Every year Mississippi State University Extension administration, faculty, agents, and staff gather to celebrate exemplary programs, honor contributions to Extension’s mission, and to discuss the vision for Extension’s future. (Photo by Micheala Parker)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Community engagement and its role in higher education was the focus of a Mississippi State keynote and workshop this week by one of the nation’s leading authorities on engaged scholarship.

Elizabeth Gregory North, head of the Mississippi State University Extension Service Office of Agricultural Communications, is the newest member of the Southern Public Relations Federation’s Hall of Fame.

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is supporting students from areas impacted by Hurricane Michael and urging them to make safety their top priority – especially regarding travel decisions during the university’s upcoming fall break Thursday and Friday [Oct. 11-12].

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Two Mississippi State University Extension Service experts have contributed to a new book updating The Extension Worker’s Code.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A journal published by the Mississippi State University School of Human Sciences highlights important findings from three years of work conducted by Extension health professionals across the country. 

David Buys, an assistant professor with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, served as chair of the chronic disease prevention and management action team that investigated ways to use Extension programs to improve health outcomes in the U.S. His work was part of a broad effort commissioned by the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy Health and Wellness Task Force through the organization’s Health Implementation Teams.

Welcome to Extension for Real Life, a new blog from the Mississippi State University Extension Service! We want to provide up-to-the-minute news, helpful tips, and fun facts. Stuff that is good to know, nice to know, fun to know, or that you need to know. 

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.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- More Mississippi producers are getting the word about how much they can learn in three days at the state’s premier row crop conference.

The Mississippi State University 2016 Row Crop Short Course had more than 600 attendees. Attendance at the Row Crop Short Course has steadily increased since 2009. Approximately 60 people attended the event in 2008.

Washington, D.C. -- Mississippi State University and Mississippi Farm Bureau leaders gathered Monday in the Capitol to announce the new Thad Cochran Agricultural Leadership Program developed by the MSU Extension Service.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- In recognition of outstanding public relations work, Mississippi State University staff members recently garnered high honors in a regional competition.

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STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Second- through fourth-graders who attend an agricultural event at Mississippi State University Nov. 14-18 will be able to tell their parents about the sources of food, clothing and other common products.

The MSU Extension Service will conduct the fifth annual FARMtastic at the Mississippi Horse Park. Weekday activities begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- The new Mississippi State University provost and executive vice president, Judy Bonner, toured the university’s off-campus Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station [MAFES] facilities on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

BILOXI, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service employee recently received a national award for his significant contribution to the floral industry.

Jim DelPrince, an Extension floral design specialist, accepted the American Institute of Floral Designers Award of Distinguished Service to the Floral Industry during the organization’s annual National Symposium in July.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University Extension Service Director Gary Jackson recently was selected to be a professional member of North America’s first conservation organization.

Founded by Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes wildlife conservation and management, including sportsmanship, habitat conservation and the ethical standards of fair chase hunting.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A proven ability to work with producers, university professionals and industry representatives has earned Steve Martin new responsibilities with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.