Commission to look at Cooperative Extension; nominees sought

The UI is seeking applications and nominations for a commission that will
make recommendations on the future direction of the Illinois Cooperative
Extension Service.

Chancellor Michael Aiken is mailing letters this week to a wide range of
organizations and individuals with an interest in the extension service.
The letters ask for help in identifying people who might serve on the
Chancellor's Commission on the Illinois Cooperative Extension Service. The
commission of 15 to 20 people will be formed by the end of November.

Any Illinois resident with an interest is invited to submit an application
or nomination, due by the end of October. The selection process will be
very open, Aiken said, and the commission will be formed so as to represent
the "broad spectrum of Illinois citizens" with an interest in the CES.

The Illinois Cooperative Extension Service has provided programming and
one-onone assistance to Illinois citizens since 1914. Operating through
about 100 offices, it offers programs on a range of environmental,
community development, youth and agricultural topics. It is administered by
the UI College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
(formerly known as the College of Agriculture).

Aiken said the commission "will gather information, review mission,
consider structure and delivery methods, and submit recommendations" on the
future of the CES. The commission will be asked to present its report in
May 1996.

"Illinois, its citizens and the Illinois food, agricultural and natural
resource system have been served well by the local, state and federally
supported programs of CES," Aiken said. "However, shifting fiscal
conditions and federal priorities, new interactive communication and
information technologies, and the changing structure of society and the
food system have greatly changed the conditions in which CES serves
Illinois."

The commission should help ensure that "any changes in the Cooperative
Extension Service reflect societal needs," Aiken said. The commission will
be part of Partnership Illinois, a new initiative to enhance the service
outreach of the university's UrbanaChampaign campus.

David Chicoine, interim dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and
Environmental Sciences, noted that an extension service revitalization plan
was adopted about five years ago, "but the environment within which CES
operates continues to evolve. The college and the university need to act on
the resulting changes and then stay ahead of them.
"The commission will give us the opportunity to ask the 'customers' how
best we can continue to serve, while at the same time adapting to this new
and dynamic environment."
Chicoine said the constituents he has heard from have been very positive
about the idea of a study commission, and he hopes they will offer
nominations of knowledgeable people to fill the commission's seats. "We
need some visionaries who are willing to accept that some of their
recommendations will be based on tradeoffs," he said, and "they're going to
have to stand behind and support their recommendations."
"We're encouraging people to nominate individuals that have certain
attributes, as opposed to having certain experience with extension,"
Chicoine said. "Experience with the extension service is not going to be a
binding criterion for selecting people."
The final decision on appointments to the commission, and on the selection
of someone to chair it, will be made by Aiken.
Information on how to submit an application or nomination for commission
membership is available from Donald Layman, 333-0460. The deadline for
submission is Oct. 30.