Applied and Extension RIG Mini-Conference: A Realignment of Rural Sociology and Extension for 21st Century Applied Research

Land Grant Universities established their Extension Services as early as 1905. Congress recognized the importance of national support for these fledgling Extension Services in 1914 with the establishment of the Smith-Lever... [ view full abstract ]

Land Grant Universities established their Extension Services as early as 1905. Congress recognized the importance of national support for these fledgling Extension Services in 1914 with the establishment of the Smith-Lever Act).  USDA and Congress did not establish LGU Extension services but they have been partners for more than a century.  Extension services have reinvented themselves many times during this period.  Presently, Extension nationally is asking questions of relevancy between constituents, elected representatives, and their status and location in their LGU institutional homes. Coincidently, LGUs also have experienced an erosion in support for rural sociology, particularly in areas that community-based issue-oriented research.  Nationally, Extension is once again interested in practical ways evidence-based knowledge can benefit individuals and the greater society. In this session, we seek papers that emphasize an incorporation of both rural sociology and ‘extension’ merits—in land-grant and traditional institutions—to contribute to a broader discussion and legitimatize relevancy as a quality of life and economic incubator.