VTechWorks Repository :: Browsing by Author "Elliott-Engel, Jeremy"

Browsing by Author "Elliott-Engel, Jeremy"

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12

Administrators’ Perspectives on Organizational Environmental Factors Facing 4-H Youth Development
Elliott-Engel, Jeremy; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Seibel, Megan M.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Radhakrishna, Rama (Elsevier, 2024-01)
4-H is the largest youth development organization in the United States and is the youth development program of the Land-Grant University’s Cooperative Extension system. A qualitative study of 13 4-H Program Leaders and seven Cooperative Extension Directors was conducted to explore the perspectives Extension Administrators hold about the organizational environmental factors facing the 4-H program. Data were analyzed using a qualitative open coding methodology. Five themes emerged from the study in response to the identified environmental factors: 1) key components of the traditional club model need to be ensured in all programming conducted; 2) the need to develop a club programming matrix to help county-level staff manage the impact and their workload; 3) good partners will expand the 4-H programs’ capacity; 4) increased involvement of first generation youth and families is needed; and 5) intentional marketing and raising awareness of the “new 4-H brand.” Adaptation poses important questions, challenges, and opportunities for the 4-H program. Because administrators represent a national population of Administrators, these insights can inform youth organizations in the United States and internationally.
Administrator’s Perspectives on the Environmental Factors Facing Cooperative Extension
Elliott-Engel, Jeremy; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Seibel, Megan M.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Radhakrishna, Rama (American Association for Agricultural Education, 2020-02-02)
Extension is a complex organization with a mission to deliver research from the Land-Grant University to all U.S. communities. Extension administrator perspectives of the environmental factor changes that are facing the organization were investigated in this qualitative study to inform the direction for organization adaptation. Extension needs to respond to: shifts in funding and clientele demographics. Organization adaptation can cause long-term stakeholders to fear loss and therefore can act against the organization. Administrators need to be responsive to traditional stakeholder concerns to reduce shifting focus friction and achieve organization adaptation, and further survival.
Advancing Adaptive Leadership Through Adaption-Innovation Theory: Enhancements to the Holding Environment
Seibel, Megan M.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Cletzer, D. Adam; Elliott-Engel, Jeremy (Wiley, 2023)
While adaptive leadership is a useful framework for leadership practitioners, there is limited empirical research supporting its conceptual tools and tactics. Kirton’s adaption-innovation (A-I) theory contends individuals have innate problem-solving style preferences for more or less structure. In this conceptual paper, we examine the theoretical underpinnings of adaptive leadership and A-I theory within the context of complex problem solving. We connect A-I theory to concepts from adaptive leadership to connect a more rigorous and empirically supported theory to a popular practice. We go further to explore how a leaders’ A-I style informs a leader's maintenance of an adaptive leadership holding environment (HE), particularly with regard to facilitating a productive zone of disequilibrium (PZD).
A Case of Shifting Focus Friction: Extension Directors and State 4-H Program Leaders’ Perspectives on 4-H LGBT Inclusivity
Contemporary Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) youth are identifying and communicating their identities earlier in childhood then generations before as a result of more awareness and more acceptance. A qualitative study of U.S. 4-H program leaders and Extension directors resulted in an emergent theme around serving LGBT youth. The administrators of 4-H, the largest youth serving organization in the country, recognize the presence and believe the organization to be inclusive. Challenges remain in ensuring youth experience inclusion at all levels of the organization and to manage political and societal pressures resulting from shifting focus friction.
The Economic Impact of Agency 229: An examination of industry and community impacts
Travis, Elli; Alwang, Albert; Olberding, Beth; Lyon-Hill, Sarah; Elliott-Engel, Jeremy; Provo, John (Virginia Tech. Office of Economic Development, 2018-01)
The social and economic impacts of Agency 229 on the Commonwealth of Virginia are vast and diverse. As a state-funded entity, legislative bodies often ask Agency 229 to illustrate those impacts. Currently, 229 faculty assess research and extension programming using quantitative metrics such as head-counts at trainings and research dollars awarded. Outcomes of activities are communicated qualitatively through impact statements that provide summary information on trainings and anecdotal evidence of benefits to attendees and those who benefit from direct technical assistance. Occasionally, researchers will team up with the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics to assess the potential economic impact of an innovation. Others who focus on agricultural products sold through nationwide and commodity markets will compare yield gains over time and