Dr. Jake DeDecker: Really the way that it was built in originally 1862 in the Morrill Act, is really having it be the people's university. Having it be a university that is accessible, that people can gain knowledge from and benefit their lives. And so even today, as we think about what that meant back in 1862 when it was formed, and how this University has taken it and shaped it over time, it's the same purpose of transforming lives through knowledge.

President Brian Sandoval: In this episode of Sagebrushers, we welcome Dr. Jake DeDecker, director of the University of Nevada, Reno Extension and associate dean for engagement in the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources. I'm Brian Sandoval. I'm a proud graduate and president of the University, and I'm your host of Sagebrushers. Now, prior to joining us at the University, Jake spent the last 14 years building extension and 4-H youth development programming at Michigan State University. He most recently served as associate director of the Children and Youth Institute and the state leader of MSU Extensions 4-H Youth Development program. Raised on his family's livestock and grain farm in Illinois, Jake appreciates the importance knowledge and partnerships have on solving problems and helping people thrive.

Today's podcast is being recorded at the Reynolds School of Journalism on our University's campus. Jake, welcome to Sagebrushers. Excited to have you here and chat with you about your first year, running Extension on campus. But before we talk about Extension, I want to dive a little deeper into, you know, where you grew up and your family's livestock and grain farm. You're a real farmer.

DeDecker: Yeah, it was such a, well, first thanks for having me, but it was such a privilege for growing up on a farm. My grandpa started the farm, and my dad took it over. And so that was the experience that I had. We had 600 sows fair to finish, so we got to see the process of having little pigs on the farm and driving a tractor at a young age and being a part of producing food for families was a great privilege.

Sandoval: Wow. And it's still an operating farm, correct?

DeDecker: Yeah, my dad, mom and brother still operate the farm, so it's exciting to go back and see how it's grown and changed.

Sandoval: So, you like bacon?

DeDecker: We had our share growing up, yes. In fact, I joke that I don't know that I had much other meat growing up because we always had pigs around and so we always used what we had in the freezer and yeah, so I have a little bit of affinity for pork today.

Sandoval: Well, it sounds like an amazing way to grow up. So, let's start by asking you to give our audience a little background about the University of Nevada, Reno Extension. What is Extension and what is its purpose?

DeDecker: Well, thank you. So, Extension is really the outreach arm of the University. So, our main mission is to take the knowledge, the research, the education that is here at the University and make sure that it's available and accessible to people, communities, businesses, farmers all across the state. So, it's our privilege to help be the transition point of taking that applied research and make sure that it's meaningful to everyday individuals that use that to help impact their lives.

President Brian Sandoval: So, you're in 16 counties and Carson City and some people don't picture Extension, for example, in Clark County. And I know you're in a lot of elementary schools and in the community, so let's talk a little more about that.

DeDecker: Yeah, so our roots really start in agriculture and mechanical arts as kind of being the foundation of it. And we're proud of our legacy of agricultural natural resources and food. But we've also grown, and we've really changed into community and economic development and children, youth and family education that includes 4-H, health and nutrition, and so much more. So, where we've really grown in both urban and rural areas is where does Nevada need us. Where do we need to be to address critical issues that that community faces? And so, we've grown in our content needs and our expertise because Nevada has needed us to.

So, as we look at urban areas in Clark County, it is looking at the youth education, it's looking at different economic challenges, different health elements, and saying how can we be there with the community, working with the community to help solve critical issues. So, part of the work that we do is based off of what those needs are. So, we're in communities talking with those stakeholders and individuals, finding out where do we need to be and how can we help them that has helped shape and transform who we are, where we engage to make the biggest impact.

Sandoval: So, I don't know if you know this off the top of your head, but for example, how many children do you serve in Clark County?

DeDecker: It’s growing. So, all the time we're continuing to grow those numbers. So, well over 20,000 when we just talk about the 4-H Youth Development program. But when we think about the early childhood part to early childhood literacy and helping adults raise young children in that birth to age five space, growing in that area too. So, we're excited to continue to make an impact really from birth and all the way through the lifespan.

Sandoval: So, let's move across the state a little bit. You're also in Eureka County, White Pine County and Ely in Lander County, Winnemucca, what kind of programs do you have in the smaller counties?

