See You in Wyoming!

Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware

ECOP Chair Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware, announces the agenda https://goo.gl/XI1xQA for the annual meeting of the Cooperative Extension Section (CES)/National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Wednesday morning, September 21, 2016 at Jackson Lake Lodge, Wyoming. In addition to brief updates on ECOP national leadership priorities, the meeting is designed to engage Extension directors/administrators in discussion and decision-making. Note the links to supporting documents on innovation, the Extension health agenda, National 4-H Council Board of Trustees, and the SNAP-Ed Program Development Team. Throughout the meeting participants will be asked to use mobile devices (e.g. smart phone, laptops) to provide your opinion or vote. In the case of the SNAP-ED Program Development Team, you will be asked to vote on continued investments in this work via assessments to Extension in institutions receiving SNAP-Ed funding. If you are not able to attend the meeting in person and have comment about any of the agenda items, please send them to Rodgers mrodgers@udel.edu with a copy to ECOP Executive Director Jane Schuchardt jane.schuchardt@extension.org by 9.19.16. The CES/NEDA meeting is joint with the Experiment Station Section. See http://goo.gl/c9WM74 for the full agenda. 

Building a Culture of Health: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Grant Update – For the last year, leaders from Cooperative Extension, USDA-NIFA, National 4-H Council, and the RWJF together with 4-H members have been exploring a potential partnership to impact Americans' health within communities throughout the United States. This important work will continue this fall with the help of a second planning grant. The start-up phase (September 2016-April 2017) will be dedicated to designing a systems approach and organization for implementation while testing tools and support systems to begin activating the Extension-RWJF partnership in 2017. States will have the opportunity to determine readiness to participate and opt into the partnership. For more information, click here. 

4-H Youth in Action Awards Webinar 9.14.16 – National 4-H Council is accepting applications for the 2017 4-H Youth in Action Awards to be presented at the eighth annual Legacy Awards in Washington, D.C. on March 21. The 2017 awards will recognize one remarkable 4-Her within each pillar area: agriculture, citizenship, healthy living, and STEM. Each of the four 4-H Youth in Action Awards pillar winners will receive a $5,000 scholarship for higher education, an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to be recognized at the Legacy Awards and a shopping experience to select attire for the event. A 2017 4-H National Youth in Action winner also will be selected and given an additional $5,000 scholarship. The application deadline is 10.24.16. To find out more, join the webinar 11 a.m., ET, 9.14.16. Click here to register To apply, go to www.4-h.org/youthinaction. Direct questions to YouthinAction@4-H.org. 

Extension Urban Programming Webinars – The Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research announces two webinars. The first at 3:00 p.m. ET, 9.22.16, is on Urban Communities Re-Imagined, a multi-region, multi-state project funded by the Kettering Foundation. Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9183739417566395650. A second webinar on Leadership in the City is 3:00 p.m. ET, 9.29.16. Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7742191711828300803. For more information visit: http://metroextension.wsu.edu/. Extension urban programming is an emphasis area for ECOP national leadership this year. 

Final Rule on AFRI with Request for Comments – USDA-NIFA is soliciting comments on its final rule on a revision of the general administrative guidelines applicable to the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grant program. The solicitation appeared in the Federal Register (81 FR 58809, August 26, 2016) and can be found at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-08-26/pdf/2016-18422.pdf. The comment deadline is 9.26.16.

1890 Universities Celebrate 125 Years With Wellness Walks

1890 Universities Celebrate 125 Years With Wellness Walks  – Here is one example of celebrations going on all across the country in honor of the 125 anniversary of the signing of the 2nd Morrill Act, which created 1890 universities. At the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), hundreds attended the 1890 Day (April 23rd) Wellness Walk and posed for the “1890 photo” as they waited for the pre-walk program in the university gym. The keynote speaker for the program was Catherine Woteki, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. The 1.89 mile wellness walk was led by the UMES pep band and the university athletes. Students, staff, faculty, citizens from the tri-county area and area youth all participated in the programming. Proceeds from the walk will go to the 1890 Justin Morrill Scholarship Fund. For more information or to make a contribution, see www.1890universities.org. 

USDA Climate Hubs National Update – The USDA Climate Hubs Strategic Plan was recently published and can be found on the Hubs website along with a highlight of the Hubs accomplishments to date http://climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/content/climate-hubs-update-april-2015. Cooperative Extension and Experiment Stations have been working closely with the USDA Regional Climate Hubs in alignment with the Memorandum of Understanding signed in the fall of 2014. 