attribute a portion of gains to research and extension efforts. The numerous media headlines and narratives describing the localized impacts of research and technical assistance initiatives have been another powerful approach to telling Agency 229’s story. As the agency looks ahead, however, the growing trend for more data-driven funding justifications challenge Agency 229 to illustrate its economic impacts in different, more comprehensive ways that connect its activities to industry and community development in the commonwealth. This type of evaluation can further help prioritize resources and improve programming. Recently, Virginia’s state legislature released a mandate, directing Agency 229 to develop a strategy for leveraging state investment with industry partnerships that “result in technological and scientific advancements needed to grow the state’s agricultural and natural resource economy.” Moreover, Agency 229 has to consider its role in university-led initiatives such as the Virginia Agriculture and Natural Resources Initiative: Growing our future with public-private partnership and the Global Systems Science Complex and Destination Area. These initiatives offer opportunities to leverage resources and increase the agency’s overall economic impact. This study assesses the current impacts of Agency 229 as they relate to the economy of Commonwealth of Virginia and provides recommendations on how to leverage activities and funding to increase those impacts in the future. We begin by providing an overview of Agency 229 and different approaches to studying the economic impact of university entities. Many approaches exist; however, because impacts of such a large entity can be difficult to quantify or even qualify, not many institutions have endeavored to conduct a large comprehensive study of this type. We approach the assessment of the economic impact of Agency 229 using an industry and community case study lens. By looking at the influence of 229 extension and research innovations have on individual sectors of the economy and specific communities, we can uncover many of the causal mechanisms through which 229 activities affect change and in turn facilitate economic growth and development. We first review five industries that contribute significantly to Virginia’s agricultural economy and assess Agency 229 research and extension efforts as they relate to those sectors. We then take four communities located across the commonwealth as examples to identify social and economic impacts that VCE and Agency 229 research have at the county level.
Extension Administrators’ Perspectives on Employee Competencies and Characteristics
Elliott-Engel, Jeremy; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Seibel, Megan M.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Radhakrishna, Rama (Clemson University Press, 2021-07-23)
Extension administrators discussed the competencies and characteristics of Extension professionals as they explored how Extension will need adapt to changing clientele, both in who they are and how they want to receive information. Extension education curriculum is not fully preparing future Extension employees in all required competencies, falling short on use of technology, diversity and pluralism, volunteer development, marketing, and public relations, risk management, and the community development process. Additionally, the Extension educator workforce development pipeline is not preparing a demographically representative population, leaving state administrators struggling to hire prepared professionals, especially those with in-culture competency (e.g., racial and ethnic minority and urban).
Extension’s Response to the Change in Public Value: Considerations for Ensuring Financial Security for the Cooperative Extension System
Elliott-Engel, Jeremy; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Seibel, Megan M.; Kaufman, Eric K. (2020-06-22)
Cooperative Extension is a partnership of county, state, and federal governments to fund the translation and community education of applied research from the land-grant university system. Cooperative Extension’s funding since the 1980s has experienced a few key trends such as federal budget stagnation as well as state and county cyclic funding cycles based on the states’ economic health. Accompanying the state-level budget cuts have been calls for Cooperative Extension to reinvent and improve communication about what it does. As budget stability has become a greater concern, ideas around value and return on investment have become more integrated into the messaging about why Cooperative Extension should be funded. These economic terms reflect the integration of neoliberalism’s frame. In a larger qualitative research study about how Cooperative Extension administrators recognize the need for change, funding emerged as a fundamental influence of organization adaptation. The public contract between citizen, legislature, and public-serving organizations has changed to, “What is the return on investment?” To respond to the shifting narrative, it was necessary to assess, measure, and communicate value. However, administrators also recognized relationships mattered to how the message was received by legislators and other funders.
Shifts in funding of public value for higher-education engagement: Extension administrator perspectives
Elliott-Engel, Jeremy; Seibel, Megan M.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Radhakrishna, Rama; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M. (National Association of Extension Program and Staff Development Professionals, 2018-12-11)
