One Update - A major change is coming to Designathon One. eXtension has been listening to feedback and are re-evaluating the regional location approach. As such, four events are being postponed (San Antonio, TX, Indianapolis, IN, Atlanta, GA, and Pittsburgh, PA) in order to provide more time to craft events around state needs and to consider requests for additional locations that have been received. The events still continuing as scheduled are: Portland, OR, Portsmouth, NH, Madison, WI, and Ithaca, NY. For more information on this change and answers to questions that may arise, visit https://www.extension.org/designathon-one/.


Promoting an Energy Efficient America with Outreach Education - Consumption of energy affects many things, from food production to human health, and education to socioeconomic status. Global demand for energy is increasing in the face of limited resources, making our energy decisions of growing importance. The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Cooperative Extension System (CES)* support several directed outreach education programs toward energy efficiency in businesses, homes, and farms. Learn more about these programs and much more at Promoting an Energy Efficient America with Outreach Education (Infographic).

ECOP Monday Minute 4.8.2013

SNAP-Ed Updates – 1) FY2014 Guidance and FY2014 estimates for the state SNAP-Ed allocations are now available here:  http://snap.nal.usda.gov/national-snap-ed/snap-ed-plan-guidance-and-templates  2) Regulations that amend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to implement Section 28 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, to award grants to States for provision of nutrition education and obesity prevention programs is available here:  http://www.fns.usda.gov/SNAP/rules/Memo/pdfs/SNAP-Ed_Interim_Rule.pdf 3) The SNAP-Ed assessment invoices from APLU have been calculated and sent to the universities by regular mail.

Strategic Opportunities and Measuring Excellence Website and Database Now Open -- As demonstrated in San Antonio at the NEDA meeting, this website and database have been redesigned and rebranded as a joint ECOP effort between the Strategic Opportunities and Measuring Excellence efforts. Updates at http://www.excellenceinextension.org include expanded salary data, the ability to input and retrieve impact statements, and new options for charting data.

ECOP National Task Force on Health Navigator Fact Sheet Now Available -- The ECOP National Task Force on Health would like to share a Navigator Fact Sheet from University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Health Insurance Literacy Initiative. The fact sheet outlines several potential roles of Cooperative Extension related to recent health reform legislation. The document was highlighted at the recent National Extension Directors and Administrators meeting held in San Antonio (see full presentation here).

NAREEE Board Releases Extension Report -- The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board, which makes recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture and Congress has released its August 27, 2012 report and recommendations about Cooperative Extension. This is based on presentations and discussions at the Spring 2012 meeting of the NAREEE Advisory Board in College Station, TX. The NAREEE Board is authorized through the farm bill. The report is posted at http://nareeeab.ree.usda.gov/reports-and-recommendations-0.

Local Food Systems Dialogue -- Go to http://glennschool.osu.edu/web-dialogue/ to sign up as a participant in the National Extension Web Dialogue on Local Food Systems. All opportunities are in May 2013. The Ohio State University is guiding this work in partnership with the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development.

FEMA Youth Preparedness Council -- Please alert 4-H Program Leaders about this nomination process. Participants, age 12-17, are expected to represent the youth perspective on emergency preparedness and relay information within their communities. Nominations and applications are due April 19, 2013. For details, see www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness.

Webinar on 'Energy 101' course developed by APLU & U.S. Department of Energy 4.10.13 -- The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities joined the U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Maryland and the Environment and Energy Study Institute to unveil an interdisciplinary model curricular framework called 'Energy 101' designed to challenge college students at two and four-year schools to systematically explore the science and social science behind sound energy decision-making. It will also introduce students at an early point in their college experience to a variety of energy careers. The full press release can be found here. A webinar will be held April 10 from 2-4 p.m. (ET) to describe the model framework and its use in the development of a pilot course now being taught at the University of Maryland. Sign up for the webinar here.