December, 2004

"To individuals, families, businesses and communities of Pennsylvania, Penn State Cooperative Extension is the engaged educational system that helps maximize student potential with research-proven knowledge.”

In this Newsletter:

Message from the Director

As we reflect on our accomplishments during the past year and our responses to an ever changing environment, there is much for which Penn State Cooperative Extension can be very proud. There is always more we can and must do, however, as new challenges and opportunities appear on the horizon. It is appropriate that we take time at the end of a successful year to think about how to refocus ourselves and what we need to accomplish in the coming year. This involves realigning our personal priorities and setting personal goals. In the process, it is important to be aware of future trends and how these trends will affect our role as educators and our transformation as an organization.

Penn State Cooperative Extension is in a position of respect and leadership today, and our students and colleagues are looking to us for ideas and examples of how to adapt to the future. For 90 years, cooperative extension has been an organization of change, meeting challenges and exceeding expectations, while being true to our basic values and mission. Our strong reputation and history is built on the shoulders of giants, and we need to continue to shape that history by engaging fully in envisioning and helping to create the future.

To stay engaged, we must be aware of future trends such as 1) the changing demographic in Pennsylvania with an older and more diverse population; 2) globalization; 3) economic changes; and 4) sustainable development and quality of life issues. We must continue our engagement with communities, while being mindful of political support and a changing funding base. A changing view of scholarship also is occurring at universities across the country, a more "extension friendly" view. This view of scholarship reaches beyond research to the application and integration of knowledge. Thus, extension is seen increasingly as a university-wide endeavor, and cooperative extension is part of a university mosaic of organizations that provides educational programs and service beyond the university.

What are the implications of these trends for the role of the extension educator in the future? First, with increased knowledge, extension educators will be in a position to help people critically analyze data and apply this knowledge to their particular situation. As educators, this will mean adapting and redefining teaching methods and using remote delivery. Providing both timely and useful localized information to clientele also can be combined with applied research, increasing opportunities for scholarship among field-based educators and faculty. Additionally, there will be an increasing need for teaching critical thinking skills, which requires that educators move from being information providers to helping people solve complex problems. Extension educators are uniquely positioned to assume a major role in this process. I will continue to share my thoughts about the role of the extension educator in subsequent issues of the newsletter.

What are the specific challenges we face in Pennsylvania? One of our immediate challenges is to continue the transformation of cooperative extension programs, funding and organizational structure to respond to the changing needs of the citizens of the Commonwealth. To meet these challenges, we need to strengthen the collaborative environment within extension. We also need to renew our focus on developing leadership in all program areas, with particular attention to building a vision in urban programming. It is with these challenges in mind as the year ends that we encourage you to reflect on the past and think about what we can accomplish in the new year.

During this continuing transformation, it is our hope that you see Penn State Cooperative Extension as an organization that supports both your personal and professional development and encourages a balance between your personal and professional lives. With the upcoming holiday season, it is important to take time to reflect and be thankful for family and friends.

We want to extend early holiday greetings to you and your families. Enjoy the time away from your professional activities and the time spent with family and friends during the holiday season!

Best wishes,
Daney Jackson
Director of Cooperative Extension

News to Know

2004 Justin Morrill Lecture
Purdue University's president, Martin C. Jischke, presented the 2004 Justin Morrill Lecture at the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) Annual Meeting in San Diego on November 14. Dr. Jischke's presentation, entitled "Adapting Justin Morrill's Vision to a New Century: The Imperative of Change for Land-Grant Universities," is very compelling. He believes that the power of Morrill's vision "must be adapted, reinvigorated and reconceptualized for the 21st century." Dr. Jischke suggests seven areas on which to focus as we develop a land-grant mission for the future:

1) We need to see the land-grant mission of the 21st century as embracing all sectors of society, including, but not only, agriculture.

2) We need to broaden the extension service and outreach missions beyond agriculture, veterinary medicine and consumer and family sciences to include the entire university and organize this mission as a university-wide activity.

3) We must adapt new language to capture these new ideas so that the change is evident and transparent both internally and externally.

4) We need to connect student learning to the engagement mission to foster a distinctive land-grant form of education to reinforce the public purposes of our universities and to justify the use of general fund dollars to support the broader engagement agenda.

