As you know the legislature has directed Virginia Cooperative Extension and
other agencies to restructure in order to save scant state funds and the
instruction is to avoid duplication of efforts. We will use this page to
try to keep you up to date on the happenings.
I have been asked to work on
the committee with Tony Wolf and Ozzie Abaye. I’m confident that Extension MGs
will be asked to participate in the “Maintain a Local Presence” survey. Thank
you for staying informed and engaged in the process!
The restructuring task force has been working over the last few weeks to
develop plans that will engage agents, specialists, local partners and other
internal and external stakeholders. It is important that we include multiple
and divergent perspectives in the discussion about our future. The initial
effort is to gather information about the needs of stakeholders, options about
program delivery, ideas for strengthening the Extension system, and ideas
about organizational structure.
At
this stage, three groups are working to gather this information. Within the
next few weeks, I expect that agents, specialists, stakeholders and others
will be contacted by the subcommittees. The subcommittees will be using
surveys and face-to-face interviews with stakeholders in implementing their
plans.
The
sub groups are:
Enhance
Campus Field Interactions:
This team is led by Tony Wolf and Ozzie Abaye. Drs. Wolf and Abaye have
assembled a sub-committee of about 40 individuals including field
faculty/agents and specialists at both VT and VSU in A&NR, FCS, 4-H/youth, and
CV. The committee also includes AREC directors, campus department heads, and
extension representatives from Veterinary medicine and the College of Natural
Resources. A subcommittee consisting of Gordon Groover, Scott Greiner, Scott
Baker, Joyce Latimer, Steve Hopkins, Michael Lachance, Reza Rafie, Lonnie
Johnson, Susan Hutson and Bob Smith (College of Natural Resources) helped
define a questionnaire that will be used to gauge how agents and specialists
could enhance their interaction for improved efficiency and efficacy of
program conduct. The larger sub-committee will receive and complete the
questionnaire before the end of July.
Maintain a Local
Presence.
This team is led by
Lonnie Johnson and Jewel Hairston. The team identified a beta test group
consisting of 3 Extension Agents, 1 UAA, 1 local volunteer, and an FNP Program
Assistant who piloted a survey that will be sent to stakeholders, city and
county government, and the agents and staff in the field. This survey will be
implemented during the last few weeks of July.
Enhance
Relationships.
The team is led by
Eddie Hannah and Martha Walker. This team has formed a subcommittee
consisting of Andy Overbay, Bobby Clark, Wendy Herdman, Leslie Prillaman,
Doris Heath, Franklin Jackson, Karen Gehrt, Ralph Byers, David Cundif and
Tonia Hossain. The team is working to identify a list of key partners and
stakeholders who will be invited to one-on-one interviews with members of the
sub-committee. Using a structured interview approach, the committee will
gather information about their perception and needs for Extension. Interviews
are expected to occur between the last week of July and mid August.
I
am very encouraged by the level of work, creativeness and thoroughness of both
the task force and subcommittees. There is a great deal to be accomplished and
I am pleased by the effort to include our constituents in this process.
The
next meeting of the task force will be July 22 and I expect to be able to
provide another progress update following the meeting.
In
the interim, please feel free to contact me, or Task Force Co-Chairs, Martin
Daniel and Brian Calhoun.
Regards,
Alan Grant, Dean
104 Hutcheson Hall, 0402
Blacksburg, VA 24061
540/231-4152
calsdean@vt.edu
Fellow
Volunteer:
I am sure
that you recall that the Prince William County, Virginia Cooperative Extension
(VCE) faced significant funding challenges this past winter with proposed
budget cuts from both the Prince William County Board of Supervisors as well
as the Virginia General Assembly. These proposed cuts would have negatively
impacted and perhaps eliminated some of our community service programs. To
address this financial crisis, members of the Prince William Extension
Leadership Council decided to reach out to our approximately 850 Prince
William Extension volunteers to ensure that all volunteers knew about the
proposed cuts and to encourage all of us to contact our legislators to ask
that funding be maintained for our Extension programs. You may recall the
email messages that we sent to you with information about these budget
proposals and asking for your help. As Extension volunteers, we share an
interest in maintaining our programs for the benefit of our community.
Many
of you telephoned, emailed and visited your representatives and apparently we
were successful as the cuts were restored at the County level and deferred at
the State level. Thank you so much for taking the time to contact our
legislators and letting them know that Extension programs are important to you
and our community.
At the
present time, a State strategic planning committee is in the process of
formulating a restructuring program that may eliminate or combine Extension
offices primarily in urban areas that include Prince William. In other words,
the funding crisis still exists and we must ensure that we communicate our
concerns year round at every available opportunity to our legislators.
I am
attaching a copy of a ‘You Tube” video that Bob and Cathy Hurley, two of our
volunteers with significant professional media experience, were kind enough to
produce for us. It contains real Extension volunteers as well as clients and
is very well done to say the least. Feel free to send this video link to
others with an interest in Extension.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk7-NMFz6l8
We
will continue to keep you all “in the loop” and we wish you much success in
your volunteer activities with the Prince William Cooperative Extension.
Diana Janssen
Extension
Leadership Council Secretary, Volunteer – 4-H
John Peterson
Extension
Leadership Council Member, Volunteer – Financial Education
Find us on
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Friends-of-Prince-William-County-Virginia-Cooperative-Extension/242978964628?ref=ts
