LINKING COUNTIES AND CAMPUS

1. LINKING COUNTIES AND CAMPUS Lisa Graumlich School of Natural Resources Chuck Hutchinson Office of Arid Lands Studies County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

2. CALS Administrative retreat (1/4/08) County Extension Directors expressed concern about interactions with Campus Lisa Graumlich given direction of “Task Force” to explore issues Chuck Hutchinson volunteered (1 + 1 = “force” of 2) Telephone (mostly) surveys of (most) CEDs (7/29-8/8/08) To identify issues – what works, what doesn’t To solicit and develop suggestions Transformation intervenes (9/6/08) Background County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

3. McDowell, G.R. 2001. Land-Grant Universities and Extension into the 21st Century: Renegotiating or Abandoning a Social Contract.Iowa State University Press. Ames. 214 p. (pp. 26-27). “Without greater engagement of the universities with the society, the public universities are in peril. Without that engagement, not only will the universities not be able to contribute to the pressing problems of the society, they will not be able to understand or renew the evolving culture, accurately or effectively interpret history, or significantly expand the understanding of the human condition." Why this is important County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

4. National Research Council. 2007. Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond. Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategy for the Future. National Academy Press. Washington. 456 pages. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11820.html (p. 2) “The committee found that fundamental improvements are needed in existing observation and information systems because they only loosely connect three key elements: (1) the raw observations that produce information; (2) the analyses, forecasts, and models that provide timely and coherent syntheses of otherwise disparate information; and (3) the decision processes that use those analyses and forecasts to produce actions with direct societal benefits. Taking responsibility for developing and connecting these three elements in support of society’s needs represents a new social contract for the scientific community. The scientific community must focus on meeting the demands of society explicitly, in addition to satisfying its curiosity about how the Earth system works.” Why this is important County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

5. UA is in the process of “Transformation.” We are trying to respond. The UA Strategic Plan for 2009-2013 calls for “world‐class research that improves the human condition in Arizona and beyond.” One of nine overarching research priorities is “Climate, Environmental, Water and Energy Sustainability.” Why this is important County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

6. In our Transformation Plan, we argue: “…any world-class research in the dimensions of “sustainability” will be of little – if any – value if it does not extend beyond campus and connect in a fundamental and sustained way with the society we seek to serve.” We proposed: horizontal integration of required disciplines to address specific environmental issues of societal importance, and vertical of the processes of discovery, applications research, teaching, stakeholder engagement, extension, and decision support systems. A vital and engaged Cooperative Extension is critical to what we want to do. Why this is important County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

7. Pivotal issues Structural: Role of Cooperative Extension within the University is not shared across the entire enterprise Shared vision matters No clearly articulated vision for Cooperative Extension itself No clear understanding or appreciation of Cooperative Extension by Campus (within CALS and elsewhere) Functional: Connections to Campus are hard to make and maintain Distance matters Those that are farthest away feel / are most isolated Experience / time-in-system matters Many of the newest, “don’t know where to call.” Money matters Funding declines, staff disappears but programs continue Findings: Issues County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

8. Frustrating issues How many Specialists are there and who are they? Visits by campus faculty to counties are rare If they know counties exist, recognition / benefit for campus faculty participation is generally unknown / not clear Tenure / continuing process is not always clear in the counties Some uncertainty about expectations of county faculty Counties input to campus faculty decisions is not always sought There are always issues arising that counties may not be equipped to handle (e.g., drought) Not always obvious where to connect on campus Some wariness about contacting some department heads Findings: Issues County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

9. Things work best when Specialists serve their Specialist function Serving as a primary campus – county connection Helping define statewide issues and design statewide programs Working groups help but are not a substitute for Specialist participation Students are useful to counties as both workers and representatives of campus Findings: Suggestions County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

10. Strategic Planning effort is underway Will help address “the vision thing” within Extension by developing and articulating a clear statement of purpose and direction May help to address “the visibility thing” by explaining relationship / opportunities to other parts of campus Should also help address “the spreading-thin thing” Comprehensive program review Load adjustments / program realignments? Alternative revenue streams Partnership with other agencies? Partnership with interest groups? Outreach University offerings? Observations / Suggestions County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

11. Tie counties and campus more closely together on hiring / tenure / continuing decisions CEDs could serve consistently on search / review committees Use the web more strategically (i.e., virtual communities) Routine review of strategic approaches to engaging communities (geographic and virtual) More regular trainings on web tools / services Observations / Suggestions County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

12. Engage willing faculty from CALS and elsewhere Pursue Extension Fellows programs (patterned after Udall and Translational Fellows) Encourage development of joint research proposals that explore and fulfill the “social contract” Put campus faculty in contact with County Extension Advisory Boards (above) Briefings? Research projects? Observations / Suggestions County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008

13. Use students as resources for both county and campus faculty Press for Extension Assistants (comparable to teaching and research assistants) Undertake regular research projects in counties Increase visibility of UA in counties (e.g., briefings by students involved in Mars Phoenix Mission) Observations / Suggestions County Extension Directors Meeting Hacienda Corona de Guevavi November 5-6 2008