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Items of Interest
National CRED Indicators Webinar: Communicating our impacts
Join us for the National CRED Indicators Working Group Webinar: Communicating our impacts on Thursday, May 8, 2 PM ET/1PM CT/12PM MT/11AM PT
With renewed interest in the National Impacts database and NIFA’s conversion to the impacts focused NIFA Reporting System, the need for better communicating the impacts of Extension programs and projects could not be greater. The Community Resource and Economic Development (CRED) National Indicators Workgroup will be hosting a webinar during which several participating institutions will share examples of their current Impact Narratives to foster discussion and mutual learning.
Those interested in learning from the experiences of others in crafting good impact narratives should plan on participating.
New Training Update: Understanding Heirs’ Property at the Community Level
SRDC is joined by the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center at Alcorn State University and the Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center to provide a train-the-trainer workshop for Extension professionals titled “Understanding Heirs’ Property at the Community Level.”
The next training is scheduled to take place on June 6 & 7, in Texas. To keep up with future training opportunities, you can visit the Heirs’ Property landing page. To be added to the Heirs’ Property listserv and learn more about this topic, please email Rachel Welborn at rachel.welborn@msstate.edu.
Regional Spotlight
Kentucky State University Expands Community & Urban Development
Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Services are now available at our new office in West Louisville, Kentucky! Under the leadership of Gill Finley Jr., the Community Resource Development team (CRD) has expanded to provide educational programming and resources to limited-resource farmers, individuals, youth, and families in historically underserved communities. We have partnered with Kentucky State’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Family Nutrition Education Program (FNEP) to increase food access and to address nutrition insecurities and health and wellness disparities.
Our CRD team also specializes in entrepreneurship, generational wealth building, heirs' property initiatives, leadership development, disaster education, local food system justice initiatives, innovative agriculture technology, and hydroponic farming systems.
The Kentucky State CRD team acknowledges and thanks Governor Andy Beshear, Secretary Eric Friedlander of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Kentucky State Interim President Ronald A. Johnson, and Dean Kirk Pomper of the College of Agriculture, Community, and the Sciences for their continued support of Kentucky State University’s Cooperative Extension Program to help enable our university's intended future and mission to serve marginalized communities.
For more information on current programs, or to partner with the West Louisville office, please contact Mr. Gill Finley at gill.finley@kysu.edu or 502-597-6389.
Grant Connections
STAKEHOLDER ANNOUNCEMENT: USDA Accepting Applications to Spur Job Growth and Economic Development in Rural Areas
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) is accepting applications for funding to help create jobs and economic growth in rural communities. USDA is making loans and grants available under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) program. Through this program, USDA provides zero-interest loans and grants to current and former Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Program and Telecommunications Program borrowers and utilities that are eligible to receive assistance from the RUS Electric or Telecommunication Programs.
Applicants will use the funds to help local businesses finance projects that will create and retain jobs or finance community facility projects. Projects must be in rural areas or towns with a population of 50,000 or less.
Applications must be submitted to the USDA Rural Development State Office where the project is located no later than 4:30 p.m. local time on June 30, 2023.
Interested applicants are encouraged to contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office well in advance of the application deadline to ask questions about their project, the program, or the application process. Additional information is available on page 53443 of the Aug 31, 2022, Federal Register. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
Appalachia Digital Equity Accelerator Grants
Connect Humanity has partnered with the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to work with 50 of Appalachia’s least-connected communities, preparing them to build next-generation broadband networks.
Grants are available to identify these communities' digital needs and create a roadmap to meet them. The project is open to applicants covering: Appalachian communities in Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
These communities may apply to receive a Connect Humanity Digital Equity Planning Grant to create a holistic Digital Equity Connectivity Plan to help secure partnerships and financing to advance internet access in their communities.
Learn more about the application process. Deadline to complete the readiness assessment is April 30, 2023. To find out more about this program, email grants@connecthumanity.fund.
Open Data Framework
The Open Data Framework program will build a framework needed to create a neutral and secure data repository and cooperative where producers, universities and nonprofit entities can store and share data in ways that will foster agricultural innovation and will support technological progress, production efficiencies, and environmental stewardship. Applications may only be submitted by entities such as State agricultural experiment stations; colleges and universities; university research foundations; other research institutions and organizations; Federal agencies; national laboratories; private organizations, foundations, or corporations; individuals; or any group consisting of two or more of the above entities.
The opportunity closes on May 8, 2023. For more information, view the grant page here or contact Ann E. Stapleton.
Job Opportunities
Assistant Administrator, Community Development and Outreach, Fort Valley State University
Open until filled.
The assistant Administrator for Community Development and Outreach will develop, coordinate, and facilitate programming through the Cooperative Extension Program designed to assist communities to realize their long-term goals; through provision of education, technical assistance, and opportunities to secure grants that support strategic planning and community visioning to provide a foundation for economic development. Coordinate or assist in the coordination of programs through outreach efforts with USDA Agencies, State, private and public and nonprofit entities. Master's degree in Agricultural Economics, economics, business administration or other business disciplines is required. Preference will be given to applicants with extension and strong community development experiences. Applicants with degrees in closely related disciplines with community development experiences may also apply.
Assistant Professor, Nutrition and Food Safety, Family & Consumer Sciences Department, University of Tennessee
Open until filled.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Department is looking to fill the position of Assistant Professor, Nutrition. The position will work to develop and teach effective, research-based nutrition programs across the state, which enhance the lives of Tennesseans. The position will work collaboratively with cross-functional teams within and outside of the FCS department and the university to contribute to the mission of the FCS department, UT Extension, and the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA).
