February 2008, Vol. 4 No. 2

A note from the Director...
Exciting News About eXtension!

I had the opportunity to be part of the formal launching of the eXtension Web-based system last week in Washington, D.C., during the 2008 USDA AgOutlook Conference. With hundreds of people in attendance, a sizeable number of eXtension Communities of Practice unveiled their Web sites for viewing by the public. It was an exceptional meeting that really propelled the Cooperative Extension Service into a new era of delivering science-based information to our stakeholders on a 24/7/365 basis. 

As one of the coordinators of the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities Community of Practice, or CoP, I am very excited about the new Web site that a very talented team of Extension educators and Regional Rural Development Center staff now officially have available to the public. While the site remains a work in progress, I hope you will make this valuable source of information and educational opportunities known to people who are current or emerging entrepreneurs, and to communities that want to take a look at how they can create an environment that is more hospitable to entrepreneurs.

There are two important announcements about the eXtension Entrepreneurs and Their Communities initiative that I hope you will pass onto to your colleagues and your customers. The first is to have land-grant faculty (Extension, Research and Administration) be formal members of the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities CoP. It’s a great way to become a part of a talented team of land-grant faculty who want to be an active part of strengthening the entrepreneurship-related work of the land-grant system.

The second opportunity is targeted to both our community development stakeholders and our Extension educators. The Entrepreneurs and Their Communities CoP is hosting a series of Webinars on a variety of entrepreneurship-related topics. These one-hour, Web-based sessions are free of charge. Check our “SRDC Items of Interest“ below to find out how to sign up for these excellent learning opportunities. Please spread the word to your colleagues and constituents.   

Bo Beaulieu
Director

Sign-Up to Join the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities eXtension Community of Practice If you are a land-grant based Extension educator, researcher or administrator, the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities eXtension Community of Practice, or CoP, invites to you to join our team. It’s a great way to learn firsthand about the new resources being added to our Web site as well as upcoming webinars. It’s also an excellent way to offer your opinions on what should be incorporated into the Web site in the future. Joining the CoP is easy. Just complete the information on our Web site at https://people.extension.org/account/signup  Free Webinars from eXtension’s Entrepreneurs and Their Communities Team eXtension's Entrepreneurs and Their Communities team is holding free online workshops in upcoming months. The March 26 webinar, which will take place from 1:30-2:30 p.m., is titled “Marketing Value-Added Products: Where Do I Sell All This Stuff?” Join us to learn what makes one value-added product a cash generator and another product a money pit. The presenter for this session will be Ginger S. Myers, Regional Extension Marketing Specialist with Maryland Cooperative Extension. Ginger has over 25 years of experience in agri-business and small farm production. She has worked as an agricultural marketing specialist in Maryland since 1999. The April 23 webinar, also at 1:30 p.m., will focus on “Welcoming Entrepreneurs to Your Community.” Communities of all sizes are starting to recognize the value of home-grown businesses as a vital part of economic development. So how can Extension, local officials and community and economic development professionals help create a climate where entrepreneurs feel welcome and supported? Co-facilitators Greg Wise, UW Extension and Charlie French, UNH Cooperative Extension, will share tips and tools communities can implement to encourage entrepreneurship as an economic development strategy. No pre-registration is required for either of these workshops and there is no fee. To participate, simply visit http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop/ a few minutes prior to each call and enter your information as a guest. Sister Rural Development Center Names New Director The SRDC is pleased to share that our sister center, the Western Rural Development Center based at Utah State University, recently named Dr. Don Albrecht its new director. Dr. Albrecht accepted the position after a 27-year career at Texas A&M University, and will assume fulltime responsibility as WRDC Director on July 1, 2008. Dr. Albrecht has published extensively on the issues confronting the communities and residents of rural America. His research focuses on natural resource concerns, economic restructuring, demographic trends, poverty, inequality and education. He is the 2007 President of the Southern Rural Sociological Association, is active in the Rural Sociological Society, and is past Associate Editor of Rural Sociology.  Dr. Albrecht received his Ph.D. in Rural Sociology from Iowa State University and his bachelor’s in Forestry and master’s in Sociology from Utah State University.

• Delta Region Promoted on New Web Site
  The Mid South Delta Initiative recently released a new site focusing on the Delta Region of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. With a goal of promoting the region, the site includes news and information, stories about transformation in the Delta and various interactive pages. See the new Delta site at http://www.liftingupthedelta.org/
  
  
• New Factsheets from Pew Hispanic Center Compile Info on the Nation’s Foreign-Born Populations
  Recently released reports by the Pew Hispanic Center provide in-depth information on the Latino and foreign-born populations currently residing in the United States. They provide estimates of the size and characteristics of the resident population, which includes people living in households and, for the first time, people living in group quarters.
  To view the factsheet on the nation’s foreign-born population, go to http://pewhispanic.org/factsheets/factsheet.php?FactsheetID=36
  To view the factsheet on Hispanics in the United States, go to http://pewhispanic.org/factsheets/factsheet.php?FactsheetID=35
  
  
• National Needs Fellowships in Rural Community Sustainability Available
  In fall of 2008, the Agricultural Economics department at the University of Missouri will be offering three National Needs Fellowships master’s degrees in rural community sustainability. The objective of the fellows’ curriculum is to build competencies that address the interconnections and resulting complexities of economics, resource use, public policy, local government and social systems associated with the viability and sustainability of rural communities. Incoming fellows will receive an annual stipend of $18,000 for two years, with additional support for travel and research expenses. To learn more or to apply, visit http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/agecon/grad/
  
  

• Building Communities Educational Series, "Community and Economic Development"
  September 14, 2007 -- June 13, 2008
  Web Trainings
  http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/communities/Building_Community.cfm
  
  
• SARE 20th Anniversary National Conference
  March 25-27, 2008
  Kansas City, Missouri
  http://sare.org/2008Conference/index.htm
  
  
• 2008 Priester National Extension Health Conference
  "Building Healthy Communities, One Person at a Time"
  April 8-10, 2008
  Raleigh, North Carolina
  http://continuingeducation.ncsu.edu/PNEHC/
  
  
• Third Minnesota Conference on Sustainable Tourism
  “Stepping Up to Sustainability”
  April 15, 2008
  Duluth, Minnesota
  http://www.tourism.umn.edu/education/conference/index.html
  
  
• 6th Biennial ANREP (Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals)
  "Leopolds legacy: Extension's Response to a Changing World"
  May 20-23, 2008
  Madison, Wisconsin
  http://www.anrep.org/
  
  
• The Society for the Study of Social Problems 58th Annual Meeting
  "Crossing Borders: Activist Scholarship, Globalization, and Social Justice"
  July 31-August 2, 2008
  Boston, Massachusetts
  http://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/23
  
  
• Regional Quality Growth Conference
  “Building Sustainable Communities for the 21st Century”
  August 12-14, 2008
  Charleston, South Carolina
  http://www.southeastwaterforum.org/roundtables/default.asp
  **Abstract deadline is March 14, 2008**
  
  
• Galaxy III Conference
  "Celebrating the Extension System: Strengths, Diversity and Unique Qualities"
  September 15-19, 2008
  Indianapolis, Indiana
  Abstract Submission Form: http://ext.msstate.edu/survey/galaxy/

• Linda Willis recently assumed the role of Harris County Extension Director with Texas Cooperative Extension.

• Dr. William F. Brown recently accepted the appointment of Dean for Research and Director of the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station.

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