Administrative Office/Unit Self-Study Report

Name of Office/Unit:   Extension

Leader Submitting Report: Cody Stone

Groups or Names of Individuals who contributed to this report:      4-H, Nutrition Education Program (NEP), County & Tribal Agents, Program leaders and Specialists, Directors Office

Covering Dates:    Academic years 2020 through 2023

 

Accomplishments around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (1 page)

MSU Extension is comprised of Faculty and Staff who serve the entire state. The Self-Study Discussion guide was provided to leaders from each of Extension’s three regions (Eastern, Central, Western), each of Extension’s four programs (Family and Consumer Sciences, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 4-H Youth Development, and Community Vitality), as well as the Communications unit and Nutrition Education Program team. Leaders of each unit had a conversation with their teams to answer questions in the discussion guide. Themes from these nine conversations are outlined below.

  • Theme #1: Campus (Extension Office & Organizational) Climate: MSU Extension’s campus is the entire state covering 56 counties and 7 reservations. Field Faculty and Staff strive to create inviting spaces in county and reservation offices, where all feel welcome. Examples of creating this welcoming space and encouraging DEI efforts include:
  1. MSU Extension dedicated a large portion of a recent annual conference doing employee engagement sessions, where everyone in the organization spent time brainstorming values, discussing purpose, and considering organizational health. After that information gathering session, administrative leaders utilized a method described in The Advantage, by Patrick Lencioni, where they answered the questions: Why do we exist? How do we behave? And what do we do? This exercise has created a roadmap for Extension to ensure we are all united in working to improve lives and communities throughout identified values of being relational, reliable, and responsive in our work.
  2. Many MSU Extension faculty and staff use the Gracious Space model, which encourages the development of warm and welcoming environments. In Gracious Space, facilitators lead with compassion and curiosity and invite in those that might not normally attend. Facilitators encourage deep listening and design open-minded learning environments where diverse opinions are welcome and actively sought.
  3. Since 2021, MSU Extension has offered a Director’s Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion which recognizes exemplary programmatic and community-based efforts.

 

  • Theme #2: Education & Scholarship: MSU Extension offers orientation, training and professional development related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Opportunities for these offerings occur as new employees are onboarded, as current employees attend annual training and updates, and additional opportunities are available through our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy Team. Examples include:
  1. At the 2023 Annual Conference, we spent a large portion of the first day exploring Indigenous history in Montana and continued with a focus on partnerships with indigenous communities today. These efforts included a variety of indigenous speakers, reflection on our current and future work with indigenous populations, and small group breakout sessions to explore these topics further.
  2. Extension’s DEI committee hosted two book clubs last year, each focusing on Native American communities in Montana (Brothers on Three (Arlee) and Counting Coup (Crow Agency/Hardin). Books were provided free of charge to those who wanted to read them and meet in small discussion groups to engage with the content. Previous book clubs have focused on the LGBTQ+ community and inherent bias.
  3. When new employees go through the onboarding process, they engage in training related to non-discrimination and civil rights, language access, Indian Education for all, and other DEI topics.
  4. MSU Extension’s Community Vitality team has led research efforts focused on understanding newcomers in rural communities and is currently replicating this research in tribal communities.
  5. Scholarship efforts in tribal communities have also included focused efforts related to food sovereignty, mental health education and support, indigenous leadership programs, positive youth development programs, and beginning farmer and rancher education.

 

  • Theme #3: Access & Success: MSU Extension reaches out to underserved audiences in efforts to reach all Montanans with programs and partnerships. This is done through a variety of targeted outreach and marketing efforts, specific materials and resources, programs for underserved audiences, and the gathering of data to determine reach. Examples of these efforts include:
  1. Extension Communications provides over one thousand educational publications, ensuring all materials posted on the website are ADA accessible, generally free of charge, and available to all Montanans. Publications work to use photos that are representative of diverse Montanans. Additionally, some popular MontGuides and 4-H materials have been translated into Spanish.
  2. Across the state, Extension faculty and staff work to ensure low-income families have access to scholarships to attend programming and events, in order to reduce any monetary barriers to participation.
  3. MSU Extension has created partnerships with tribal entities to fund tribal extension positions in the same way that county partnerships fund county-based faculty.
  4. A variety of programming and partnerships occur that are specific to indigenous communities. For example, Extension has funded tribal leadership program development, efforts related to mental health in tribal schools, and food sovereignty efforts in multiple tribal communities.
  5. The Nutrition Education Program serves Montana’s rural and indigenous communities. The program utilizes culturally relevant resources and programs such as Turtle Island Tales: https://turtleislandtales.org/
  6. During a recent statewide needs assessment, demographic data was tracked to ensure participation of a variety of races, ethnicities, ages, genders, income levels, etc. Targeted outreach collected data from underrepresented demographic groups so that all input was considered to plan for future MSU Extension efforts and strategic investments.
  7. Extension Faculty and Staff collect demographic data during programs (example: 4-H, Nutrition Education Program) to track participation across demographics.

