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Background
Since its beginning, Michigan Extension has focused on bringing knowledge-based educational programs to the people of the state to improve their lives and communities. Today, county-based staff members, in concert with on-campus faculty members, serve every county with programming focused on agriculture and natural resources; children, youth and families; and community and economic development.
Today’s problems are very complex. Solutions require the expertise of numerous disciplines and the collaboration of many partners. Operating synergistically with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and other Michigan State University units, MSU Extension extends the University’s knowledge resources to all Michigan citizens and assists them in meeting their learning needs through a variety of educational strategies, technologies and collaborative arrangements.
History
Michigan Extension work began before the organization was officially organized. The Michigan State College's (now MSU) first livestock field agent was hired in 1907. In 1912, the Michigan Legislature authorized county boards of supervisors to appropriate funds and levy taxes to further teaching and demonstrations in Extension work. Eleven agricultural agents were named that year. In 1914, Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act, which created the Cooperative Extension System and directed the nation’s land grant universities to oversee its work.
With the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, the first statewide home economics and 4-H youth Extension workers were appointed; county home economics agents were appointed beginning in 1915. In the early years of Extension, "demonstration agents" showed or demonstrated new farming or homemaking techniques. Today, Extension agents use a wide variety of information systems to deliver educational information.
Mission
Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) helps people improve their lives through an educational process that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities.
Principles
EXCELLENCE in educational programming and in our faculty and staff members.
PEOPLE and helping them meet their most pressing needs.
CHANGE to insure relevance and continued excellence.
OPENNESS and INTEGRITYin all our relationships.
DIVERSITY because differences enrich.
ACCESSIBILITY to MSU from every corner of the state and beyond.
PARTNERSHIPS in our community-based delivery model.
Vision
- Michigan has strong and healthy families and optimistic youth from all cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds.
- Michigan has a profitable, globally competitive and safe food system in harmony with its natural resources base.
- Michigan has a citizenry of all ages who understand their role as stewards of the land.
- Michigan has viable and caring communities capable of generating meaningful jobs and satisfactory income levels for all its citizens.
Funding
MSU Extension’s funding is from the following sources:
- 13 percent from federal funds.
- 42 percent from state funds (includes support for Project GREEEN and the Animal Agriculture Initiative).
- .6 percent from general funds (state funding to the university).
- Seven percent from county funding through memorandums of understanding. Counties also provide an additional 21 percent for staff, office space, travel and other county-level operating expenses including in-kind expenses.
- 16 percent from outside grants.
Additionally, thousands of volunteers work with MSU Extension programs across the state to expand the organization's through the 4-H Youth Program, the Master Gardener and Master Woodland Manager programs, Citizen Planner Program and others.
Location
MSU Extension offices and staff are in all 83 counties. Extension faculty on the Michigan State University campus conduct research and translate research results into educational programs. They act as resource people for Extension staff members in the counties. More than 29 academic departments and eight colleges work directly with Extension.
Staff
The MSU Extension Director reports to the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. There are also two Associate Directors, five Regional Directors and 82 County Directors.
MSU Extension pays all or portions of salaries of approximately 286 campus-based specialists, representing 122.8 FTEs. Professional off-campus staff members account for an additional 302.75 FTEs. There are 115 FTEs assigned to support positions (program associates) and 40 graduate assistants.
Areas of Emphasis
Extension provides information and offers on-going educational programs in three areas:
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Children, Youth and Family Programs
Community and Economic Development
- Agriculture and Natural Resources
Michigan State University Extension provides research-based educational programs to Michigan's agricultural industry, from farmers to commodity groups, agribusiness, food processors and retailers. Programs are delivered through client-directed Area of Expertise teams and via county based agriculture and natural resource agents.
MSU Extension agriculture programs are focused on these major emphases:
Natural resource issues are also addressed through the work of Area of Expertise teams that involve MSUE agents and campus-based researchers from a number of disciplines. Their work benefits natural resource industries like forestry and fishing and natural resource managers who are working to ensure the sustainability of Michigan's vast unmanaged natural systems into the future. It is also inextricably linked to residents and communities who strive to maintain human quality of life without damaging the environment.
Michigan State University Extension believes that children, youth, families and communities interact in intricate patterns and face equally intricate challenges. People are deeply affected by their environment, significant others, and their communities. Because of this interconnectedness, MSU Extension’s Children, Youth, Family and Community Programs work to help people manage and improve the quality of their lives and their communities.
Vision: All children will enter school healthy and ready to learn. Parents will nurture their children in positives ways. Families will be safe and thrive. Communities will be safe and provide for all citizens.
Mission: To strengthen families through research-based education and to build community capacity to support families through education, collaboration, and systems reform.
Children, Youth, and Family programs work in two focus areas:
- Family and Consumer Sciences - integrating university and community resources to provide education to help families succeed and using sound food and nutrition principles to improve health.
- Youth Development/4-H - providing fun, educational opportunities and resources to develop youth and the volunteers and professionals who work with them.
Michigan State University Extension Community Development programs enhance the quality of life in Michigan through research-based educational programs that help people address concerns about their communities' social, economic and environmental conditions. Some programs are broad based, such as efforts to help community leaders understand the complex social and economic interactions that create pressure for sprawl development. Others are very specific, like the programs to help people form non-profit organizations.
Programs may offer technical assistance to businesses, groups or individuals and provide educational programs for youth, community leaders, associations, private landowners or other interested residents. To see more complete descriptions of community development programs, visit MSU Extension's Community Development and Natural Resources home page.
Strengthening Michigan's Economy: Roles for MSU Extension and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station
Michigan residents' needs and interests are the driving force behind MSU Extension programs. In 2005-2006, MSUE, along with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, conducted a comprehensive, statewide process to determine what Michigan citizens saw as the most pressing issues that could be addressed by the organizations’ research and educational programs.
Input was gathered from nearly 10,000 residents through means including focus group sessions with individuals diverse in age, gender, employment, ethnicity and residency; a Web-based survey of citizens; and a statewide State-of-the-State telephone survey by the MSU Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. A key component of the research involved workshops conducted in each of MSU Extension’s 82 county offices, bringing together key community leaders with local MSUE councils and Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station advisory committees to examine each area's unique issues, trends and emerging needs. The following five strategic priorities emerged:
· Developing entrepreneurs
· Promoting healthy lifestyles
· Preparing for the expanding bioeconomy
· Educating and supporting decision makers
· Building leaders for today and tomorrow
MSU Extension staff members in every county are now working to address the issues identified by their constituents. For more information about your county's issues and efforts to address them, click here to find your county MSU Extension office.
The Team Approach
Learn about the Area of Expertise team approach to meeting educational needs by clicking here.
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