5) We need a broadened research agenda that is more interdisciplinary and problem-focused.

6) We need to change our model for financing engagement to include general fund support, increased fees for service programming, and private fund raising.

7) We must reconceptualize the relationship of the federal government to land-grant universities to include engagement and research funding in other departments of government such as Commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health.

To read the full text of the speech, go to: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/speeches/04morrill.html

Journal of Extension
Several articles authored by extension faculty and staff from the College of Agricultural Sciences appear in the October issue of the Journal of Extension. To review the articles noted below, visit: http://www.joe.org/.

Alyssa Dodd and Charles Abdalla, Strengthening Environmental Policy Education Through Qualitative Research: Experiences with Pennsylvania's Nutrient Management and Regulatory Review.

Claudia Mincemoyer, Daniel Perkins and Catherine Lillehoj (Iowa State University), Perceptions of the Cooperative Extension Service: A Community Resource for Youth and Family Programs.

Jacklyn Bruce, Leadership Life Skills Demonstrated by State 4-H Council Members.

Jan Scholl, Establishing a 4-H Research Base of Graduate Studies.

College of Agricultural Sciences Study Groups
The final report of the Sixth Study Group has been posted on the college strategic planning web site at http://www.cas.psu.edu/StrategicPlanning/sixth.html. We encourage you to visit the site and review the study group final report. The report may offer insights that will be of value to you as you reflect on your work and goals for the future.

eXtension
The eXtension initiative, led by the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), is part of a move to advance the science and practice of engagement and outreach of land-grant colleges and universities in their prospective states. For the latest news and developments on this initiative, please visit http://intranet.extension.org/

Program Updates and New Directions
Pest and Weed Mapping Technology
Insect prediction maps for crops such as corn and alfalfa are now available for growers across the state on the Web. Dennis Calvin, project director and professor of entomology, notes that the maps enable growers to anticipate an insect or weed pest's emergence and to time scouting and pest-management techniques accordingly. The project is funded by the USDA/Northeast IPM Program. Extension specialists from Cornell University and the University of Delaware also are involved in the project with Penn State. The 2003 growing season was the first full season with the system in place, and Calvin and William Curran, Penn State professor of weed science will be verifying data to ensure the maps are adequately tracking pest development across Pennsylvania. The team from Penn State included Ron Hoover, on-farm research coordinator; Kevin Frey, Armstrong County; Dave Messersmith, Wayne County; and Dave Johnson, Landisville Experiment Station manager. The maps and other information -- such as calendars of insect activities, economic thresholds, degree-day requirements, etc. -- can be accessed at http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/field_crops/field_crop_home.htm

Interagency Council on Food and Nutrition
Penn State Cooperative Extension is serving on the advisory board to the Governor's Interagency Council on Food and Nutrition. The council recently was reactivated with the purpose of addressing the issue of assuring every Pennsylvanian has affordable access to nutritious locally grown food, or knowledge of and access to nutritious locally grown food, or knowledge of and access to services to reach that level of security. The council comprises representatives from the Departments of Aging, Agriculture, Community and Economic Development, Education, Health and Public Welfare.

The council's mission is that "agencies share and communicate common vision and priorities to proactively reduce barriers to access, increase efficiencies in service delivery, and maximize resources from the state and federal levels."

To assist in its endeavors, the council formed an advisory board consisting of stakeholders with a strong interest in the nutritional needs of all Pennsylvanians. As a member of the advisory board, extension has an important role in helping the council fulfill its mission by assisting in carrying out one or more of its strategic imperatives.

New Composting Technique
A recent Penn State Cooperative Extension experiment by extension educators Gregory Martin, Lancaster County, and Clyde Myers, Berks County, along with Paul Patterson, a faculty member in Poultry Science, generated a new composting technique that reduces fly and other pest populations in commercial poultry production without spraying pesticides. Using poultry manure and hardwood shavings the team successfully created a natural compost. This method can be used as part of a producer's integrated pest management (IPM) program. The project was funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the findings were presented last summer at the Joint Meeting of the American Dairy Association, American Society of Animal Science and Poultry Science Association. For additional information on fly control and animal IPM visit http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/problemSolv.html

2005 Agricultural Summit
Nutrient management issues will be the focus of the 2005 Agricultural Summit to be held March 23-24, in Grantville, Pa. The summit will provide an opportunity for stakeholder groups to communicate and to address Pennsylvania's nutrient management concerns. The summit is cosponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Registration support for a limited number of extension educators LIKELY will be available from Jack Watson's program budget. He will be getting information out via e-mail about support, after the formal marketing materials become available.

