Future of Cooperative Extension in Waterloo discussion

Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension will host an important discussion of the role and future of Cornell Cooperative Extension in the 21st Century called Extension Reconsidered on Thursday, September 18th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Seneca County Association’s on the 3rd floor of the Main Street Shop Centre on East Main Street in Waterloo. Dinner will be provided. All those who have an interest in CCE’s educational mission are urged to attend.May 8, 2014, marked the centennial of the Smith-Lever Act, which established the Cooperative Extension System, a permanent, cooperative partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture, land-grant colleges and universities, and state and county governments. Through Extension, land-grant institutions eventually placed a new kind of academic professional called an “extension agent” in nearly every county in the nation. Today, as Extension prepares to mark its centennial, the system employs tens of thousands of community-based educators and campus-based faculty and staff. It pursues a remarkably broad scope of work through educational programs that address community food systems, nutrition and health, youth and families, business development and retention, conservation, and much more. Centennials are a time for celebration. But they can also be moments for careful and critical reflection. For the past century, Extension’s contributions to agriculture, natural resource management, family and consumer sciences, and youth development have been widely valued. Yet there is a need for new and creative ideas about how Extension professionals and volunteer leaders might improve the ways they engage people in addressing the new social, technological, and economic conditions of the 21st century. The Extension Reconsidered initiative is bringing together citizens across the country to reflect and deliberate on the legacy and value of Extension and its potential in the future. All are welcome to join the conversation on the future of Extension. Notes from the discussion will be used by Cornell campus staff to help shape CCE’s direction in New York as well as the national conversation. Please RSVP by emailing Ave Bauder at [email protected], Christie Brewer at [email protected], or calling 315-539-9251 so food can be planned for. If you are unable to attend but still want to contribute or learn more about the Extension Reconsidered initiative, the you can join the conversation at http://extrecon.cce.cornell.edu. For nearly 100 years, Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension has served the people of the County, putting to practical use the scholarship and research of Cornell University and the national land grant system in the areas of agriculture and food systems sustainability; families, nutrition, health and safety (human ecology); youth development (4-H); environmental and natural resource enhancement; and community and economic vitality. The office is located at 308 Main Street Shop Centre in Waterloo and the telephone number is 315-539-9251.