What has been consistent at every national Extension meeting that I attended in the past two years is that Extension is being redefined. The focus is to break out of the traditional mode of thinking or way of doing things. Extension is being advised to take risks, to embrace the new, or to consider the nontraditional. Administrators at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System are working to restructure the organization, while trying to successfully launch a marketing campaign to inform the general public about who we are and what we do. As a relative newcomer to Extension, I suppose my question is what challenges lie ahead as the organization strives to redefine itself? Such a question was answered at the 2003 Urban Extension Conference in Chicago earlier this year.
In February 2002, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) published a report titled The Extension System: A Vision for the 21st Century. The Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) developed the report in response to Returning to our Roots: The Engaged Institution. This is a document developed by the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities (Kellogg Commission) that focuses on how state and land-grant institutions might engage individuals, organizations, and communities in ways that are mutually beneficial. The underpinning of each report was echoed throughout the 2003 Urban Extension Conference Meeting the Challenge of a Changing America.
Former Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver II opened the Urban Pre-conference session urging Extension administrators to "take risks" in developing urban programs. He challenged the crowd to find out what the people want and to use contemporary methods to reach them. University of Illinois Specialist Jane Scherer also shared Cleaver's sentiments in her Marketing, Resource Development and Accountability workshop. Scherer advised participants to meet the needs of their clients, while making programs "relevant, timely, accurate, understandable, and accountable."
The general idea is to create programs that adequately meet the needs of America's changing and diverse populations. Such demographic challenges are being met in the Relatives as Parents Program developed by Family Development Specialist Dr. Wilma Ruffin or in the Spanish-language website developed by Communications Specialist Jean Hall-Dwyer and Animal Scientist Julio E. Correa. (Both projects were featured at the 2003 Urban Extension Conference.)
While conference proceedings centered on diversity, it also challenged participants to look inward and to change the way they think or respond to people and situations. This was clear in the motivational address Renewing Your Commitment to Helping People delivered by Wally "Famous Amos," founder of the cookie company that bears his name. Amos cited familiar insights such as "together everyone achieves more" through the art of storytelling. In addition, conference speaker and Hartford College Professor Dr. Allan Johnson spoke on the issues of privilege and power. While there are variations of privilege and power, Johnson specifically spoke on white privilege.
According to the author of Privilege, Power and Difference, racism is no longer an issue. In its place is a system called privilege. Dr. Johnson stated that each one of us subscribes to this system in our own way and that white privilege is perceived as being normal and deserved. Essentially, privilege occurs when the dominant population believes that it has the authority to determine what is normal or the right way to act, think, or even look in society. And those outside the dominant population are expected to assimilate.
Although Johnson is a white male, he urged all participants to examine our relationship to this system. This form of privilege is a concrete example as to why diversity or the acceptance and appreciation of people, cultures, customs, and what they have to offer must be integrated into Extension's programming efforts as stated in the ECOP report. Furthermore, respecting what people or partners bring to the table, speaks to the Kellogg Commission's definition of an engaged institution.
The engaged institution knows how to integrate research and expertise to help solve community problems. Does this sound familiar? It should because it is the very heart of Extension. However, according to the Kellogg Commission, true institutional engagement involves a seven-step process.
True engagement is making sure that we listen to the communities we serve and adequately meet their needs. It's about respecting those partnerships, learning how to remain neutral if research and the needs of the public clash, and being accessible to the public. It involves integrating scholarship with the mission of our institutions, and making sure that departments or units are in concert with one another. And it's about determining whether there are adequate resources to implement engagement. In short, it is similar to a self-study, a way in which institutions examine strengths, weaknesses, and resources in order to effectively meet the needs of their constituents when the winds of change begin to blow.
I imagine that a similar process is taking place among committees charged with the task of restructuring Extension. But as the face of America becomes more diverse and farmlands turn into urban sprawl, there should be no doubt that urban or nontraditional programs are meeting the needs of populations across the nation and certainly, here in Alabama. The challenge now rests in expanding the development of Extension programs to further engage communities in symbiotic relationships. This requires nothing short of the ability to transition to the second power.
References
ECOP. (February 2001). The extension system: A vision for the 21st century. New York, NY: NASULGC.
Kellogg Commission. (January 2001). Returning to our roots: Executive summaries of the Reports of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. NASULGC. Retrieved June 6, 2003.
University of Illinois Extension. (2003). Meeting the challenge of a changing America: 2003 urban extension conference and pre-conference. Chicago, IL.