Did you know that…

• 200 campus-based and field-based educators reported more than 19,400 days spent on Goal 1, empowering the agricultural system with knowledge to improve competitiveness, in fiscal year 2004.
  
• More than 12,500 days were reported on agricultural productivity and efficiency issues.
  
• 670,543 contacts were reported statewide in fiscal year 2004.
  

Well Done

Congratulations to the following extension faculty members and state program leader who also represented Penn State Cooperative Extension at the national 2004 Outreach Scholarship Conference held in October: Nicole Webster and Constance Flanagan, Agricultural and Extension Education; Audrey Maretzki, Food Science; and Jack Watson, Director's Office. We failed to recognize their participation in scholarly presentations with the other individuals who were listed in the last issue of the newsletter.

The Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Department recently received the inaugural award from the American Agricultural Economics Association for the Outstanding Departmental Extension Web site. Go to http://www.aers.psu.edu/ and click on the pictures to view goal statements and Web resources for each program area. Congratulations -- well done!

We Are Penn State Extension Proud

Nancy Ellen Kiernan, program evaluator for Penn State Cooperative Extension, received the 2004 Sustained Excellence in Extension Evaluation Award from the American Evaluation Association's Extension Education Evaluation Topical Interest Group. The award recognizes the conceptual, methodological and evaluation accomplishments that make outstanding contributions to extension and evaluation. Congratulations, Nancy Ellen.

Congratulations to two extension educators chosen as Outreach Interns for 2004-05. Nancy Kadwill, Penn State Cooperative Extension educator in Montgomery County, is interested in marketing 4-H youth programs and learning more about outreach within the College of Arts and Architecture. Laurie Weinreb-Welch, extension educator in Clinton County, will learn about collaborating with different outreach units within Penn State to enhance programming to meet strategic planning goals.

Kudos to the Penn State Cooperative Extension educators and volunteers who received recognition and awards for outstanding efforts from the following organizations and associations recently.

Epsilon Sigma Phi, Alpha Omicron Chapter

Early Career Award - Carolyn Wissenbach, Greene County
Distinguished Service - Michelle Rodgers, Capital Region
Extension Staff Assistant Award - Mary Manzoni, Northeast Region
Friend of Extension Award - Nancy Hottle, Bucks County
Team Award - Northeast Region Family Living Educators

Melinda Graver, Carbon County
Karen Thomas, Lackawanna County
Mary Ehret, Luzerne County
Christine Tomascik, Luzerne County
Dawn Olsen, Monroe County
Nancy Grotevant, Pike County
Debra Bryant, Wayne County
Karen Bracey, Wyoming County

Pennsylvania Association of County Agricultural Agents

2004 Distinguished Service Award - Laura Watts, Cumberland County and Melanie Barkley, Bedford County
2004 Achievement Award - Ken Balliet, Snyder County, and Susan Boser, Beaver County

Pennsylvania Association of Extension 4-H Agents

Achievement in Service Award - Cindy K. Arblaster, Westmoreland County
Distinguished Service Award - Wanda Braymer, Crawford County, and Toni K. Stuetz, Chester County
Meritorious Service Award - Robert Kessler, Franklin County

Pennsylvania Extension Association of Family and Consumer Science

Distinguished Service Award - Cathy F. Bowen, Agricultural and Extension Education and Fredrick W. Davis, Southeast Region
Continued Excellence Award - Janet L. McDougall, Mercer County
Grace Frysinger Fellowship - Jan F. Scholl, Agricultural and Extension Education
Florence Hall Award - Nancy B. Stevens, Montgomery County
Team: Brenda J. Williams and Robert J. Thee, Chester County, and Frances Alloway, Delaware County
New Professional Award - Denise H. Continenza, Lehigh County
Program Excellence Through Research - Jan F. Scholl, Agricultural and Extension Education
National Officer Recognition - Karen Thomas, Lackawanna County

Congratulations to the many other award recipients!

