Purdue Extension in the Future

I'll never forget the time I was traveling in rural Manitoba, Canada, with Dr. Nicole Adams (now a Research Associate Professor at Purdue University's Regenstrief Center for Healthcare), and we stopped for lunch at a small café. When we walked in (I swear you could hear a needle scratch a record), everyone looked up at us. It was a hearty crowd of rural men and women enjoying some "time off," as it was the middle of February.

Finally, one of them broke the silence, "So, where ya from, eh?" (or something of the sort).

"We are from Purdue University in the United States," I responded.

"Oh, we know Purdue. Great school. We have U of M and USask, but sometimes we have to look to Purdue, Iowa State, and other schools for answers."

Perked up with school pride (both Nicole and I are Purdue graduates and employees), we enjoyed our meal and great conversations that ensued.

Fortunately for Purdue University and the people we serve through Purdue Extension, these types of conversations happen near and far. I've had them under a cotton tree in a remote village in rural Cameroon and at the McDonald's in Winamac, Indiana.

Currently, in Indiana, a conversation about Purdue would very likely focus on the future of Purdue Extension.

Why?

Throughout the United States, land-grant universities are concerned about serving their constituents and the sustainability of their Extension systems. Founded in 1914, the Cooperative Extension System has had countless positive impacts on the individual, household, farm, business, and community levels. But while our tradition is strong, the world we live in now bears little resemblance to that of our great-great-grandparents.

We are at an inflection point.

However, if I were asked to have this conversation right now, I would focus on basketball.

One could argue that Purdue Extension's approach has been reminiscent of man-to-man defense. The hallmarks of this defense are that it assigns each defender a specific opponent to guard, regardless of where the ball goes. The biggest advantage is accountability. Every defensive player knows exactly who they're responsible for, which makes it harder for offensive players to get "lost" or find soft spots. In Extension terms, man-to-man recalls the county-based model, in which Extension educators are assigned to a county and program area(s) (4-H Youth Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Community Development, and/or Health and Human Sciences). Every county knows "their" educators, and every educator knows their county, which builds relational trust. However, this assignment often means the educator must lean toward being a generalist, so they are positioned to assist everyone, from soil health and farm business management at the farm level to food security and financial security at the family level. And if that educator leaves their post, their institutional memory goes with them, creating the need to find a new educator and start the cycle over. As our own Gene Keady showed Boilermaker fans for 25 seasons, man-to-man has many upsides, especially when you have high-quality, dedicated personnel like Purdue Extension has had for over 110 years.

There is another option, one I grew up watching in upstate New York, zone defense. Jim Boeheim of Syracuse University was famous for his 2-3 zone, and, like the knuckleball in baseball, when it is cooking, it cooks. In zone defense, defenders guard areas of the floor rather than specific players. Zone conserves energy, prevents dribble penetration, and can neutralize a team's best individual scorer because no single defender is "assigned" to them. One might say that zone fosters resilience. In Extension terms, zone defense is a regional model that assigns experts to clusters of counties (or regions). To be successful, a zone-like approach requires a strong team in which Extension educators, Extension partners, and local/regional leaders communicate and collaborate effectively. Integrated into this approach is the ability to address pressing concerns on a scale where they actually exist, in a region. Today’s challenges, from agriculture to childcare to economic development to civic engagement, don’t fit neatly inside a county line.

Admittedly, zone is not a panacea. If it were, more teams would follow Boeheim's approach. In reality, most teams might favor one, but play both. Within Purdue Extension, our Program Areas exhibit certain inherent tendencies. For example, 4-H Youth Development is deeply tied to local clubs and community identity. Community Development, on the other hand, often operates at municipal, county, and regional levels.

We don’t have to imagine this blend. We’re already living it. The Purdue Extension's Succession Planning program, introduced in 2011, embodies the man-to-man approach, as it was initiated by county-based Extension professionals working in close collaboration with campus-based and state-focused Extension specialists at the Purdue Institute for Family Business. It is also man-to-man in that we work directly, often one-on-one, with farm families, family-owned businesses, and small businesses through a variety of programs, including Succession Planning, Becoming the Employer of Choice, and Digital Ready Business. At the same time, the Succession Planning program plays ‘zone’ as training is delivered at the regional level through workshops held across Indiana or online via synchronous webinars, allowing us to scale our efforts so we can reach as many people as possible before focusing on individualized consultations with families and their businesses. Programs like Farm Shield: Protecting Your Legacy, Leaving a Lasting Legacy, and personalized Farm Family Visits all reflect this blend of broad regional reach and targeted, relational support. Resources such as The Farm's Legacy Guidebook (EC-817-W) and the Code Red Plan provide families with practical tools for goal-setting, management transfer, and crisis preparedness. And now, given our expertise and success, our 'zone' has grown to a national one through Who Will Fill My Shoes: Succession Planning for Land Owners, Farmers, Forest Owners, and Family Businesses, an online program available nationwide, including to the people we serve here in Indiana.

Beyond Extension, these efforts benefit from all three pillars of the land-grant mission. Dr. Maria Marshall and Dr. Renee Wiatt have authored numerous peer-reviewed research papers on succession planning, anchoring our Extension programming in rigorous scholarship. On the teaching side, Dr. Marshall and Dr. Michael Wilcox have mentored graduate and undergraduate students on topics related to small business and economic development, including students such as Karie Taylor and Kyla Wolfe, who are now preparing to attend law school and pursue careers in succession planning. This integration of Extension, research, and teaching is what makes the program and the land-grant model so powerful.

Undergoing a transformation of our current scale is not easy. Change rarely is, especially when it touches relationships built over years and the great pride we take in knowing our communities. But no matter the approach, Purdue Extension is committed to delivering practical, research-based information that enhances lives and livelihoods. We are exploring ways to maintain our tangible, effective local presence while fostering a thriving, flexible, interconnected team that leverages strong ties with campus-based and state-focused Extension specialists and the on-the-ground expertise of an agile team of Regional Educator experts who live, work, and play in the region. This hybrid approach is likely the most sustainable in the long term. Like soil health, we need to recognize that we cannot sacrifice long-term impact for myopic, short-term goals. We cannot keep doing what served our great-great-grandparents and call it service to our great-great-grandchildren. We must work together and focus on the future.