a mechanism for assessing and redirecting agency programs to achieve strategic
goals. We began responding to these needs in the 1994 reorganization effort. We
need to reach out and build new, innovative collaborations across the public and
private sectors. We need a better coordinated research, education and extension
approach to problems of regional and national interest. We must re-examine our
priorities and the contributions we can make to agriculture, people and communities.
Education is the catalyst for responding to change and moving this nation into the
next century. Integrated higher education programs will stimulate and enable colleges
and universities to provide the quality education necessary to strengthen and
replenish the nation’s food and agricultural, scientific and professional workforce.
I view the complex challenges to agriculture and the continued effectiveness
of the federal partnership as opportunities. We have a solid foundation from which
to grow with change to create a dynamic new future. Partnership enhances our
ability to proactively address critical national priorities, maximize resources and the
benefits of research, and provide essential hands-on, problem-solving knowledge to
the people of this nation down to the local community level.
At the federal level, we advance the cause of research, education and extension.
We also provide answers to Congress, the White House and other government
entities and we broker research, extension, teaching and land-grant system resources.
Partnership positions us to truly make a difference in people’s lives.
The research, education and economic (REE) mission area of USDA has a deep
well of insightful information from its agencies, Agricultural Research Service (ARS),
Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES), Economic
Research Service (ERS), and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), which
is relevant to emerging public issues involving agriculture and rural America. The
federal-state partnership rooted in academics and research can reap rewards by
classifying and assembling information from many sources and then packaging it in
the context of the information age so that it can compete with and complement non-
Scientific information.
As the newly appointed under secretary of REE, I am excited about the future
of education and research, and look forward to overcoming the challenges that face
us. The REE mission area has the potential to significantly impact the quality and
quantity of scientists, engineers and other agricultural professionals for the next
century, as well as to provide leadership to address the future of agriculture.
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