The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama Extension) provides educational outreach to the citizens of Alabama on behalf of the state's two land grant universities: Alabama A&M University (state's 1890 land-grant institution) and Auburn University (1872 land-grant institution).[1]
The system employs more than 800 faculty, professional educators, and staff members operating in offices in each of Alabama's 67 counties and in nine urban centers covering the major regions of the state.[2][3] In conjunction with the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the system also staffs six extension and research centers located in the state's principal geographic regions.[2]
Since 2004, "Alabama Extension" has functioned primarily as a regionally based system in which the bulk of educational programming is delivered by agents operating across a multi-county area and specializing in specific fields. County extension coordinators and county agents (where they are funded), continue to play integral roles in the extension mission, working with regional agents and other extension personnel to deliver services to clients within their areas.[2]
Administrative structure
In 1995, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System became the nation's first unified Extension program, combining the resources of the 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions. The catalyst was a landmark federal court ruling, known as Knight vs. Alabama, handed down by Judge Harold Murphy.[4] Under its terms, the Extension programs and other land-grant university functions of Alabama A&M, Auburn, and Tuskegee (historically African-American institution) universities were combined and served as cooperative partners within this unified system.
The James I. Dawson Cooperative Extension Building, named in honor the former associate dean for Extension and administrator of the Alabama A&M University Cooperative Extension Program. The Dawson Building serves as the Alabama A&M University headquarters of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
This combined effort is headed by a director appointed by the presidents of Alabama A&M and Auburn universities. The Extension director serves as the organization's chief executive officer and maintains offices at both campuses.
In written remarks outlining his rationale for the ruling, Judge Murphy called for an expanded and updated Cooperative Extension mission that not only continued to address traditional programming needs but that also was better equipped to respond to the needs of a population that had become more urbanized and racially and ethnically diverse. Additionally to providing for an associate director for Rural and Traditional Programs, who would be housed at Auburn University. Judge Murphy also mandated that an associate director of Urban and New Nontraditional Programs be employed and housed at Alabama A&M University. This new associate director, Murphy stated, would be “expected to open new areas of Extension work and expand the outreach of the Alabama Cooperative Program to more fully serve all the people of Alabama.”[5]
Directors of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System
In 2004, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System completed a restructuring effort.[1]
For decades, the bulk of Alabama Cooperative Extension programs were carried out by county agents– generalists who kept abreast of many different subjects and delivered a wide variety of programs. By the onset of the 21st century, urbanization was a key trend that resulted in fewer farms and altered public expectations. The advent of the World Wide Web changed information delivery methods from printed materials to online. These changes prompted the switch from using the generalist agents who had administered Extension programming throughout the previous century to regional agents[6] specializing in one of 14 program priority areas.[1]
Despite the growing emphasis on regional agents, Alabama Extension continues to operate offices in all 67 counties. These are headed by coordinators, who work with regional agents and other Extension staff to deliver programs within their counties.[1]
Funding
One of the distinguishing traits associated with Cooperative Extension work throughout the country is the financial support it receives from every level of government. Like many of its sister programs throughout the country, Alabama Extension has begun looking for ways to supplement these traditional sources of funding with private support, typically in the form of grants and fees.[7]
A common perception is that the birth of Cooperative Extension followed passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which provided federal funds to land-grant universities to support Extension work. In a formal sense, this is true. But the roots of Cooperative Extension extend as far back as the late 18th century, following the American Revolution, when affluent farmers first began organizing groups to sponsor educational meetings to disseminate useful farming information. In some cases, these lectures even were delivered by university professors– a practice that foreshadowed Cooperative Extension work more than a century later.[8]
These efforts became more formalized over time. By the 1850s, for example, many schools and colleges began holding farmer institutes– public meetings where lecturers discussed new farming insights.[9]
↑ "The Unification of the Alabama Land-Grant System: Unification of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Creation of an Associate Director of Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs", Hon. Harold L. Murphy, US District Court, Northern District of Georgia.
↑ Rasmussen, Wayne D., Taking the University to the People: Seventy-five Years of Cooperative Extension, Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1989, p. 18.
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a 2020 population of 193,773, along with the Columbus, GA-AL MSA and Tuskegee, Alabama, comprises the greater Columbus-Auburn-Opelika, GA-AL CSA, a region home to 563,967 residents as of 2020.
The Smith–Lever Act of 1914 is a United States federal law that established a system of cooperative extension services, connected to land-grant universities, intended to inform citizens about current developments in agriculture, home economics, public policy/government, leadership, 4-H, economic development, coastal issues, and related subjects. The Act helped farmers learn new agricultural techniques by the introduction of home instruction.
