A generous celebration of Cooperative Extension
ALUMNI | When Chet Dickerson, AG ’62, ’64M, and his wife, Sally, celebrated half a century of wedded bliss in June, they chose the occasion to celebrate another marriage as well—UD Cooperative Extension and its constituents throughout the state of Delaware.
At an event celebrating Cooperative Extension’s more than 90 years of outreach and hosted by the Dickersons at their Delaware farm, the couple announced a gift of $50,000 to establish an endowment to help fund the Cooperative Extension Scholars Program.
This innovative program, open to rising UD juniors, seniors and graduate students, offers a 10-week internship with Cooperative Extension during the summer months. Jan Seitz, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and director of UD Cooperative Extension, created the program in 2004 to give students an opportunity to become fully engaged in service learning.
Extension Scholars receive a stipend of $3,000 and, if needed, an allowance of $500 for job-related travel and/or housing.
“The goals of the Extension Scholars program are to give undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to see Extension up close and personal, to provide them with experiences connected to their courses of study at UD and to encourage them to think about Extension for their life’s work,” Seitz says.
Also at the June event, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee, AG ’73, ’75M, AS ’96M, himself a former UD Extension agent, addressed the crowd of more than 100. “Extension is always current, relevant and connected to the people in the state,” Kee said. “Chet and Sally’s gift will help us to continue to connect.”
