September 4, 2014
UF Straughn Center, 2142 Shealy Dr.
The University of Florida was one of 13 universities participating in Extension Reconsidered, a national Imagining America initiative that invites citizens to imagine alternative futures for extension and outreach work across American higher education. Key to this initiative is considering how practices in the arts, humanities, and design fields, in particular, can inform new visions of what Cooperative Extension can do in the next 100 years. These fields share many things in common, including increasing exigencies to generate revenue, reach new audiences, and communicate their ideas in new ways. And these fields are all at the heart of our university’s civic mission to by fostering attitudes of mind and capacities that will enable citizens to meet the individual and civic problems with which they are confronted.
This initiative was launched to mark the centennial of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, the federal legislation that institutionalized the land-grant system’s extension work by establishing the national Cooperative Extension System. Each university team will approach the task differently. At the University of Florida, we set as our initial challenge to explore the following question: What potential is there for the arts, humanities, design, and Cooperative Extension to collaborate with local individuals and organizations to support our institution’s civic mission and strengthen our communities?
The first step of this initiative was an invited discussion on September 4th, 2014 with individuals from the UF faculty and Gainesville community. The discussion took the shape of a deliberative dialogue to think together, bring questions and challenges into the open, and seek to understand the multiple perspectives that exist to inform this topic. We will concluded with showcase of UF projects and a potluck dinner.
Pre-Workshop Materials
- IFAS description and http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/ifascomm/2014/02/13/project-vi-florida-extension-in-the-era-of-segregation/
- Extension Reconsidered Website: https://imaginingamerica.org/what-we-do/past-initiatives/
- Scott Peters’s Choices article on the history and future of Cooperative Extension: http://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/higher-educations-roles-in-supporting-a-rural-renaissance/extension-reconsidered
This conversation was published in the: Report of the Florida Extension Reconsidered Initiative (2015).
Extension Reconsidered was organized by the UF Imagining America Working Group. This discussion was sponsored by the University of Florida IFAS Extension and the Center for the Humanities and Public Sphere, and will contribute to a national publication.