The 25-Year Court Decree Ends: What's Next for Extension? By Wendi Williams, Editor

The historical Alabama higher education desegregation case, Knight v. Alabama, began in 1981 in an attempt to "eliminate the vestiges" of racial discrimination against African Americans in Alabama's institutions of higher learning. For 25 years, the plaintiffs fought hard to remedy injustices that have existed since the Jim Crow era. According to the presiding judge, United States District Judge Harold Murphy, predominately white colleges and universities in Alabama have done their part to eradicate "to the extent practical and consistent with sound educational practice, the vestiges of de jure segregation remaining in their institutional conditions, policies and practices, and have demonstrated their commitment to continuing to operate in a constitutional and non-discriminatory fashion." Still others, including plaintiff, Alabama State Representative John Knight, will agree there is "much more that needs to be done."

In accordance with the Court Decree, Alabama A&M University and Auburn University have formally merged two Cooperative Extension programs into one "System" known as the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Extension). Extension has undergone many organizational changes and administrators continue to work hard to see that the court's mandate is still carried out. Yet, the question remains, "What's next for Extension?" Surely, one has to wonder what dynamics occur within an organization when two institutions with separate identities merge.

First, from where I sit as a communications policy writer, it is clear that Extension has an identity crisis. There is much work that must be done within the organization to ensure that we understand who we are as this new system. This is critical before we can effectively communicate who we are to the public. For example, the public and some Extension staff still refer to the organization as the "Extension Service," while others identify Extension as the "System" or "ACES" in the public's eye. What this tells me is that we need to do more training and our homework by reading internal marketing material and/or policies and procedures that clearly define who we are and what we are to call ourselves when addressing specific audiences.

Second, it is time for us (staff) to acknowledge that each university and individual brings a wealth of talent and experience to the table. Both institutions have capable people to carry out the mission of Extension. Why must we try to reinvent the wheel when the wheel already exists? No person or institution has all answers, nor can it serve every population in the state of Alabama. We have wonderful and effective products and services already in place that enable us to reach our targeted audiences, the people of Alabama. In the words of singer Aretha Franklin, what it all boils down to is R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We should strive to treat each other and both institutions with respect at all levels of interaction.

These are just a couple of changes that are necessary to ensure that we remain on the right track, and I am certain such changes occur within organizations that have undergone similar merging processes.

As we embark upon a new year and the end of Knight v. Alabama, we can certainly say for the record that we are indeed one Alabama Cooperative Extension System that should be known to the public as EXTENSION, the outreach arm of Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities. We have and will continue to create effective programs that enhance the lives of individuals, families, and communities across the state of Alabama.

What we are to become in the next decade will definitely depend on us---the people who are left after the court dust has settled to continue fulfilling the land-grant legacy of service. After all, in spite of experiencing the internal birth pangs of an e-merging organization, it is still our responsibility to "take the university to the people."

References
Alabama House of Representatives. (December 2006). Statement from state representative John F. Knight, Jr.: Alabama's 25-year higher education desegregation lawsuit comes to a close.

Knightsims.com. (December 2006). Knight & Sims vs. Alabama. Case Info. Retrieved January 8, 2007.

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