Dr. Paul Coreil to Deliver 2026 Seaman Knapp Memorial Lecture

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Director Dr. Jaye Hamby has announced that Dr. Paul Coreil, retired chancellor for the Louisiana State University of Alexandria, will deliver the 2026 Seaman Knapp Memorial Lecture Sunday, Nov. 15 at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) annual meeting in San Antonio, TX.  

The lecture is one of three rotating lectures presented by NIFA and APLU that honor three historic Land-grant University figures: William Henry Hatch, Seaman A. Knapp and Justin Smith Morrill.

Nominated by Adam Knapp, Knapp’s great-great grandson, Dr. Coreil is recognized and respected as a leader in Extension and higher education. This honor recognizes his outstanding career and his continuing vision for Extension’s future to serve the people, improve agriculture and enhance the lives and livelihoods of America’s farmers.

Coreil’s 43-year career in the Louisiana State University (LSU) system is marked by sustained leadership, collaboration and service to Louisiana’s communities. His work across LSU AgCenter, Louisiana 4-H and LSU Alexandria, strengthened education, youth development and natural resource stewardship statewide. 

Read the full release.

"Taking it to the Street” 2026: Showcasing Extension Action Toward Resilient Communities and Lands

Join Extension colleagues nationwide for a virtual convening to showcase the accomplishments of four national working groups focused on Resilient Communities and Lands. Explore new Extension tools and resources, share ideas with colleagues across the country, and help identify national gaps and priorities that will shape the next phase of this work.

Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. CT (1-4 ET, 11-2 MT, 10-1 PT)
Location: Zoom
Format: Interactive Virtual Convening
Register here: https://extension.zoom.us/meeting/register/5t8ql4ONSG-d7QRzfjP8zw#/registration

This convening is for: Anyone interested in what Cooperative Extension is doing to engage administrators, policymakers, and other decision-makers on a broad range of resilience issues. Anyone who would like to contribute their programs or ideas for supporting resilient communities and lands.

What you’ll gain

• Fresh tools to use with your programs and communities
• Inspiration from colleagues in many Extension disciplines
• Opportunities to connect, co-create, and build momentum for the next steps

Can’t come for the whole time? That’s OK! Here are two parts from which you can choose:

• Part 1 (12-12:50 p.m. CT): If you are unfamiliar with this work and simply want an overview, we suggest you come for the first hour. If you’re interested in digging deeper, we encourage you to stay for Part 2.
• Part 2 (1-3 p.m. CT): We invite you to stay for the second half if you are interested in digging deeper. We will explore the collaborations, next steps, and national gaps.

Board on Health and Human Sciences (BHHS) Award Nominations Open

Nominations for the Board on Health and Human Sciences (BHHS) Awards are now open and will continue to be accepted until October 1, 2026. Recipients of these prestigious national awards will be recognized at a special luncheon at the BHHS Spring Meeting hosted by Florida State University in March 2027. 

See additional information on the awards and instructions for submitting a packet.

Growing Together: Conversations with CEOs

APLU’s Board of Agriculture’s interview series “Growing Together: Conversations with CEOs” showcases Presidents and CEOs of national agricultural associations, commodity groups, and other organizations and explores their powerful synergies with land-grant universities.

Terry Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Society of American Foresters

Terry Baker is the CEO of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). He oversees all of SAF’s programs and collaborates with his Board of Directors to establish a strategic vision committed to the scientific sustainable management of America’s forests. Prior to his selection as SAF CEO in September 2018, Baker served in various roles within the USDA Forest Service. His almost 20-year federal career started in his home state of Florida on the Apalachicola National Forest.

"The Society of American Foresters (SAF) accredits forestry, urban forestry, and natural resource programs. This relationship represents our four-way handshake with land-grant universities: Universities, students and their families, employers, and SAF. This handshake represents our commitment to each other, ensuring that students build the necessary skills during their studies to meet the ever-changing needs of our forests and communities." - Terry Baker

Looking Back and Thinking Forward

November 12, 2023, Hyatt Regency Seattle, APLU Annual Meeting, Seaman A. Knapp Memorial Lecture - Dr. Manjit Misra, USDA NIFA Director, and Dr. Caroline Henney

USDA NIFA’s Seaman A. Knapp lecturer, the Cooperative Extension System/ECOP Executive Director Emeritus Dr. Caroline Henney, applauded the work of the ECOP Program Committee's Program Action Teams listed here, and mentioned the emerging Food Loss Food Waste PAT in her speech, Looking Back and Thinking Forward.

