Crookston Named One of 18 Regional Extension Center Locations
Demonstrating its continued commitment to the entire state, the University of Minnesota Extension Service announced the 18 Minnesota communities that will serve as regional Extension centers on Monday, July 21, 2003. The community locations, which will ensure that Extension continues to serve all Minnesotans, are: Albert Lea, Andover, Brainerd, Cloquet, Crookston, Farmington, Fergus Falls, Grand Rapids, Hutchinson, Mankato, Marshall, Moorhead, Mora, Morris, Rochester, Roseau, St. Cloud and Worthington.
“After careful consideration and significant consultation, we picked these communities as sites for regional centers because, across the state, they create a network to ensure all Minnesotans have access to Extension,” said Chuck Casey, Extension dean and director.
Each of the regional offices will house 5-10 University of Minnesota staff, who will be part of the statewide system that provides educational programs and services that address critical issues in Minnesota.
Last spring, in response to budget reductions and requests from counties for more flexibility in how they contract for Extension services, the university announced that Extension would be shifted to a regional system. This allows counties the choice to contract for the specific programs, services, positions and satellite offices that they want.
“The process of choosing the 18 from so many who expressed interest was very challenging because many communities met most of the criteria,” Casey said. “Unfortunately we can only afford a limited number of regional centers. While many communities were qualified to be a regional center location, we had to go with the group of 18 that best created coverage across the state. Appropriate technology access was significant in the selection process.”
Five of the new regional centers – Cloquet, Crookston, Morris, Rochester and Grand Rapids – maximize the use of existing university facilities, which was among the criteria for selection. These regional centers will build strong program connections with university faculty and their research, and they will have a wealth of resources and expertise to draw upon on behalf of the communities they serve.
Ensuring that centers are geographically distributed so that Extension is available throughout Minnesota was another important criteria in determining the locations of the centers. Once the five U of MN facility-connected centers were decided, the other 13 centers needed to be geographically disbursed to make sure that the state was adequately covered.
The two metro area regional centers -- Andover and Farmington--along with Extension faculty and staff on the Twin Cities campus in the heart of Hennepin and Ramsey counties--- will position Extension to successfully serve the needs of this densely populated area of the state.
“Extension has worked hard to create a plan that is good for Minnesota,” said Robert Bruininks, University of Minnesota president. “The University of Minnesota is committed to the entire state. These new regional Extension centers will help to ensure that the university’s research and resources continue to be available to all Minnesotans wherever they live and work.”
Over 100 letters were submitted from communities across the state who wished to be regional centers. “There is a great deal of passion and interest that came across in the letters we received,” Casey said. “We were impressed and pleased by the interest expressed in the University of Minnesota and Extension. We will continue to build on the commitment to quality research and education.”
Selecting specific center locations within the identified communities is the next task for university officials. These negotiations will begin immediately. Regional centers are expected to open in January 2004.
Current regional Extension faculty and staff will have an opportunity, beginning this week, to identify their interest in being reassigned to a new regional center position. Those reassignments will be announced by early September.
Counties and other local partners are currently working with Extension staff to identify specific programs, services, positions and satellite offices that will meet local needs and enhance the regional programming. In the new Extension system, the regional centers will be funded by state and federal dollars, giving counties and local partners the choice to contract for additional services. This ensures that Extension continues to offer effective, relevant programs to all counties at a level that the state, the counties, the university and the people of Minnesota can afford, while providing the maximum amount of choice and clarity to counties and other local agencies.
Note: Please refer to www.extension.umn.edu/news for more news from the U of M Extension Service.
Posted 07/21/2003
Contact: Aimee Viniard-Weideman, 612-625-1759