The Extension Spirit

We offer a special recognition to Greg Roth and the other faculty members¸ county-based extension educators, support services staff and administrators involved in the enormous task of responding to concerns resulting from flooding in parts of Pennsylvania this fall brought on by Hurricane Ivan. Their efforts truly represent the "extension spirit" and reflect our core values. They benefited by building internal and external relationships and creating partnerships that enable us to respond to unanticipated events and provide reliable knowledge to the citizens of Pennsylvania. The following examples provide specifics on two of these efforts.

From the first inquiries received on flooded crops, Dr. Roth, professor of agronomy, led the College of Agricultural Sciences' efforts to provide research-based information to producers, homeowners, private citizens and agencies in a timely fashion. Information and management recommendations were posted on several Web sites and shared with agronomy and dairy educators across the state. (See http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/biosecurity/EMERGENCY/flood.html). First, a meeting was organized to discuss concerns related to providing guidance and recommendations on marketing grain crops that had been exposed to flood waters. The meeting included Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) Secretary Wolff, PDA and other agency staff representatives, several key grain dealers and representatives of farm groups. PDA prepared a press release on this issue that included Penn State recommendations needed by producers. Further meetings resulted in the development of a handout summarizing the proper handling of flood-damaged corn based on information from key contacts at PDA and the Food and Drug Administration. Working with Greg Roth, the college's news unit developed a second news release to get this latest information out to the agricultural community.

Even as the weather forecasts were predicting that Pennsylvania would be in the path of hurricanes, the County Extension Emergency Response Contacts were being alerted to begin preparing for requests for information related to flooding, power outages, food safety issues and other flood-related information. A flood information section was created and posted on every county extension Web site. The county emergency staff used their media contacts to help promote to the public the Web resources as well as the process for obtaining flood information. Individuals and agency personnel obtained valuable information directly from their local cooperative extension offices and from Web sites. Penn State Cooperative Extension's quick response in providing resources brought a note of thanks immediately from the municipal services coordinator for Armstrong County Planning and Development thanking cooperative extension for providing information that could be used by their county team as they proceeded with flood recovery efforts.

Congratulations and thank you to all of the people who were and are involved in these outstanding team efforts! Your contributions and collaboration with federal agency officials, state and local officials and communities in gathering and disseminating timely information to the general public through the Web, news releases, newsletters, group meetings, interviews and one-on-one contacts is to be commended.

Leadership Thoughts

Breaking the Rules

"There are two types of rules: laws and conventions. Laws are passed by governments and enforced by police. Conventions are standard or common ways of thinking only by your natural tendency to do things the way they've always been done.

"To succeed in a tough, competitive, and fast-changing society, you have to be willing to defy convention and try something new or different when the situation calls for it.

"Sometimes the ideal solution to your current problem is the opposite of what everyone else is doing. To survive and thrive in your business or career, you often have to offer something that is better, cheaper, newer, and more convenient - all at once.

"Be prepared to innovate, to break out of the mold and 'go boldly where no one has ever gone before.'" (Tracy, 2003, p. 257)

Reference: Tracy, B. (2003). Many miles to go: a modern parable for business success. Canada: Entrepreneur Press.

The Well Done section highlights a particular noteworthy extension education effort by an individual or team.

The We Are Penn State Extension Proud section recognizes an extension employee's outstanding accomplishments.

The Extension Spirit section enables Penn State Cooperative Extension employees to share meaningful work experiences, articulate the values and goals behind their efforts, and present inspirational ideas.

Send your suggestions for the Well Done, We Are Penn State Extension Proud, and The Extension Spirit sections to Margaret Koble, mak10@psu.edu. Nominations will be reviewed and selected by the director. The deadline for receiving nominations for the next issue of the newsletter is January 17.

NOTE:
After being distributed, issues of Extension Directions will be archived at: http://www.extension.psu.edu/Newsletters/archives.htm
Please sent submissions to Margaret Koble, mak10@psu.edu