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• The Center for Community Economic Development
• The Northern Center for Economic Development
• The Center for Land Use Education
• Cooperative Extension

Outreach and The University of Wisconsin – Extension

The strong "Wisconsin Idea" tradition rests on the fact that our University of Wisconsin extends to the furthest reaches of the state and beyond. In essence, it provides a connection of people to their university and its resources. While every member of the faculty has responsibilities for outreach, the University of Wisconsin - Extension, through its four divisions (Cooperative Extension, Outreach and E-Learning, Business and Manufacturing, and Broadcast and Media Innovations) has a primary responsibility of making linkages between university research and the real world as experienced by the citizens of our great state.

Based in the 72 county Extension offices and on UW campuses around the state, Cooperative Extension respond to the needs of families, youth, communities, farmers, and business people. High priority programs focus on improving competitiveness and environmental sustainability in agriculture and business; conserving natural resources; managing community growth and change; and building supportive communities for families and youth.

Several members of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning faculty hold joint appointments with the University of Wisconsin Extension as Statewide Specialists. URPL Extension Specialists primarily focus efforts in the Community, Natural Resources and Economic Development (CNRED) and the Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) programming areas.

In addition, several other faculty members also conduct outreach as part of their regular University responsibilities. Most notably, the work of Harvey Jacobs in land use planning, Jim LaGro in neighborhood design, Jack Huddleston in fiscal impact assessment, Susanna Lastarria-Cornheil in gender planning issues, Rick Chenoweth in environmental psychology, and Kurt Paulson in comprehensive planning have strong outreach components.