UT extension specialist selected to coordinate national network

Clint Cummings to serve on AgriProspects Workforce Development Network

2024-02-01

(Press-News.org) A University of Tennessee Extension specialist has been selected to help lead a new national effort to connect resources and individuals in the quickly evolving food and agriculture career sector.

Clint Cummings, Extension specialist in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, will serve as the National Network Lead and Regional Network Coordinator for the Southern Region for the new AgriProspects Workforce Development Network project. This project is being conducted through the Extension Foundation in collaboration with the ECOP (Extension Committee on Organization and Policy) Economic & Workforce Development Program Action Team and NECIW (National Extension Clearinghouse for Industry and the Workforce) National Working Group and is funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The national network will share agriculture workforce development offerings, identify gaps in the workforce, and provide training, materials and instructors through a network of Extension agents and specialists and industry partners. The ultimate goal is to help individuals join or rejoin the workforce with new skills and credentials. For more information about the AgriProspects Workforce Development Network, visit extension.org/national-programs-services/workforce.

“I’m excited that Clint’s dedication and leadership have been recognized and tapped by this critically important workforce development effort. His selection showcases the impactful workforce development efforts taking place within the University of Tennessee Extension Family and Consumer Sciences program,” said Ashley Stokes, dean of UT Extension.

Cummings serves as the project director for Skill Up Tennessee, UT Extension’s SNAP Employment and Training program. Between stints as an agent in Monroe and Knox counties, he was a state specialist. Cummings earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UT Knoxville.

UT Extension has an office in each of the state’s 95 counties and serves Tennesseans in a number of ways. Family and Consumer Sciences professionals, like Cummings, help individuals and families improve their lives through good health choices, health programs, money management and workforce development, among others.

The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.

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