The History of Extension
The Morrill Act of 1862 established the land-grant system of universities in the United States to make higher education accessible to all people throughout the nation. The Hatch Act of 1887 established a system of agricultural experiment stations at land-grant universities devoted to mission-oriented research. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 was designed "to aid in diffusing among the people of the U.S. useful and practical information on subjects related to agriculture and home economics, and to encourage the application of the same." Thus, the three primary missions of land-grant universities became undergraduate and graduate education, fundamental and mission-oriented research, and outreach programs that extend the knowledge of the university beyond its walls to enrich the lives of all citizens.
The mission of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as the land-grant university in Illinois, is to serve the people of the State with research, teaching, and outreach programs. The nature of this mission is quite broad and places critical demands upon the limited resources of the university. Despite these limitations, the University of Illinois has established itself as one of the premier land-grant universities in the nation and as a world-class resource for Illinois.
The University of Illinois Cooperative Extension System is an integral component of the outreach mission of the university. From the beginning, faculty and staff in U of I Extension have advocated the philosophy of helping people help themselves by taking the university to the people. Initially the focus of most Extension education efforts was agriculture and home economics, as stated in the Smith-Lever Act. However, as the number of people involved in agricultural production has declined, as populations in urban centers have increased, and as research and technology have become more sophisticated, the focus of Extension education programs has shifted to meet different and frequently changing needs.
In 1988, the federal Cooperative Extension System reformulated its statement of purpose to address its role in helping people help themselves "through an educational process which uses scientific knowledge focused on issues and needs." This statement is unbounded by scientific discipline, audience, or geography.
For many years, U of I Extension, like other components of land-grant universities, has experienced increasing and conflicting demands on its resources and programs. U of I Extension has been asked to do more with less as the level of funding to support personnel and programs has deteriorated and expectations for Extension education have escalated. For example, the College of Agriculture had 319 faculty positions a decade ago. Today, the reorganized College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) has 241 faculty positions, a decline of 25 percent. The number of Extension faculty appointments, as measured in full-time equivalents, or FTEs, has declined by approximately 45 percent. Finally, the number of Extension field staff positions has declined by 30 percent since 1986.
In 1991, U of I Extension adopted a revitalization plan, called CES 2000, to accommodate expected declines in federal funding and to reorganize Extension so that it could address changing needs and issues more efficiently. Although the reorganization was controversial, the plan emphasized the need for more specialized advisers throughout Illinois to enhance the ability to assess the needs of clientele and deliver more effective programs. The plan called for the establishment of several centers that would house Extension educators with subject matter specializations. The reorganization placed subject matter specialists in closer proximity to clientele than ever before. Another goal of the revitalization plan was to add assistants and more professionals at the unit (county or multi-county) level, also to accommodate increasing local demands for more programs. However, this required an infusion of eight million dollars of State money, which was never realized. Consequently, reorganization was not accompanied by revitalization, so the intent of CES 2000 also was not fully realized.
Although financial and other significant changes have placed critical stress on the reorganization, the current organization has served as a transition to a structure that can and will serve the citizens of Illinois well into the next century.