Associate Professor, Community Health, Family & Consumer Sciences Department, University of Tennessee
The position of Associate Professor in Community Health, Family & Consumer Sciences Department is responsible for planning, developing, and implementing research-based adult and you Extension programs in nutrition to promote safe food handling practices, healthy dietary habits, and to improve health and nutritional status among Tennesseans, including, but not limited to, Extension programs for diet-related disease prevention and management, food safety, and food preservation.
Non-Tenure Track Assistant Research Professor, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
Open until filled.
The NERCRD seeks applications for a one-year Non-Tenure Track Assistant Research Professor, with good chances of renewal, subject to funding. The Non-Tenure Track Assistant Research Professor will be responsible for conducting economic and statistical analyses on a wide range of rural development topics, as determined by the Center’s emerging needs and priorities. There is a strong expectation that this research will contribute both to the science base as well as to informing U.S. rural economic development policy. Importantly, the opportunity exists to work with Penn State’s Census Data Center. Examples of topics to be studied range from policy impact assessments (including the impact of farm subsidies, agritourism activities and extension education); to the interdependence of rural and urban areas, as well as agricultural and non-agricultural industries; to the determinants of local economic well-being and health.
Candidates should upload a letter of application, names, and addresses of three professional references, curriculum vitae, and official transcripts at the time of application. Questions can be directed to Stephan J. Goetz, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, The Pennsylvania State University at sjg16@psu.edu. Screening of applications will begin March 8, 2023, and the position will remain open until filled.
Director of Agricultural Research & Extension Communications, West Virginia State University
Open until filled; first consideration given to applications submitted before March 24, 2023
The Director of Agricultural Research and Extension Communications is responsible for the production and dissemination of information via written, video-graphic, online and spoken means with emphasis on graphic design and new media management. The position reports directly to the Vice President and Dean and Director of Agricultural Research and Extension. Duties include coordination and production of organizational publications; social media management; website content management; assisting staff with programmatic marketing needs; representation at campus and community events; and maintaining a catalog of published materials and photographs.
Information accepted as emailed in a Microsoft Word or PDF format to rdemployment@wvstate.edu. Qualified candidates may submit a cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript and contact information for three professional references (name, title, address, phone number, and email address).
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education, Virginia Tech
Open until filled.
The Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education (ALCE), in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Virginia Tech, invites applications for a Research Assistant Professor with a focus on interdisciplinary and community-based food systems research. This is a 12-month, non-tenure track position with full benefits and the opportunity for promotion. The position will support the Virginia Tech (VT) Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, which is housed in CALS as an Extension and outreach center with community-based programming, research, and teaching aims and activity. Through its community-based and participatory work, the Center asserts the importance of epistemic justice and inclusion by valuing and uplifting diverse forms of knowledge and ways of knowing. As such, we encourage those committed to the promotion of justice and equity as core values in their scholarship to apply.
Associate Professor, Community Health, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Open until May 30, 2023
UT Extension Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) seeks a Community Health faculty member to contribute to the missions of the FCS department, UT Extension, and the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA). This position is responsible to the Extension Assistant Dean and Department Head of Family & Consumer Sciences. The position will work to develop and teach effective, research-based programs across the state that enhance the lives of Tennesseans. The candidate will work collaboratively with cross-functional teams within and outside of the FCS department and the university to contribute to the missions of the FCS department, UT Extension, and UTIA.
The application should include a letter addressing the required and desired qualifications stated in the position announcement, a curriculum vitae, names and contact information of three references, three confidential letters of recommendation, and a copy of transcripts showing degree(s) conferred. Inquiries regarding the position should be directed to the chair of the search committee: Dr. Heather Sedges, (865) 974-8193 or hsedges@utk.edu.
Assistant/Associate Professor, Rural Development, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Open until filled.
The Assistant/Associate Professor-Rural Development is a non-tenure track faculty member of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service and part of the Community, Professional and Economic Development (CPED) team. CPED fulfills organizational support functions in the areas of navigating the extension career pathway, program development, and professional development. The position is responsible for developing a nationally recognized extension education and applied research program focusing on economic development with strong emphasis on supporting economic, social, and quality of life advancement in rural Arkansas counties.
Conferences, Workshops, Trainings
National Summit on State Planning for Digital Equity and Economic Inclusion
In-person: April 27-28, 2023, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Atlanta, Georgia
States are invited to participate in a two-day hands-on summit to develop their Digital Equity Plans in preparation for upcoming federal funding. Extension can play a significant role in this work. The summit focuses on both digital access (including literacy) as well as financial literacy and resources.
National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) 2023 Conference
In-person: April 30 – May 3, 2023, Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.
Grants Support Technical Assistance Workshop
Virtual: May 8-12, 2023 (Each day of the training starts at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET and ends at 1 PM CT / 2 PM ET.)
USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will have a technical assistance webinar to help researchers learn more about different funding opportunities. This 5- day event will focus on competitive programs, strengthening grant writing and developing skills to write for success as well as award process and management.
The Rural Sociological Society (RSS) 2023 Conference
In-person: August 2-6, 2023, Burlington, Vermont
RSS President, John J. Green, SRDC Director
Theme: Pursuing Equity and Access in Development: Roles for Rural-Focused Public Scholars.
National Extension Tourism (NET) 2023 National Conference
In-person: September 24-27, 2023, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
This year’s conference theme is “Envisioning the Future of Extension in Tourism.” Abstracts will be accepted through April 24, 2023. Award nominations will be accepted through April 30, 2023.
Extension Disaster Education Network Conference
In-person: September 26-29, 2023, Savannah, Georgia
Abstract submissions are due April 28, 2023, at 5 PM ET.
The 2023 EDEN Annual Conference Committee invites EDEN Delegates, Points-of-Contact, Extension Professionals, and Researchers to submit an abstract to be considered for presentation at the Extension Disaster Education Network Conference, September 26th-29th, 2023 in Savannah, GA.