She went on to say, “Extension has an important role to play in the well-being of this nation. I have always believed in the relevance of Extension. In the pivotal nature of this work. In the ability to connect the university to the people. To grow and adapt to ever-emerging human and community needs where and when they occur.”

Dr. Henney quoted Seaman A. Knapp, 1894: “‘Your mission is to solve problems of poverty, to increase measures of happiness, to harness the forces of all learning to the useful and needful in human society.’ One man and a handful of county agents in the South set this nation on a path that produced a vast Extension system with 32,000+ state and local professionals and 1,000,000+ volunteers, empowering farmers, ranchers, families and communities to meet the ever-changing challenges they face. Extension is a powerful, impactful force that has never been needed more.

If I were Seaman Knapp today, I would take the positive understanding of Extension’s important role much farther. I would challenge each of you, no matter what your role or connection to the Extension System of the United States, to kick it up a notch.

First, identify why the Extension service is still after 100+ years the best kept secret, and fix it.

Second, I would seek partnerships at all levels that are well beyond traditional.

Third, I would be relentless in telling the Extension story and sharing its critical value to legislators, and key decision-makers. If I learned anything in my career, its that the squeaky wheel generally gets the grease. I would work across the System to start a nationwide PR program to help the people of this country finally recognize the true treasure that we have in Extension. This far-reaching arm of our universities makes a true difference in the nation and the world.

I believe now than at any other time since Dr. Knapp first brought the universities to the people, that Extension is more critical or more needed for our current and future generations and the diverse communities that Extension serves.

We are all Seaman A. Knapp today. And we must do these things not to seek recognition for what Extension does, but to build hope. To build meaning. To build a far-reaching understanding of Extension as the largest education system of its kind in the world. Bringing the university to the people, as purveyors of credible, research-based information from which people and communities can make informed decisions to improve their lives.

Seaman A. Knapp’s early demonstration work likely has impacted millions and millions of people. On the continuum of this work across time, if appropriately tapped and resourced, Extension can indeed change the world.

Thank you for this incredible opportunity to be with you today.”

2023 Extension Awards Photo Album - From yesterday's USDA Teaching, Extension, Research, FSLI Leadership Award, & Board on Health & Human Sciences Awards session at the APLU Annual Meeting in Seattle, here is the link to an album of our featured winners. Congratulations to all of the winners! To learn more about the awards, and have a jump start on preparing nominations, go to awards.extension.org.

Register for the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Lecture - On Wednesday this week, November 15, 2023, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. ET, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will present a hybrid version of the 13^th Annual Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Lecture, which will be a part of the AAAS 175^th anniversary celebration. In light of the AAAS anniversary, the Lecture will reflect on how the history of science and technology has impacted agriculture, and look forward to how innovation can help address the future of food security and environmental challenges. The annual lecture is a collaboration between AAAS, RMF, and the World Food Prize Foundation. This year’s hybrid lecture will feature Dr. Joe Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One). Go to www.aaas.org/riley-lecture to learn more and register.




Rural America at a Glance, 2023 Edition Webinar - During a 1-hour webinar on Thursday this week, November 16, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. ET, the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) Research Agricultural Economist James C. Davis will highlight the most recent indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas, focusing on rural population and migration trends, poverty, housing insecurity, unemployment, and clean energy jobs. The ERS releases the Rural America at a Glance report annually, which summarizes the status of conditions and trends in rural areas. Registration here is required.




LAST CHANCE: LEAD21 Apply by November 15 - The LEAD21 program is intended to meet the future needs for leadership development of faculty, specialists, district and regional directors, program and team leaders, research station and center directors, department heads and chairs, and others in the universities’ colleges of agricultural, environmental, natural resources, veterinary sciences, and human sciences and USDA/NIFA. Individuals from Non-land-grant Agriculture and Renewable Resources Universities, and USDA are encouraged to participate. Details and more are available here.