Opportunity & Obligation
Extension educators make Pathways, Partnerships, and Engagement program imperatives
The imbalances of power, resources, and opportunities in the United States have become an increasingly bigger and louder part of our cultural conversation during the
Personal REFLECTIONS
last several years. We have more work to do, but we are starting to dismantle some of the barriers that keep marginalized communities from having privileges that majority groups often take for granted.
Scott and Michael believe their pro- gram works in large part because they customize it for each organization they work with, an approach they want to share with other Extension educators. “This is not an ‘out of the box’ pro- gram,” they say. “By grounding the content within a local community, the program can help participants connect through similarities, which then helps to promote, appreciate, and acknowl- edge the value of diverse experiences, backgrounds, and cultures.” When the Langston team applied for NTAE funding, their project was in an earlier stage of development than WVU’s program—still gathering input from their intended audiences as they planned their approaches and content. Langston Extension educators Drs. Carlos Alvarado and Tiffany Williams and their team plan to develop a nutri- tion education app to help address the
CULTURAL RELEVANCE Because it had already been imple- mented, “Cultural Competency” came to NTAE with evidence that the program works. (See page 20.) For example, Huntington is the second largest city in West Virginia and one of the most diverse in the state. “But our fire department does not reflect where we live,” Michael says. “On the 100-person crew, there are no women and only one person who identifies as a minority.” After participating in “Cultural Competency,” the city decided to change its recruitment practices, making a deliberate effort to bring more diverse candidates to its Junior Academy. “Our community has been very [willing] to have these conversations,” says Hun- tington Mayor Steve Williams. “And what Tony and his team have been able to bring in is absolute brilliance.”
These team members are developing these projects
because they see an objective need for them. But they also are informed by personal experiences and beliefs. In one way or another, they
B ecause of its size and proxim- ity to under-resourced com- munities, the Cooperative Ex- tension System is in a unique position to help keep this cultural conversation going. And while many projects that received 2023–2024 New Technolo- gies in Ag Extension (NTAE) grants are focusing on this topic, two teams in particular have put it at the center of their work. A project from Langston University Extension is focused on improving health outcomes among minority populations. And a team from West Virginia University (WVU) is build- ing a template that other Extension educators can adapt to teach people how to minimize the
unconscious bias that perpetuates systemic inequalities.
all see themselves in the communities they serve,
These teams agree that Extension has not only a great opportunity when it comes to partnerships and engage- ment but an obligation to make it a priority. “Extension was founded to do this work,” says Dr. Denis Scott, a WVU Extension professor and co-creator of “Cultural Competency for Munici- palities,” a professional development program that will be the basis for their Extension model. “Before Land-grant universities (LGUs) were founded, education was accessible only to the wealthy elite,”
Scott says. “LGUs are mandated by civil rights and other legislation to use their federal funds to benefit all communities.” While their projects take a variety of shapes, Scott, his colleague Tony Michael, and the team members from Langston have a common goal: to support under-resourced com- munities by learning about, valuing, and trying to see the world from the cultural perspectives of the people in those communities.
and they want to leverage that connection to make meaningful differences in people’s lives.
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2023-2024 YEARBOOK | EXTENSION FOUNDATION/NTAE
EXTENSION FOUNDATION/NTAE | 2023-2024 YEARBOOK
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