As presented to Cornell Cooperative Extension Directors and Board Presidents on June 12, 2014

1. Extension Reconsidered
An invitation to join the conversation
Monica Hargraves
Rod Howe
Paul Treadwell
June 2014

2. Why reconsider? Why now?
• 2014 is the 100-year anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act
which established the Cooperative Extension System.
• Thirteen land-grant colleges and universities are engaged in
a national “Extension Reconsidered” project.
• The state-level projects are bringing citizens together to
reflect and deliberate on the value of Extension and its
potential to renew and strengthen our communities, our
democracy and our civic culture in the 21st century.

3. HOW CAN CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION CONTINUE TO BE
RELEVANT,
ENGAGED,
ACCESSIBLE,
AND VALUED
IN ITS WORK WITH NYS FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES?
The challenge

4. Our Goal
is to bring to light the diverse ways of seeing, and
doing, the work of Extension and to foster dialog and
deliberation that informs CCE’s on-going work of
community engagement.

5. Extension Reconsidered contributes to an ongoing
dialog
2011: CCE celebrated its Centennial.
2013: CCE developed a new Strategic Plan.
Now CCE is moving forward to put that Plan into
action.
2014: Extension Reconsidered brings in additional
insights and dialogs
Please join the conversation and add your voice!

6. Cornell’s Sesquicentennial
• 1865-2015

7. Calling all voices …
Extension Reconsidered seeks insights and perspectives from
all parts of the CCE system and beyond:
• Faculty
• Staff and leadership on campus and in county
associations
• Educators
• Community and University Partners
• Program Participants
• Collaborators
• People who don’t know Extension (yet)

8. CCE’s Extension Reconsidered project invites you to
share your ideas and insights about:
• The challenges CCE should address…
• The strengths CCE has, and will need…
• The innovations and changes CCE should be part of…

10. Your insights and contributions will:
• Expand and inform discussions and decisions about CCE’s
role and work within, and among, campus and counties
• Shape the implementation of the “University-Community
Engagement” objective in CCE’s Strategic Plan
• Contribute to wider understanding of Extension’s role in
Cornell’s vision for engagement in the 21st century

11. Ways to make your voice heard
The CCE Extension Reconsidered blog:
• http://extrecon.cce.cornell.edu/

13. Deliberative Forums
• The goal of deliberative forums is to engage diverse stakeholders in a
process of discussion and reflection.
• This process will contribute to local dialogs and relationships, and
will help shape the implementation of Strategic Plan Initiative A
“CCE will serve as the flagship for the University’s federally and statutorily mandated efforts in
public engagement and outreach, thereby ensuring that the research, knowledge, and
collaborative potential across the University is readily accessed and utilized by New York State
residents, institutions, and communities.” People, Purpose, Impact” A Strategy for
Engagement in the 21st Century. Cornell Cooperative Extension (2012)

14. Civic Ensemble
• http://civicensemble.org/

15. Many formats for participating
• Facilitated dialogs and deliberations
• County fairs
• The October 8th Big Event
• Technology
• Twitter
• PollEverywhere
• The blog
-The card

17. • Extension Reconsidered outreach and workshops at special events:
• Career Exploration
• Empire Farm Days
• NY State Fair
• Others to be suggested?
• Deliberative forums in:
• Broome
• Oneida
• Seneca
• On-campus
• Others, where interested
Throughout the summer

18. Extension Reconsidered:
The Big Conversation
• Extension Reconsidered: XXX, YYY, ZZZ
• October 8, 2014, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
• Please mark your calendars for this dynamic event.
• The October 8th event will be a culmination of the robust
conversations that will have occurred. Further, it will feature a
performance by Civic Ensemble that will immerse us in the differing
perspectives on engagement. After the performance there will be a
discussion on the gathered input, the performance and the
engagement models.

19. Multiple ways for you to be involved
• Contribute to the blog:
http://extrecon.cce.cornell.edu/
• Find us on twitter: @ExtRecon (and post to twitter)
• Host a Deliberative Forum
• Participate on October 8 and bring community members
• Be creative, we are here to support your ideas that will engage you
with your communities and partners