Growing Greater Together: Dr. Woods Draws on Extension’s Legacy to Drive Community Impact
In 1906, the first Extension agents took the road to bring agriculture education outside the walls of higher education institutions and to farmers. This new idea of demonstration work that brought scientific findings from agricultural experiment stations to farmers so they could learn to be self-sustaining or produce food more profitably set the precedent for today's national Extension system. Today, Cooperative Extension in Virginia provides programs and services based on research and packed with actionable information that producers, individuals and communities can put into practice to improve their livelihoods. At Virginia State University, Dr. Janine P. Woods embraces the College of Agriculture's spirit of "Greater Grows Here," bringing innovation and steady leadership so that Extension can continue to grow and serve Virginians.
Dr. Woods is a familiar face across not just Virginia Cooperative Extension but the national Extension system. She holds several leadership positions in associations that connect her to Extension professionals across the United States, and brings a passion for forming internal and external relationships and partnerships that strengthen the work of Extension. One way her connections quickly recognize her, including Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, is by her signature style: boots.
The boots, Dr. Woods explains, were originally a compromise with herself when her doctor advised her to shelve her high heels. She found boots straddle the line between sharp, professional attire and practical footwear for fieldwork. Dr. Woods says she'll never forget incidentally finding what would become her new look at an 1890 mini land grant conference in College Station, Texas. "I tagged along with a colleague, and we went boot shopping. We were joking about what type of boot to get, and I found not one pair but two that I really liked!" she says. "They're high quality and very comfortable. It was a Goldilocks situation, and it kind of became my thing." Around VSU's College of Agriculture, an administrative assistant started calling her "Dr. Boots." Now, students have adopted the moniker, too. Dr. Woods recently participated in a career fair fashion show featuring professional attire and her stylish boots. "It's fashion meets function and a little razzle-dazzle," she says.
Much like finding her signature style, Dr. Woods learned about what would become her career focus by seizing a golden opportunity. Years ago, while visiting a friend who worked for Extension at North Carolina A&T, Dr. Woods met Dr. Ray McKinnie, who would become Dr. Woods' mentor. "I just sat to the side of his desk and said, 'Hey, who are you? What do you do?'" Dr. Woods recalls. "I learned what he did in his role and what Extension does." Dr. McKinnie suggested a graduate extension internship for her at the University of Kentucky, and her subsequent Peace Corps experience in Trinidad and Tobago working directly with coffee farmers solidified her interest in extension work. She pursued a PhD at the University of Florida, focusing on ag education and communications. After graduation, she joined North Carolina A&T State University as an agribusiness and marketing specialist and eventually came to work as the associate extension administrator for Cooperative Extension at VSU for Dr. McKinnie, who was the college dean at the time.
"The mission of Cooperative Extension is to take science-based information solutions to the common person," Dr. Woods explains why she focused her career on Extension work. "There's something about knowing that what you do makes a difference in people's everyday lives and that we're suggesting something that works. For some people we serve, when you offer solutions, it can be the difference between that person keeping their home or not, so there's weight to this job and the knowledge that the solutions we offer have research and experience for us to know that they will benefit people and not harm them." From supporting students in their education journeys to teaching farmers sustainable agriculture practices and from workshops that focus on mental health and wellbeing to bolstering local food systems, Extension at VSU serves tens of thousands of people every year.
Dr. Woods brought her "work ethic and millennial spirit to try new things" and a vision for how Extension could become even greater to her position at VSU. She recognized the need for change and the challenges that come with growth. "I knew that if I could support the people and be energized to take the leap, we could create an environment of empowerment and continue to improve people's lives," she says. Her team of specialists grew from nine to 29 in just three years, and she sees her primary role as supporting the specialists and their ideas. "It takes a special kind of person to thrive in Cooperative Extension," she says. At VSU, Extension specialists bring a broad range of expertise and skill to their work and the community.
Building the team was phase one of her vision, and in phase two, Dr. Woods focused on ensuring the team could work successfully across all aspects of the Cooperative Extension System. "We are one Virginia Cooperative Extension across the two universities, Virginia State and Virginia Tech," she emphasizes. "We expanded our internal team's capacity to work within that system and build relationships with agents, Virginia Tech specialists and different institutions." Now in phase three of her vision, Dr. Woods wants to increase Extension's impact by building and strengthening partnerships and relationships in the community and private sector. "We can work with producers to do on-farm trials or partner our youth development programs with communities to strengthen that pipeline not just to the university but into the workforce," says Dr. Woods.
Dr. Woods sees this vision of increasing capacity to support communities as the heart of Cooperative Extension. While community outreach efforts can be found across the public and private sectors and through non-profits and community groups, Cooperative Extension has served for over 125 years as a unique and critical resource for communities. Dr. Woods cites the example of recent natural disasters in southwest Virginia, where floods washed out roads and disrupted livelihoods across the region. "Cooperative Extension was the network that facilitated producers and farmers with horses who could access those areas and transport hay and food from the eastern side of the state to the western side," she says. "And when FEMA and other emergency management personnel go back, Extension is still there in those communities, 365 days a year." The combination of applied research, non-formal education and active integration in the communities Extension serves is unique. "I don't see any other organization with that level of infrastructure and impact in a community for as long as we've been doing it," says Dr. Woods.
Working in Cooperative Extension has profoundly impacted Dr. Woods herself. "Extension has afforded me the opportunity to build relationships, you know, across the globe," she says. In addition to her role as associate extension administrator, Dr. Woods is the new secretary of the Association of Extension Administrators, which means she'll serve as co-chair and then chair in successive years, and she recently became the first 1890 representative to serve as chair of NUEL's steering committee. "My responsibility is to usher us forward," she says of her leadership position with NUEL. "We're focused on spreading awareness of NUEL in the Cooperative Extension community, measuring the impact of research-based programs across the U.S. and advocating for policies that will improve agriculture, community development and health and nutrition programs in these areas," says Dr. Woods. And while managing multiple leadership roles is a lot of work, Dr. Woods believes it's all worth it. "I love what I do and the ability to work in the community whether it's on campus or off, domestic or global," she says. "Every day, I go home knowing I've made a difference, and I can't ask for anything more than that."
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