Tag: Morrill Act

Social capital and civic measures

sternweis

John Lawrence’s message from July 3, 2017

July seems like a good time to take the temperature of Iowa’s communities – figuratively, that is, in the form of activity and engagement. Fourth of July, county fairs and other celebrations are indicators of community involvement and leadership. These events and their success don’t spontaneously occur – they take planning, creativity, cooperation and hard work by local people.

Associate professor and extension rural sociologist David Peters has found that the strongest drivers of quality of life are social capital and civic measures – whether residents participate in the community and whether the community provides social supports. Like a lot of good research, the results confirm what we have suspected for a long time. R.K. Bliss reported that during the Great Depression communities came together and created their own entertainment with singing and plays that ISU Extension and Outreach helped communities to organize. Even earlier, Iowa State short courses took faculty by train to communities for a week of extension education in our four program areas of agriculture, home economics (as it was called back then), youth and community development. Paraphrasing Bliss, the short course was effective in education and in leadership development because it required a large amount of work and effort on the part of the local people to carry it through.

Today our Community and Economic Development faculty and staff are organized as knowledge teams, all striving to build Iowans’ capacity to sustain their communities. Did you know?

  • The local governments and nonprofits team helps Iowans develop leadership skills and knowledge to generate policies, procedures and planning to improve their communities and regions.
  • The team is gearing up for the 42nd Iowa Municipal Professionals Institute and Academy, beginning July 17 and cosponsored with the Iowa League of Cities. The annual institute is one of the nation’s largest, each year bringing together more than 200 city clerks, finance officers and others for specialized training. (Learn about one participant’s story in this video.)
  • Our State and Local Government Programs reach public officials in all 99 Iowa counties and in a majority of the state’s 950 incorporated cities every year.

One more thing: Extension Information Technology says two-thirds of our faculty and staff whose net-ID passwords hadn’t been changed in 10 years or more, have stepped up and changed their passwords. Of course, that means we still have a few laggards out there, proving the adoption diffusion curve. The deadline is nearing. On July 11, anyone with a 10-year-or-older password will not be able to login and will have to upgrade. So you might as well change that password now.

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

Cy, Abe Lincoln actor and John LawrenceP.S. Happy anniversary, Morrill Act! Abraham Lincoln signed our land grant act on July 2, 1862. I ran into Abe recently in Warren County and we shared a photo op with Cy.

Announcements, Programs , , ,

Happy ISU Extension and Outreach Week!

sternweis

John Lawrence’s Monday Message from April 17, 2017

Happy ISU Extension and Outreach Week! This year we’re sharing our land grant legacy – of the land, the people, and their stories. It’s the foundation that empowers us, each and every day, to provide education and build partnerships for a strong Iowa. Did you know?

  • Iowa State University is NOT built upon the original land that was granted from the Morrill Act.
  • Our actual land grant includes more than 200,000 acres – in western Iowa.
  • The federal government granted this land to our state so it could be leased or sold to fund a university for Iowans.

We have been identifying the original land grant parcels and the current landowners. However, we want to help all Iowans connect with the legacy that helped to build Iowa State University and paved the way for ISU Extension and Outreach.

The Morrill Act of 1862 provided the grant of land as a funding mechanism for what became the Land Grant Universities. The national Smith-Lever Cooperative Extension Act signed May 8,1914 established a new cooperative relationship between states and the federal government, creating the national Extension System. By that time Iowa’s extension service was eight years old and relationships between counties and what was then Iowa State College were already forming. Several counties already have celebrated their centennial and 21 counties will hit the 100 year mark this year. So, happy ISU Extension and Outreach Week! Take a moment to appreciate the heritage of our great organization and look around at the history that we are making today.

I’ve said it before, and I will keep saying it. ISU Extension and Outreach is strong because we are talented people working together – campus and county; faculty, staff and council members. Our success is because of “we.” We find comprehensive solutions from across programs and disciplines to educate and serve Iowans. We help each other to be successful by sharing information, lending a hand or being a sounding board. The communication and camaraderie make us stronger as we care for our organization and our colleagues. We all can be proud to be part of the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach team. Thank you for your dedication and service to Iowans.

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

P.S. Because so many people decided to “Give mine to EIE” during Annual Conference, we raised $3,363 in one day – a 42 percent increase over last year’s total. Thank you to everyone who contributed or pledged their support for Excellence in Extension. You’ll be hearing more about this campaign that encourages us to invest in ourselves as extension professionals.

Announcements, Land Grant Legacy , , ,

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.