Introduction/Theoretical Framework/Review of the Literature: The dominant narrative communicated in the literature is that in order to improve Extension’s public support, Extension needs to measure impacts and more effectively communicate value to stakeholders (Kalambokidis, 2011; West, Drake, & Londo, 2009). Improving evaluation efforts have been aimed at supporting the narratives shared with legislators to increase public funding (Conone, 1991; Cummings & Boleman, 2006; Fetsch & Bolen, 1989; Graf, 1993; Franz, 2013). The promise of this narrative is that if Extension does a better job of documenting and communicating the economic and public impact of Extension programs then more financial resources will be appropriated (Davis, 2012; Franz, 2013; Stup, 2003; Zotz, 2004). In order to build support for Extension, “public value stories and statements” (Chazdon & Paine, 2014) or “public good” (Franz, 2015) are terminologies that have been used synonymously with “impact.” This is a movement occurring across the not-for-profit sector. The United States is experiencing a societal change that has removed the contract of public support for public services. The trend reflects a strengthening of neoliberalism in the political discourse in the United States. Neoliberalism is commonly referred to as an economic theory. Yet, it is comprised of values, ideologies, and practices that work as a “cultural field.” Giroux (2004) makes the argument that neoliberalism’s cultural dimensions erode public participation, which is the very nature of democratic life. Under neoliberal policies, the symbolic, educational, and economic capital necessary for engaged citizenship is being increasingly undercut (Giroux, 2004). Purpose and Objectives: The changing nature of public value was discovered as an emergent theme as a part of a larger descriptive qualitative study on Extension and 4-H’s organizational environmental factors. The research question of the larger study was: What environmental factors do Extension administrators perceive as being challenges for their Extension organization and the 4-H program? The objective of this project is to share State Extension Directors and 4-H Program Leaders perspectives on the changing public value contract.
State Administrators' Perceptions of the Environmental Challenges of Cooperative Extension and the 4-H Program and Their Resulting Adaptive Leadership Behaviors
Elliott-Engel, Jeremy (Virginia Tech, 2018-11-15)
Society has changed since Cooperative Extension and the 4-H youth program began. Over time the purpose for Extension has been challenged. Yet, there has been little empirical literature published on the administrators' role and perspectives of the organizational environment or on the resulting leadership behaviors. A qualitative study was conducted to develop a baseline. State Extension Directors (n=7) and State 4-H Program Leaders (n=13) from 15 regionally-representative states were interviewed. Participants were asked to conduct a SWOT Analysis on both the Extension system and the 4-H program in their state and their leadership behaviors were explored. Extension administrators emphasized the organization's relevance to society and that the mission would remain focused on agriculture, although with an expanded focus on agriculture as more than production. Administrators did recognize many specific environmental shifts, including a changing funding model; challenges and importance of serving a diversifying population; the tension between urbanizing populations and shrinking rural communities; and, the changing role of technology for programming. Administrators described that they were experiencing shifting focus friction from historic audiences that were afraid of losing services due to the aforementioned environmental factors. Administrators' leadership behaviors were reflective of the Adaptive Leadership behavior construct introduced by Heifetz (1994). Communication was the key behavior that is required to lead effectively. In order to successfully implement a strategy, trust with stakeholders needed to be established. Diversity in feedback was important for the administrators to feel confident in their ability to understand the changes in the organizational environment.
State Administrators’ Perspectives on the Environmental Factors Facing Cooperative Extension
Elliott-Engel, Jeremy; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Seibel, Megan M.; Radhakrishna, Rama (American Association for Agricultural Education, 2024-06-30)
Cooperative Extension is a complex organization with a mission to deliver research from the Land-Grant University to all U.S. communities. To inform the direction for organization adaptation, this qualitative study investigated Extension administrator perspectives of the environmental factor changes facing the organization. Findings reveal that Extension needs to respond to shifts in funding and clientele demographics. Organizational adaptation can cause long-term stakeholders to fear loss and act against the organization. Administrators must be responsive to traditional stakeholder concerns and build a shared understanding of the mission to reduce shifting focus friction and facilitate the organization adaptation necessary for survival.
Teaching in the University: Learning from Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty
Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Elliott-Engel, Jeremy; Vengrin, Courtney (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in affiliation with Virginia Tech Publishing, 2022)