 

Conclusions about your accomplishments (1/2 page) 

  1. MSU Extension exists to improve lives and communities across Montana, for all Montanans. We engage with communities to address needs by developing and sharing unbiased, research-based information and education for all Montanans. We are relational in our work across the state, building and sustaining respectful partnerships and using collaborative approaches to understand and meet the needs of all Montanans. We are reliable, providing research-based information that is unbiased and timely, working hard to ensure we remain a trusted partner across the state. Finally, we are responsive, serving as a client-centered resource that is relevant and proactively works to meet the needs of the people and places of Montana. Instead of creating programs and services, and then bringing them to the people of the state, MSU Extension works to engage with communities, understand local needs, and then help to meet those identified needs through a variety of programs, services, partnerships and collaborations.
  2. MSU Extension faculty and staff seek to learn, grow, and understand the diverse people they serve. Since 2019, MSU Extension has had an active Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy Team. This strategy team, comprised of Extension faculty and staff, has coordinated and offered a variety of professional development opportunities, including organizing book clubs, hosting speakers, and providing training to members of our organization. Past book clubs have read and discussed books such as Out In the Country: Youth, Media, and Queer Visibility in Rural America, and Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana.
  3. MSU Extension is committed to expanding service to our indigenous communities. Extension has worked to partner with tribal entities to create jointly funded positions serving two tribal communities. Extension has committed resources and built partnerships to ensure ongoing, long-term positions in these locations above and beyond the historically grant-funded positions that serve some of Montana’s tribal communities. In addition to these partnerships in specific communities, MSU Extension works to enhance all faculty and staff members understanding of how to partner with indigenous communities and individuals through professional development sessions such as those offered at our 2023 annual conference.

 

Reflecting on the Data (1/2 page)

Extension has more than twice as many female employees than male employees, with over 72% of our faculty female. While we recruit for diversity, our race data shows approximately 92% white employees. Ideally, our faculty and staff would more closely reflect the diversity of our state.

 

Extension seeks to hire candidates to serve local communities that reflect the diversity of those communities. Extension works to recruit local community members to positions throughout the state through utilization of local advertising options. In addition, advertising efforts are targeted to diverse audiences through HigherEd Jobs Diversity Options for advertising, as well as the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Diversity Option.  These options place the ad in front of diverse audiences across the country and indicate to applicants that we are an employer that values a diverse work force. Extension would like to learn more about best practices related to recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce.

 

Goals: Strategic Planning Around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (1 page)

Goal 1: Ensure all Montanans have access to and feel welcome at Extension programs and services

 

Strategies:

  • Partner with tribal entities to create sustainable field faculty positions serving Montana’s indigenous communities
  • Continue to utilize and expand the use of Gracious Space throughout Extension programming
  • Ensure marketing of programs and services reaches diverse audiences throughout the state through utilization of a multitude of channels (print media, radio, social media, television, email, etc.)
  • Continue development of language access plan, use of accessibility statement, nondiscrimination statement, and other efforts.

 Metrics:

  • Increase number of tribal partnerships
  • Increase number of Faculty and Staff trained in Gracious Space
  • Continued monitoring of program reach through demographic data

 

Goal 2: Continued professional development for Extension faculty and staff on diversity, equity, and inclusion

 Strategies:

  • Continue annual Civil Rights/Diversity training, and add regional trainings with additional support offered
  • Continued support for DEI Strategy Team
  • Continued support for professional development related to tribal Extension

Metrics:

  • Increase Civil Rights/Diversity training by offering regional training and individual office support
  • Support DEI Strategy Team with new call for members and resources or support for 2024-2025 book club
  • Offer professional development opportunities for those interested in a follow up to the 2023 Annual Conference activities related to working with indigenous communities