The Strange World of University Extension
By: Gail Langellotto
Tags: Oregon State University, Master Gardeners, Higher Education, Extension, Agriculture

In 2007, I started my journey as a horticultural extension specialist at Oregon State University. Although I had completed my M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at a Land Grant University (Fear the Turtle!), I couldn’t have anticipated how my career would evolve and the growing pains I would experience, as Oregon’s statewide extension Master Gardener program leader.

My vague notion of extension was formed via interactions with applied researchers during my graduate work. These mostly white, mostly older, mostly male professors studied things like the efficacy of new pesticides against age-old pests, or of older pesticides against new pests. These folks were excellent and engaging speakers ~ the type of person you would want to be your close friend. They seemed to own a lot of university-branded clothing. They were smart, and hard working, and always seemed to be flush with research funding.

But I didn’t really understand what extension agents did, or what the difference was between an extension specialist and an extension agent. When I was hired, I knew that I was expected to teach classes in entomology and IPM to gardeners. I knew that I was expected to attend a lot of meetings and to write articles in my area of expertise. But mostly, I was lost.

I wish I had stumbled across this excellent Modern Farmer profile of seven extension agents when I started my own extension career. The article might have helped me to understand that extension professionals help people solve problems. I wonder if I would have noticed the words ‘trial by fire’’ or ‘didn’t know where to start’ in the Modern Farmer article. These same words certainly described my personal experiences in the profession.

At the time, I didn’t know where to turn for help. I was too afraid to ask my colleagues for help and direction. I was under so much scrutiny from my clientele group, Oregon’s Master Gardener volunteers, that I thought that asking for advice would show everyone just how lost I was. I searched the internet for articles on ‘How to Survive a Career in Extension’, or ‘Advice for New Extension Master Gardener Program Coordinators’, but could not find anything relevant to my own situation. Eventually, I wrote my own advice column for Master Gardener program coordinators. But even this article felt insufficient to describe the challenges (not to mention the victories and joys!) of working in university extension.

So, I’ve decided to write about these things. For all of my students who tell me that they aspire to become an extension specialist or an extension agent; for the public that we serve, who may only see one small slice of the work that we do; and for any of my colleagues who may be struggling to find their way within the profession, I want to peel back the curtain, just a bit. But mostly, I wanted to write for myself, as a way to process the past 14 years, and to prepare for the next 10–15 that I hope to work before I retire.

This job is hard. This job is wonderful. This job is different. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, let’s talk about it, honestly.

The author, second from the left, at a Master Gardener Conference in 2010.

Gail Langellotto, Ph.D., is a Professor of Horticulture and Extension Specialist at Oregon State University, where she also coordinates the statewide extension Master Gardener Program and serves as principle investigator of the Garden Ecology Lab.