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August 2012
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Most
- perhaps all - of you have heard about the massive downsizing and
restructuring that has taken place over the past two years in University
of Illinois Extension. In this
issue of Illinois for ILLINOIS, I would like to describe where
this reorganization leaves us. In the next issue, I will offer an
outlook for where traditional extension education is headed and describe
a new program on campus that expands our outreach
mission beyond the College of ACES.
University of Illinois
Extension has been a vital link between the citizens of Illinois and
its land-grant institution since the organization was founded in 1912.
For many years, Extension has provided practical,
research-based information and programs to strengthen communities and
help make life better, healthier, safer, and more prosperous for people
throughout Illinois. Extension now reaches nearly 2.8 million people
with educational outreach programs in four core
areas: agriculture and natural resources, community and economic
development, family and consumer sciences, and 4-H youth development.
The organization is assisted by over 40,000 volunteers from all 102
counties in the state.
With funding for
Extension from local, state, and federal sources falling by more than
$11.4 million over the last three years, the organization has had to
reevaluate how it does business. In response to budget
reductions, Extension has consolidated its operations and revised many
of its programs to reduce costs while still meeting the highest priority
needs of Illinois citizens.
As part of its
reorganization, Extension has consolidated five regions into three and
combined 76 local units into 27 multi county units. Cook County has the
only remaining single-county Extension operation.
Most units are made up of three to five adjacent counties that share a
county director, several educators, support staff, and other resources.
The resulting economies of scale allow for more local dollars to be
spent on educational programming and fewer dollars
on overhead.
Extension personnel
reductions have also taken place. The number of educators has been
reduced from 190 to 121, program support staff from 382 to 354, and
state extension specialists (tenure-system faculty)
to about 20 FTEs (full-time equivalents). Despite the population size
and economic output in Illinois, extension FTEs are estimated to be at
least one-third fewer here than in any land-grant university in the
north-central region. This challenge has prompted
a more focused approach to delivering educational programs with the
greatest impact. It is not about doing more with less (a trite phrase
that is usually meaningless) but about doing less with less, in a more
selective way.
Extension programs
serve the needs of both rural and urban residents. Whether people live
in a small rural town or a large metropolitan area such as Chicago, they
are likely concerned with eating affordable
and nutritious foods, controlling energy costs, preserving family
health and financial security, nurturing their youth's development,
preserving natural resources, and keeping their community strong and
viable. Even as it is being streamlined, Extension is
helping all Illinois residents with these challenges and more.
Extension will
continue face-to-face contacts, but more information will now be
available 24 hours a day through e-technologies. 4-H and Master Gardener
programs will remain largely face-to-face as they continue
to rely on local volunteers for program delivery. The addition of metro
4-H educators is an exciting development associated with Extension's
reorganization. These individuals are working with families and
volunteers to reach more youth in urban areas throughout
Illinois.
Commercial agriculture
educators and specialists continue to work with producers of corn,
soybeans, pork, beef, and other commodities, but the ways they interact
with larger-scale farmers are changing. Commodity
producers want to talk with the experts - researchers who are located
on campus or at research stations - and interacting with those experts
by email and phone and at statewide events has become the standard. A
new program area focused on small farms and local
foods will provide the information that such growers need to become
sustainable producers of fresh foods for local markets.
In the next issue, I
hope to share information on a new Extension program being implemented
at the campus level, resulting from a strategic-initiative analysis
completed recently. I am pleased to report that
the new program will be additive (that is, it will not be replacing
current extension programs), and it is expected to bring the best
research and information to bear in areas that are at the forefront from
a campus wide perspective.
As always, I appreciate hearing from you regarding any questions or thoughts you may have.
Best wishes,
Robert J. Hauser
Dean, College of ACES
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