Extension Award Nominations Due 6.1.15 – ECOP and USDA-NIFA announces the 2015 nomination process for the national Excellence in Extension and Diversity awards. The due date for nominations is June 1st at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Nominations, submitted online, must be completed by this date and time. Regions are subject to announcing earlier deadlines for their purposes. CLICK HERE for contact information by Region. For details and to access the online nomination forms go to http://www.aplu.org/CESAwards. Questions can be directed to Sandy Ruble, ECOP Staff Associate sandy.ruble@extension.org.  

Elbert Dickey

Terry Meisenbach

eXtension Names Interim Director – The eXtension Foundation Board of Directors chaired by Dennis Calvin, Pennsylvania State University, has named Terry Meisenbach, eXtension Communications and Marketing Director, as Interim Director, replacing Elbert Dickey. Dickey served as interim director from January 2014 through April 2015 providing oversight for the transition to the NEW eXtension. Please join ECOP in thanking Dickey for his national leadership during a pivotal transition period for eXtension. Meisenbach will assume leadership until a permanent eXtension chief executive office is identified. The Board continues the selection process with interviews of three finalists 5.13.15 in Chicago. 

Legacy Award honorees Nosa Akol, New York 4-H and
Texas 4-H alumnus Javier Palomarez, President and CEO, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

National 4-H Council 6th Annual Legacy Awards – National 4-H Council exceeded its fundraising goal for this year's event, where Cooperative Extension's 4-H positive youth development program took center stage at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on April 23. Extension leadership contributed more than $8,000 to support the event with the southern region raising the most money. Hundreds of supporters were on hand to honor the recipient of the 2015 Youth in Action Award, 17-year old Nosa Akol from Broome County, NY, who was recognized for her achievements with Cornell University Cooperative Extension's 4-H programs. Texas Agrilife Extension 4-H alumnus Javier Palomarez, president and CEO, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, received the Distinguished Alumni Medallion. Other highlights included an announcement by University of Georgia Extension 4-H alumna and singer-songwriter Jennifer Nettles who will serve as the 4-H celebrity spokesperson in the year ahead. Mara Schiavocampo, ABC News correspondent, emceed the evening festivities. To see more photos, click here: http://www.4-h.org/get-involved/sponsor/4-h-legacy-awards-gala/. 

ECOP Working for You - BAA Policy Board of Directors

Tim Cross, University of Tennessee,
represents Cooperative Extension on the
Policy Board of Directors.
His two-year term will be
completed in November 2015.

ECOP Working for You – Tim Cross, ECOP member and elected Cooperative Extension representative to the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly Policy Board of Directors (PBD), is at a PBD meeting this week in Napa, CA. His responsibility is to represent the perspectives of Cooperative Extension, which have been vetted through ECOP. Discussions will focus on the AES-CES-AHS Communications and Marketing Project, the Antimicrobial Task Force, and committee actions related to budget and advocacy, legislation and policy, and setting direction for the future. Discussions will continue on the budget priority of water security and the initial efforts related to healthy food systems, healthy people. As PBD vice-chair, Cross is responsible for the BAA program at the APLU Annual Meeting, November 15-17, 2015 in Indianapolis. If you have ideas, he can be reached at tlcross@utk.edu.

ACTION: Award Nominations Due 6.1.15 – ECOP and USDA-NIFA announces the 2015 nomination process for the national Excellence in Extension and Diversity awards. The due date for nominations is June 1st at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Regions are subject to announcing earlier deadlines for their purposes. CLICK HERE for contact information by Region. For details and to access the online nomination forms go to: http://www.aplu.org/CESAwards. Questions can be directed to Sandy Ruble sandy.ruble@extension.org, ECOP Staff Associate. 

ACTION: Support 4-H Legacy Awards – Cathann Kress, Iowa State University, and Nick Place, University of Florida, both members of the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees, encourage your donations to the National 4-H Legacy Awards. Last year, Cooperative Extension raised $10,600 for this purpose and efforts are underway to meet or exceed this goal in 2015. Please consider donating to Legacy Awards today. (Just click on the link on the word “today” and it will take you to the online site to make your donation). For any questions, please contact Rachel Mentzer at rmentzer@4-h.org or 301-961-2940. 

Extension Names NEW eXtension Board – The eXtension Governing Committee, chaired by Dennis Calvin, Pennsylvania State University, has been disbanded and replaced by the new eXtension Foundation Board of Directors, reporting to ECOP. Officers and members for the new Board were elected and are as follows: CHAIR: Dennis Calvin (Northeast region/Penn State), VICE CHAIR/TREASURER: Vernon Jones (1890 region/Langston University), SECRETARY: Fred Schlutt (Western region/University of Alaska), Jason Henderson (North central region/Purdue), and Doug Steele (Southern region/Texas Agri-Life). Jane Schuchardt, ECOP Executive Director, and Jane Clary Loveless, USDA-NIFA National Program Leader, have been added as non-voting, ex officio members. Current action by the Board of Directors is to hire a new chief executive officer and refine a handbook for premium and basic members of eXtension. 

