Assembly Bill Proposes Major Change To UNCE Administration

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

Leaders of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) programs around the state of Nevada are bracing for the possibility of a major change in the way their programs are administered. A new bill currently before the State Legislature would be the agent of that change.

Assembly Bill 407, sponsored by Assemblywoman Olivia Diaz of Las Vegas, proposes to split the state-wide Extension program into two zones, north and south. The northern zone would be managed by University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) while southern zone programs would be administered by University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Included in the southern zone would be all of Clark, Nye and Lincoln counties. If the bill passes, the change would be effective this summer.

Cooperative Extension programs across the country have been formally established for more than a century now. Federal legislation was passed in 1914 establishing a partnership between the US Department of Agriculture and specially designated land-grant universities, in order to apply research and provide education in “agriculture and the mechanical arts.”

In Nevada, the land grant status was given to the University of Nevada in 1864 when the State Constitution was ratified and the institution was established. The resultant University was originally located in Elko but was moved to Reno in 1885 and became known as UNR. In 1957 the system was expanded to include a southern region which later became UNLV. A further expansion occurred in 1959 to create the Desert Research Institute (DRI).

But the function of administering the Cooperative Extension programs throughout the state was always unified in a single institution at UNR.
The proposed bill would change that pattern. AB407 asserts that since UNLV and DRI are part of the University of Nevada system, the land-grant status extends to them as well. Thus UNCE programs operating in the southern part of the state should be separately administered by the southern institutions.

The impetus behind the introduction of AB407 was a policy brief released by the Lincy Institute earlier this year, and written by a group of UNLV professors. The brief claims that the UNR’s administration of UNCE in southern Nevada has been inadequate and ineffective. It further asserts that UNLV is better connected with the region’s non-profit education, health and social service network than UNR, and thus is better positioned to manage UNCE services.

The brief claims that the current UNCE’s limited engagement in southern Nevada may stem from an “inability to develop programs commensurate with its resources.” It notes a large rolling surplus of unspent Clark County property tax revenues which should be devoted to programs in the region, but has not been.
“Given the limited resources directed to areas such as health, education and social services, and the high need demands in these areas, Cooperative Extension Service’s decision not to spend the millions of dollars it has available suggests that the current system is not working,” the report concludes.

But UNCE officials say that the state’s program has had responsible and well-balanced management throughout its history and that the program meets a variety of important needs throughout the state, most of which are not noted in the report.

In an interview with the Progress, Director of UNCE and Associated Dean for Engagement at the UNR College of Agriculture, Mark Walker, noted that the state of Nevada has vastly diverse needs both rural and urban. No one program could possibly meet all of those needs, he said.
“But we do meet many of those needs,” Walker said. “And we do our best to develop programs to meet the unique needs of wherever we are throughout the state, including Clark County.”

Walker explained that UNCE has a network of education experts who reside in, and are part of, communities, both large and small, throughout the state. These experts perform needs assessments for their communities. The formal public documents reveal different needs and a different focus areas for each community.
“We have locally-based people on the ground in the communities,” Walker said. “They have a good feel for what is happening and what is needed in their communities.”

Resources are then devoted to filling the unique needs that are identified in the specific communities, Walker added.
An example are the many programs run by the UNCE office in Logandale. A local needs assessment was done about six years ago, using community feedback, revealing some unique local needs in the areas of health and fitness, economic development and assistance for small businesses. Local extension educator Carol Bishop quickly went to work in providing programs to meet those needs.

Those programs have enjoyed steady growth since then. A whole lineup of health and nutritious programs are offered by extension educator Penny Blair. A total of 13 classes per week cover subjects like strength and circuit training, Zumba classes, aerobics, nutrition, lactation counseling and more.

Bishop herself has been active in economic development efforts in the community. She has assisted local non-profits, including the MV Chamber, MV Revitalization Project, and Mesquite Regional Business, in writing grants for community beautification and improvement. She has also provided a “small business incubator” at her UNCE facility where enterprises like Yoga and Martial Arts instruction have gotten off the ground and allowed to take root until the programs have strong enough enrollment to lease space elsewhere.

Perhaps most important is the local 4-H program. The Logandale UNCE administered no less than 20 organized clubs last year, involving nearly 300 regular members, both youth and adult. 4-H short-term programs, like day camps and one-time events, reached out to nearly 1,300 people last year in the community. And local 4-H coordinator Lacy Tom spends one day each week teaching STEM science programs to about 280 fifth graders at Grant Bowler Elementary school.

These types of rural programs are entirely absent from the findings of the Lincy Report, Walker said. In addition, AB407 presents no plans regarding UNLV’s capacity to meet the requirements of working with Agriculture and Horticulture programs, a subject area that has never been included in the scope of offerings at the university.
“Most of what the Lincy report focuses on is urban programming in Clark County,” Walker said. “There is nothing mentioned about the rural parts of the county, or Lincoln and Nye counties for that matter. Rather the focus is more on enhancing programs that already exist within the urban institutions. Frankly, it is all pretty vague.”

Walker admits that plans need to be made on how to use the UNCE surplus for southern Nevada. But those plans should be methodically developed in a thoughtful and carefully considered way, he said.
“According to this plan (AB 407), all of this would be effective on July 1 of this year,” Walker said. “That is less than two months away. That timeframe causes concern that this great big proposal has not been very well thought out. Any major change like this should merit an in depth discussion about its effects, and that conversation has not happened.”

State Senator Pete Goicoechea, who represents a vast district in the rural center of the state including Moapa and Logandale, shares many of these concerns. Goicoechea fears that AB407 will just funnel scarce resources away from the rurals and into the urban areas of the state.
“The north is adamantly opposed to this because it will hurt the programs in small rural areas,” Goicoechea said. “But I think that, when it’s all said and done, it will also hurt the rural communities in the southern part of the state too; especially in Nye and Lincoln county and in places like Moapa Valley.”

By splitting the administration of UNCE between north and south, it would create a whole new administrative expense center, Goicoechea said. By some estimates, the annual costs of administration for the new three-county southern region could be as much as $900,000. This new expense would stretch UNCE resources all across the state, Goicoechea said.
“We are going to oppose that bill,” Goicoechea said, “and we are hoping to kill it in the Senate.”
Local UNCE educator Carol Bishop said that she was not entirely sure what effect the proposed change would have on local programs. But it does bring a small element of uncertainty to the future of programs that have seen tremendous success in the local UNCE. Either way, though, she said that she would be committed to continuing her work for the betterment of the Moapa Valley communities.

“I came to northeastern Clark County as a result of being placed here as extension educator almost eight years ago,” Bishop said. “I have a deep love for the place and the people. Some may be concerned about these recent developments. But I will continue to work on new innovative programs and new strategic partnerships to leverage the resources we have for the benefit of our residents.”