Virginia Cooperative Extension Service
Historical Note
A University-wide Extension Division was established on 1 July 1966 by the General Assembly. It combined the activities of the Cooperative Extension Service, General Extension Division, State Technical Services, and Continuing Education Center. However, extension work at VPI&SU can trace its roots to 1906 when an extension program was established in Virginia as a result of the farm demonstration work began by Dr. Seaman A. Knapp in Texas in 1903. Dr. John D. Eggleston, the superintendent of public instruction in Virginia at the time and later VPI president, invited Knapp to speak at a meeting in Richmond and that talk resulted in the beginning of the program in Virginia. When the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 was passed, authority for extension, or demonstration, work was transferred to Virginia Tech and it became known as the Agricultural Extension until 1966 when it became the Cooperative Extension Service before being absorbed into the overall Extension Division. In 1995, the Extension Division became the Virginia Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station Division, often shortened to the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:
Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia 4-H Horse Program
The collection include photographs, slides, negatives, and audiotapes from Virginia 4-H State Shows, State Fairs, and other events throughout the state. 4-H programs began in Virginia in 1908, and since then, the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University have hosted the Virginia 4-H Horse Program, which emphasizes equine selection, nutrition, management, riding, and horsemanship.
Virginia Cooperative Extension Service Photographs
Virginia Extension Homemakers Council Papers
This collections includes institutional records, photographs, publications, yearbooks, slides, videos, and artifacts from the Virginia Extension Homemakers Council (currently named the Virginia Association for Family and Community Education). Materials in the collection date from 1948 to 2007.