51 county centennials

John Lawrence’s message from April 9, 2018

ISU Extension and Outreach will be celebrating 100 years of organized extension work in 51 counties this year. Last time I checked, I was scheduled to attend at least half of them. (Some counties are still getting their plans together and haven’t scheduled their celebrations yet.) The events started in February with Cherokee County, and West Pottawattamie in March, and continue throughout the spring, summer and fall, to early December. Did you know?

  • On April 10, 1906, the Iowa Agricultural Extension Act became law, making Iowa the first state in the nation to formalize extension at a land-grant university. The appropriation the first year was $15,000. (Yes, I’ve been reading my R.K. Bliss extension history book again.)
  • Clinton County was the first to organize for extension work, raise money locally and hire a county agent. M.L. Mosher signed a contract July 6, 1912, to become the county agent Sept. 1.
  • Over the next few years, the rest of our counties began organizing for extension work.
  • The rest of the nation caught up in 1914, when the Smith-Lever Act formally established the Cooperative Extension Service and the partnership between the Federal government and the states. Iowa State became the first land-grant institution to accept the terms.
  • We began celebrating our county 100-year anniversaries in 2012. We’ll have our final three county centennials in 2019 – Page, Dallas, and Jefferson counties.

We all can be proud of our heritage as we engage citizens with university resources in partnership with federal, state and county governments. However, as we celebrate our history, we are focused on Iowa’s future.

More notes

  • Make sure to review the April program update from the leadership team.
  • Extension Information Technology says April 30 is the LAST day to order new computers and have them billed for the 2018 fiscal year. Current computer quotes and an order form are online. Any computers ordered on or after May 1 may not arrive in time to be setup and billed by the end of the fiscal year. If you have questions, please email Michael Mauton, systems analyst, mmauton@iastate.edu.
  • Take a moment to watch this short video of “20,000 Meals from the Heartland,” our meal-packaging experience during Annual Conference. You might even see yours truly, sporting a hairnet and beardnet.

— John D. Lawrence
Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach

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