Diverse Cultures-CES Welcome

In the article "Workforce 2000: Is Extension Agriculture Ready?" (Summer 1992), Chesney said, "the organization must make people of diverse cultures feel they're welcome and part of the system." Extension's challenge is enormous. How can Extension make culturally diverse people feel they're welcome and part of the system? It has been said that putting new wine in old wineskins will burst the old wineskins and the new wine will be spilled. New wine must be put into new wineskins. Similarly, putting diverse staff in an old Extension agricultural system won't achieve the outcome Chesney desires.

To make culturally diverse people not only feel but be welcome and part of the system requires a new system-a multicultural one. This is one goal of the Cooperative Extension System's emphasis on diversity and pluralism-to create an organization where everyone is empowered to realize their full potential and productivity. When a majority of staff value, embrace, and support differences, people of diverse cultures will be welcome and part of the system.

A first step in achieving this goal is for all state and territory Extension Services to commit staff and time to the task of creating a multicultural organization. Leadership for this emphasis is being provided in many states by special diversity committees. But, others, including Extension agricultural staff, can engage in activities to complement and support the efforts of these committees.

Soneeta Grogan
Extension Specialist, EFNEP and Families-at-Risk
Cooperative Extension Service
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This article is online at http://www.joe.org/joe/1992winter/let1.html.

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