About Extension
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Robotics competitor Keelan Ready, of Hernando, checks programming adjustments on her team’s robot. (Photo by Patti Drapala)
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The Smith-Lever Act, signed on May 8, 1914, established the Cooperative Extension Service, the nationwide education system operating through land-grant universities in partnership with federal, state, and local governments. Our foundational goal has remained the same—to deliver education that changes lives. But our subject matter and our methods have changed as the needs of Mississippians have changed. Our mission in Extension is to deliver research-proven information to Mississippians in all 82 counties, and we do that by taking advantage of both face-to-face meetings and all the tools that today’s technology offers.
Our nation and state have come a long way since 1914. We lived through boll weevil invasions, the Depression, and two world wars. Each one might have crippled the state, but Extension agents and faculty were always there to help see their clients through these challenges and others. For example, Mississippi’s cotton farms are 100-percent boll-weevil-free today, due in a large part to Extension’s working with the farmers themselves, who did what it took to eliminate cotton’s historic number one pest.
We can point to similar stories in other commodities, where both simple and complex changes enabled growers to be more successful. Home demonstration clubs in the early years of Extension improved nutrition and living conditions for rural families and continue today in a variety of family and consumer science activities addressing topics such as nutrition, health, financial literacy, volunteer programs, and home-based businesses.
The Extension Service has evolved into a vibrant organization equipping citizens for living in the 21st century. Along with our many state and local partners, we celebrate our past while maintaining a focus on the bright future ahead. An expanded knowledge base; innovations for families, farmers, and government leaders; leadership training through 4-H youth development programs; and community and economic development opportunities are just part of Extension’s forward-thinking mindset.
Mississippi State University Extension Service is also a cooperating partner with Alcorn State University, the 1890 land-grant institution in Mississippi.
Mission
The Mississippi State University Extension Service provides research-based information, educational programs, and technology transfer focused on issues and needs of the people of Mississippi, enabling them to make informed decisions about their economic, social, and cultural well-being.
Foundation
The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established the Cooperative Extension System, a publicly funded, informal educational system that links the United States Department of Agriculture, the land-grant university system, and individual counties. As the off-campus educational arm of Mississippi State University, Extension provides current research and educational information to individuals in all 82 counties. Mississippi State University Extension Service is also a cooperating partner with Alcorn State University, the 1890 land-grant institution in Mississippi.
Agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer education, enterprise and community resource development, and 4-H youth development are Extension’s ongoing priorities, or “base programs.” From these base programs, specific subjects or efforts emerge to receive emphasis for a period of time.
Vision and Beliefs
Extension’s overall purpose is education - education that will empower people to make intelligent decisions relating to their vocations, their families, and their environment. Extension’s unique interdisciplinary perspective enables the organization to make a real difference in the lives of Mississippians.
Mississippi State University Extension Service is, and will continue to be, a leader for positive change for individuals, families, and communities through the following ways: by providing research and education in a practical and applicable way; by using the latest technology and teaching techniques to serve clients; by developing and using volunteers to help disseminate programs and information; by cooperating with other groups and agencies; and by maintaining a culturally diverse staff responsive to the needs of various audiences at all socioeconomic levels.
We believe that agriculture and its related enterprises are of major economic importance in Mississippi, and we will direct programs and resources to reflect this importance. We also believe that quality of life is affected by the reciprocal relationship between people and their environment and will continue to emphasize environmental issues. We recognize the critical need for human resource development and will continue to search for ways to help families and young people to cope with an everchanging society.
Goals
To fulfill our mission and to achieve our vision for the future, Mississippi State University Extension Service must meet the following goals:
- Focus on quality services and programs that are client driven.
- Instill a future-oriented perspective in staff members, advisors, partners, and clients.
- Be responsive to new or different needs by maintaining flexibility in programming efforts.
- Develop a level of alternative resources to allow for adjustments to changing demands or critical needs.
- Expand efforts to help clients compete in a global economy.
- Foster an environment that will enable staff members and volunteers achieve their full potential.
- Project a positive image that will broaden public understanding of Extension's mission, goals, programs, and accomplishments.
Personnel
Publications
News
DEKALB, Miss. -- For 33 years, Ruby D. Rankin was the face of the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Kemper County, and her sudden death in early May surprised and saddened the local community.
More than 100 people gathered at a building dedication ceremony Monday in the Extension office in Kemper County to honor Rankin's life, service and impact on local individuals, various organizations and the entire community. The Kemper County Board of Supervisors honored Rankin's many accomplishments by naming the local farmers market in her honor.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, or MS-AND, has named David Buys as a recipient of one of its most distinguished awards.
A Mississippi State University Extension Service health specialist, Buys was presented with the MS-AND Magnolia Award earlier this month.
The Magnolia Award recognizes individuals outside of the dietetics profession who make significant contributions to the field. It is one of four awards MS-AND makes each year.
CLARKSDALE, Miss. -- Almost 200 years after Mississippi became a state, residents may find it difficult to imagine a time when women could not be Extension agricultural agents. That time was right up until the late 1990s when Ann Fulcher Ruscoe became the "county agent" for Coahoma County.
"Most entry level jobs for the Extension Service involved 4-H responsibilities. That's how I started in 1980 in Bolivar County," Ruscoe said. "Eventually, 4-H agents would usually become home economists if they were women or county agents if they were men."
VERONA, Miss. -- Jane Parish will take the reins at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center on Feb. 1.
Gary Jackson, director of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, and George Hopper, director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, jointly announced her promotion from the Prairie Research Unit. Parish served as research and Extension professor at that unit since 2014.
BILOXI, Miss. -- James E. Henderson has been selected head of the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center.
When Henderson assumes his new role on Feb. 1, he will oversee the daily operations of the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in the southeastern region.