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the Alabama Legislature.
A land-grant university is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. It was one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. It was one of 23 established to train African Americans to teach in segregated schools. Some closed but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century and state universities in the late 20th century. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Historic District, also known as Normal Hill College Historic District, has 28 buildings and four structures listed in the United States National Register of Historic Places.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service was formally established in 1915 after the 1914 passing of the Smith-Lever Act and in conjunction with Texas A&M University. Originally named Texas Agricultural Extension Service, then later Texas Cooperative Extension, the name Texas AgriLife Extension Service was adopted on January 1, 2008. A&M was added to the agency name on September 1, 2012 as a result of a Texas A&M University System change to strengthen the association with Texas A&M. The primary mission of AgriLife Extension is to provide educational outreach programs and services to the citizens of Texas. In conjunction with Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Extension faculty members conduct research and bring practical applications of those research findings to the people of Texas.
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service is a state extension agency that offers training programs and technical assistance to public safety workers, both in Texas and around the world. Established in 1940 as the Industrial Extension Service, the agency took on its current name when it joined The Texas A&M University System in 1948. The agency sponsors the state's primary urban search and rescue force, Urban Search and Rescue Texas Task Force 1, and operates the Brayton Fire Training Field. Brayton is the largest firefighting training facility in the United States, and also contains a mock city for conducting training operations for emergency responders.
Agricultural extension is the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. The field of 'extension' now encompasses a wider range of communication and learning activities organized for rural people by educators from different disciplines, including agriculture, agricultural marketing, health, and business studies.
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a teaching, research and Extension scientific organization focused on agriculture and natural resources. It is a partnership of federal, state, and county governments that includes an Extension office in each of Florida's 67 counties, 12 off-campus research and education centers, five demonstration units, the University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, three 4-H camps, portions of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Sea Grant program, the Emerging Pathogens Institute, the UF Water Institute and the UF Genetics Institute.
Thomas Monroe Campbell (1883–1956) was the first Cooperative Extension Agent in the United States and headed the first Extension Program as a field agent for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Well known for his work under the tutelage of Booker T. Washington and peered with George Washington Carver, Campbell was also the winner of the Harmon Award in 1930 for his service in the field of agriculture. He authored of the book The Movable School Goes to the Negro Farmer. He was a nationally known and well respected public servant of the first rank. A bust of Campbell can be found in the Tuskegee University Library.
The Historical Panorama of Alabama Agriculture was a series of murals commissioned by the Alabama Extension Service and partly funded by the Works Progress Administration for the 1939 Alabama State Fair, held October 2–7 in Birmingham.
E. Travis York, Jr. was an American agronomist, professor, university administrator, agricultural extension administrator, and U.S. presidential adviser. York was a native of Alabama, and earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in agricultural sciences. He served as the director of the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, the administrator of the federal Extension Service, the interim president of the University of Florida, and the chancellor of the State University System of Florida.
Benjamin Franklin Hubert served as president of Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youth continuing when it became Georgia State College]] from 1926 until 1947. It is now Savannah State University.
Luther Noble Duncan was a 20th-century American educator and administrator. He was a pioneer of 4-H youth development, a director of the Alabama Extension Service and president of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute.
Posey Oliver "P.O" Davis (1890–1973), was an American educator and administrator, as well as a pioneering agricultural editor and broadcaster.
A common perception is that the birth of Cooperative Extension followed the passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which provided federal funds to land-grant universities to support Extension work. In the formal sense, this is true. Even so, the roots of Cooperative Extension extend as far back as the late 18th century, following the American Revolution, when affluent farmers first began organizing groups to sponsor educational meetings to disseminate useful farming information. In some cases, these lectures were delivered by university professors — a practice that foreshadowed Cooperative Extension work more than a century later.
The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences offers 17 undergraduate majors, 23 minors, and graduate programs in 18 major areas. The college awarded the nation's first baccalaureate degrees in agriculture in 1861.
University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service is an outreach-based educational delivery system supported by a partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The UAF Cooperative Extension Service annually serves approximately 80,000 Alaskans, “providing a link between Alaska's diverse people and communities by interpreting and extending relevant university, research-based knowledge in an understandable and usable form to the public.” Since 1930 the UAF Extension Service has partnered with many organizations across the state of Alaska in pursuit of fulfilling its land-grant university mission to disseminate agricultural research and other scientific information.
The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act, passed by Congress, created CSREES by combining the former Cooperative State Research Service and the Extension Service into a single agency.
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