Teaching in the University: Learning from Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty provides insight and strategies for successful teaching, advising, and mentoring postsecondary students. In particular, the authors offer support and encouragement for implementing student-centered teaching practices relevant to college classrooms. This book is designed for new university teaching faculty and graduate teaching assistants looking for innovative teaching resources. As an Open Educational Resource (OER), this textbook provides university instructors free access to high-quality teaching materials based on the experiences of fellow new instructors. Twenty contributors and two co-editors from the current students and alumni of university teaching scholars programs offer this resource for fellow faculty and graduate students to improve instruction and engagement. Each chapter comes from the experiences and expertise of these talented individuals who speak directly to their peers. If you are an instructor reviewing, adopting, or adapting this textbook, please help us understand your use by filling out this form. How to access this book
PDF, low-resolution PDF, and ePub may be found on the left side of your screen.
Online: in Pressbooks at https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/universityteaching.
Print: Order a print version by clicking here. The main landing page for this book is: https://doi.org/10.21061/universityteaching. Table of contents
Chapter 1: Relational Learning: Creating a “Working Alliance” in the Classroom
VIGNETTE: Supporting International Graduate Teaching Assistants
Chapter 2: Authenticity
VIGNETTE: Structure and Organization to Facilitate Learning in My Large Class During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Chapter 3: Indigenizing Your Classroom: A Practice in Inclusion Pedagogy
Chapter 4: Teaching Practices for Student-Centered Learning Online
Chapter 5: Technology Makes It Easier
VIGNETTE: No really, I don’t have internet
Chapter 6: Fun Fridays: Incorporating Hands-on Learning into Lecture Courses
Chapter 7: Using Grade Appeals as a Learning Tool VIGNETTE: Does "Fairness" Get in the Way of Learning and Equity?
Chapter 8: How to Oversee a Laboratory Course Taught by Teaching Assistants: Experiences in the Lab and Field VIGNETTE: Use of Personal Response System in Classrooms
Chapter 9: Teaching, Training, and Mentoring Students in Research Practices Inside and Outside the Classroom VIGNETTE: Lessons Learned as a First-Time Experiential Learning Program Instructor
Chapter 10: The Power of Extension: Research, Teaching, and Outreach for Broader Impacts
Chapter 11: Program Planning for Community Engagement and Broader Impacts
Chapter 12: Personalized Advising that Is Purposely Inconsistent: The Constants of Great Advisors and the Variability that Demands Adaptability
Chapter 13: Engaging the Fear: How to Utilize Student Evaluations, Accept Feedback, and Further Teaching Practice VIGNETTE: So You've Landed the Job... (or Surviving Your First Semester) Editors
Donna Westfall-Rudd, Courtney Vengrin, and Jeremy Elliott-Engel Contributors
Hannah Angel, Ghadir Asadi, Anne M. Brown, Caitlin Cridland, Courtney A. Crist, Nasim Ebadi, Jeremy Elliott-Engel, Javier S. Garcia, Leah Hamilton, Laura Hanzly, Gordon Jones, Qualla ᏆᎳ Ketchum, Sihui Ma, Rachel Mack, Chris McCullough, Didier Mena-Aguilar, William Moore, Emily Ott, Courtney Vengrin, and Bethany Wolters This work is published by Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in association with Virginia Tech Publishing. Suggested citation
Westfall-Rudd, D., Vengrin, C., and Elliott-Engle, J. (eds.) Teaching in the University: Learning from Graduate Students and Early-Career Faculty. Blacksburg: Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. https://doi.org/10.21061/universityteaching License: CC BY-NC 4.0. Chapter proposal reviewers
Kirby Barrick, Emeritus Professor and former Associate Dean of Agricultural Education, University of Florida
Kellie Claflin, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
Tracy Rutherford, Department Head, Agriculture Leadership and Community Education, Virginia Tech Peer review
Leah Hamilton, Department of Food Science and Technology, Virginia Tech Editorial
Layout, accessibility, and typesetting: Leah Hamilton
Illustration and cover design: Kindred Grey
Production editor: Caitlin Bean
Project manager / editor: Anita Walz ISBN (print): 978-1-949373-49-3
ISBN (EPUB): 978-1-949373-83-7
ISBN (PDF): 978-1-949373-48-6
ISBN (Pressbooks): 978-1-949373-47-9
https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/universityteaching
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21061/universityteaching Accessibility
Virginia Tech Publishing is committed to making its publications accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The HTML and screen reader–friendly PDF versions of this book utilize header structures and include alternative text which allow for machine-readability. An ePub version is also available.
When Leadership Terminology Collides: A Spirited Comparison of Adaption-Innovation Theory and Adaptive Leadership
Cletzer, D. Adam; Seibel, Megan M.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Friedel, Curtis R.; Elliott-Engel, Jeremy (Association of Leadership Educators, 2021-06-28)
As researchers, scholars, and practitioners, leadership educators apply an intellectual inquiry process, identifying what is known and understood, and what is not. Often, this requires seeking clarity around terms and considering how similarities might be contextualized differently between theory and practice. Exemplified through research and teaching, both Adaption-Innovation (A-I) Theory and Adaptive Leadership share similar vocabularies surrounding the concept of adaption. Both are concerned with how individuals and groups solve varying types of problems and navigate change, but one emphasizes individual differences in cognitive style while the other prescribes a series of leader/group processes. This moderated panel affords opportunity for a deep dive into the nuanced overlap of terminology with the premise that leadership educators often teach and model theoretically sound concepts in practice-based contexts. An examined comparison of A-I theory to Adaptive Leadership may illuminate this valuable example of connecting rigorous, empirically supported theory and pragmatic practice.

Browsing by Author "Elliott-Engel, Jeremy"

Results Per Page

Sort Options