Extension piques interest of Italian university
The delegation heard presentations about land-grant work from John Anderson, director of the Cooperative Extension Service, food system trends in the United States by Ron Rainey, assistant vice president for the Division of Agriculture, and heirloom grains by Ryan Loy, extension economist.
By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
June 21, 2024
Fast facts:
- Sicilian delegation learns about extension outreach
- “Nobody else has this. We don’t take this for granted.” — John Anderson
(478 words)
(Newsrooms: with photo of Anderson with group )
LITTLE ROCK — Italy is home to a university that’s been teaching for most of a millennium, yet a group of Sicilian educators found themselves intrigued by a uniquely American learning concept that’s merely 110 years old.
Earlier this month, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding with Kore University of Enna, Sicily. Representatives from the university and City of Enna were also in Little Rock to sign a sister city agreement.
Agriculture, especially its grain, is an important part of the history and lore of both Enna and Kore. Kore is the name of the mythical Persephone, daughter of the grain goddess Demeter, who was abducted by Hades to the underworld. Enna, in the myth, was where the abduction took place.
The delegation heard presentations about land-grant work from John Anderson, director of the Cooperative Extension Service, food system trends in the United States by Ron Rainey, assistant vice president for the Division of Agriculture, and heirloom grains by Ryan Loy, extension economist.
The land-grant system in the U.S. has three parts: teaching, research and extension outreach. In Arkansas, these parts are conducted by the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
The land-grant concept dates back to the time of Abraham Lincoln, who envisioned an education system that brings new discoveries and knowledge to all corners of an expanding nation.
Anderson’s explanation of extension’s land-grant role in knowledge-technology transfer and its history energized the Italian audience. Extension is unique to the U.S., he said.
“Nobody else has this. We don’t take this for granted,” Anderson said. “We would love to find ways to help other countries get some of the benefits of an extension network, even if they can’t have what we’ve had for 100 years.”
Liberia La Porta, Kore’s minister of economic finance, said, “We have a good system of teaching and research, but not extension.”
The delegation felt extension might be a good fit for Kore, a private university established in 2004. The delegation compared Kore to the ancient Italian universities of Bologna and Padua, founded in 1088 and 1222, respectively.
Kore is “a young university, so I think it’s easier to change something or think something new,” said Maria Poala La Caria, director of tourism and culture, Kore University and Kore Sicilia Consortium. “Kore could be a good university of make an experiment of this.”
The aim of the agreement between Kore and the Division of Agriculture is to further “international cooperation in research and education,” including joint research projects, faculty guest lectures, and exchanges of student, faculty and researchers, as well as research reports and other scholarly materials.
The five-year agreement involves no financial obligations for either party but allows each institution to seek financing to support cooperative programs.
The agreement represents the first U.S. partnership for Kore University.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu