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The
state's budget crisis materialized in Pullman this spring when President
Lane Rawlins announced that the university would create guidelines
on hiring, travel and equipment purchases in preparation for expected
reductions.
WSU Cooperative Extension has been
curtailing some travel and holding some vacant positions open for
the past eight months in anticipation of reductions. While we have
asked our faculty and staff to economize, we haven't asked them
to stop programming and we won't renege on priority commitments
with our partners and stakeholders.
We also are trying to identify ways
to offset some of our expected reductions by increasing our revenue
streams. Fees for services are an example. That includes conferences
that we now support in part with federal and state funds. While
we are reluctant to pass on those costs, our options are limited.
The state's financial situation is
forcing us to consider other ways of doing business. I believe that
we are at the dawning of becoming a virtual Cooperative Extension.
While we continue to have faculty and staff in key positions working
directly with clientele, opportunities are available to employ information
technology to help us deliver research-based knowledge, and address
vital issues of communities and the state.
We are now testing sophisticated
software from the University of Georgia that enables producers to
diagnose crop problems and determine solutions on their own.
"Extension Engaged," a new series
of topic-driven discussions delivered live by satellite video stream
technology and archived on the web, is another creative step in
the direction of virtual Extension. We are building a library of
presentations our faculty and stakeholders can use to search for
current information on topics of concern.
How
will virtual Extension change the role of faculty and staff?
For virtual delivery systems to work,
there must be faculty/staff to keep the systems and information
relevant and useful. As Extension evolves, I believe faculty and
staff will spend more time on emerging issues that impact agriculture,
natural resources, families, communities and young people as well
as providing research-based knowledge, mostly using information
technology.
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Also, some faculty and staff will be community resource focused with greater emphasis on capacity building and problem solving. They will look at specific problems and issues in communities and work with partners and community leaders to solve them.
We have a number of faculty/staff who are doing just that. The Cooperative Extension team in Jefferson County led by Katherine Baril brought together community colleges and four-year institutions to increase access to a higher education in the Olympic Peninsula. A few months ago, the Jefferson Higher Education Consortium celebrated their accomplishments and future plans at a large luncheon of community business, government and education leaders. Many of the education programs are conducted in part or completely via web based systems.
WSU Cooperative Extension is among the leaders applying information technology to enhance the quality and accessibility of knowledge. As the demand for our expertise continues to grow, we must become more creative in addressing the issues of current and future clientele. The concept of virtual Cooperative Extension is advancing in our state and across the nation with genuine innovations that will improve the quality and availability of knowledge.
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