USDA-NIFA Seeks Peer Review Panelists – Cooperative Extension often asks how to be more competitive with grants available from USDA-NIFA. One answer is to assure more professionals who understand how Cooperative Extension “extends knowledge, changes lives” are on grants panels. To be placed in the pool of potential panelists for the Children, Youth and Families at Risk funding, please email cyfar@nifa.usda.gov with the subject line “CYFAR 2015 Peer Review Panel.” Volunteering for other panels is encouraged. 

Missouri University Extension Annual Report – Check out http://extension.missouri.edu/about/annual-reports.aspx for outcomes-based programming “extending knowledge, changing lives” under the leadership of ECOP member Michael Ouart, Vice Provost for Extension, University of Missouri. 

ECOP Meets in Charleston, SC

ECOP Meets in Charleston, SC – ECOP Chair Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University,

welcomes ECOP members, liaisons and guests to South Carolina this week. Key agenda items are the Cooperative Extension Innovation Inventory, Excellence in Extension and Diversity Awards, the NEW eXtension, and SNAP-ED. ECOP’s national leadership addresses core themes of building partnerships and acquiring resources, increasing strategic marketing and communications, enhancing leadership and professional development, and strengthening organizational functioning. For more information, see www.extension.org/ecop. 

ECOP Chair Delbert Foster
UDSA-NIFA Waterfront Center
Washington, DC - 3.12.15

ECOP and ESCOP Chairs Visit USDA-NIFA – ECOP Chair Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University, and ESCOP Chair Bob Shulstad, University of Georgia spent a day last week at USDA-NIFA. A seminar Research to Application: National Leadership, Local Action was presented to NIFA national program leaders and others. The Cooperative Extension and Experiment Station leaders also met with the NIFA Executive Council and planning and accountability, budget, and grants management staff. The theme throughout the strengthening the partnership with USDA-NIFA. 

ESCOP Chair Bob Shulstad &
ECOP Chair Delbert Foster
USDA-NIFA Waterfront Center
Washington, DC - 3.12.15

EFNEP Conference Features ECOP – The 2015 National Coordinator’s Conference for EFNEP themed Promoting Healthy Lifestyles this week in Arlington, VA features a Tuesday keynote by ECOP Chair-elect Michelle Rodgers on Health in America: A Framework for Extension’s Second Century. Wrapping up the meeting on Thursday will be ECOP Chair Delbert Foster together with L. Washington Lyons, Executive Administrator, Association of Extension Administrators, providing an update on ECOP national leadership and summarizing details of the 1890 universities 125th celebration www.1890universities.org. Cooperative Extension/ECOP Executive Director Jane Schuchardt speaks as part of a Monday panel on Educating, Not Advocating – Hill Visits for a Lasting Impression.

6th Annual Legacy Awards April 23 – The 2015 Legacy Awards, National 4-H Council's largest fundraising event, is April 23, 2015 at the Newseum in Washington, DC. The annual event celebrates the accomplishments of 4-H and Cooperative Extension, including the young people, volunteers and professionals who make life-changing experiences possible for millions of 4-H'ers. Among the highlights will be the introduction of the 2015 Youth in Action Award winner, 4-H'er Nosa Akol from New York. Donations to the Legacy Awards can be made here and tickets to the event can be purchased here. Direct questions to National 4-H Council’s Special Events Manager, Rachel Mentzer at rmentzer@4-h.org. 

Extension Producer Education Update – As a result of Title I of the Agriculture Act of 2014 (farm bill), Cooperative Extension nationwide is collaborating with the USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) to provide producer education related to federal farm programs. An eXtension site http://blogs.extension.org/farmbilleducation/ aggregates information and highlights program efforts.

USDA-NIFA Announces New Web Site – See www.nifa.usda.gov. Note especially the user-friendly navigation and compatibility with mobile devices. Cooperative Extension is highlighted on the site at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/extension. From the home page, go to About NIFA, then How We Work. 

National 2015 Extension Awards Due June 1 – ECOP and USDA-NIFA announces the 2015 nomination process for the national Excellence in Extension and Diversity awards. The due date for on-line nominations is June 1st. Regions are subject to announcing earlier deadlines for their purposes. CLICK HERE for contact information by Region. For details and to access the online nomination forms go to: http://www.aplu.org/CESawards. Questions can be directed to Sandy Ruble sandy.ruble@extension.org, ECOP Staff Associate.