DeDecker: So, agriculture, 4-H, natural resources, health and nutrition are probably the biggest areas that we work with. And they're all different because they're all based off of what those communities' needs are. So, even the 4-H program when we talk about building young people up and developing life skills, it's different based on what the community needs us to be there. But foundationally, we're typically in ag, natural resources, environmental sciences, some health and nutrition work and youth development, and then whatever they need us to be. And we are so excited to continue to serve the tribal communities across the state, the elderly population and anybody that needs us to be there. So that's unique pieces of Extension and serving those people and communities based on where they need us to be.

Sandoval: Now you've touched on this a little bit. We're proud, we the University of Nevada, to be an original land grant University. We're going to be celebrating our sesquicentennial 150th anniversary. So again, connect that land grant mission that we have had since 1874 to what Cooperative Extension does. 

DeDecker: Yeah, I've always viewed, and it's something that's really close to my heart. And what we had growing up on the farm and how we used Extension. The land grant university mission, really the way that it was built in originally 1862 in the Morrill Act, is really having it be the people's university, having it be a university that is accessible, that people can gain knowledge from and benefit their lives. And so even today, as we think about what that meant back in 1862, when it's formed, and how this University has taken it and shaped it over time, it's the same purpose of transforming lives through knowledge.

It's just what are those issues. What are the delivery methods? We use technology a whole lot differently than we do today, than we used to do. And, our content and needs are different than what it was, but the mission of making sure that the knowledge goes out and disseminates from the University across the state and benefits the people of Nevada, that mission holds true. And Extension is excited, as you said, being located in offices across the entire state in communities, living, working with people, doing that very thing today.

Sandoval: No, I love that: the people's university, the University of Nevada has a good ring to it. So, one of the programs within Extension that I hold dear to my heart is 4-H. And growing up I had the opportunity to raise sheep in Sparks, Nevada. And we went from a family that had no agricultural touch to having our own small flock of sheep. And not anywhere near what you grew up with, but my brother and I raised our sheep and we showed them and sold them. One of the best memories of my childhood was going to 4-H camp every year from fourth grade all the way through high school. I will tell you, 4-H changed my life and I wouldn't be where I am without 4-H. It taught me responsibility; it taught me leadership; it taught me about the land; it taught me about animals. I could go on and on. And I think you mentioned it, you were also a 4-H youth, so how did being a 4-H youth shape your experience?

DeDecker: Wow, in a very similar way. Profound. It's such an honor to be a part of 4-H now professionally, knowing what it did for me as a child. I speak passionately about it because I know the change that it had, just as you said on yourself, the leadership, the responsibility that it had. I grew with pigs, so those were my favorite project area growing up and did woodworking, did public speaking and some other elements too. But you're right, it's foundational, and we know that it has a huge impact on young people today. A lot of people come to 4-H because they want to build a robot or they want to raise an animal or they want to do community service. They leave with responsibility, leadership, how to work as a team, all those components that really develop the next generation of leaders here in Nevada. So, it's such an honor that I got to participate in that, see the impact now my kids are in 4-H, so I get to be a dad in the 4-H side and really bring 4-H to so many youth in Nevada. So, it's an exciting program and just as you said, it's really impacted me and it's just an honor to work for the program today.

Sandoval: Well, and we have a mini paradise, as I like to describe it, up at Lake Tahoe, the 4-H Camp. And what are some of the activities that you're looking forward to this summer up at the camp?

DeDecker: Yeah, tremendous facility, one of the best in the country. Lots of natural resources, just getting out and seeing the environment really. I mean obviously, you've got the lake, but there's also a lot of leadership skills that take place there. It's kind of being a part, being with your peers, being in an educational environment on a camp, and you get the overnight experience, you get to do all that. So really, it's just the experience. I participated in 4-H camp as a kid too in 4-H, and so it's near and dear to my heart to be there and just kind of experience that. But a wealth of different content, expertise, anything from animal sciences, environmental education, there's work around food. We also have partners in tribal communities that are up there meetings. So, it's not just for young people; it's the communities camp that can come together and benefit too.

Sandoval: Do you have to be in 4-H to be eligible to go to the camp?

DeDecker: There are a lot of different camps up there for young people, so you don't have to be a part of 4-H, but we certainly hope that when you experience it and you say, wow, this is neat. What else does 4-H have to offer?

Sandoval: So, you've been in your role as director for almost a year, so can you talk a little bit about the work you and your team have done and your plans for the future?

DeDecker: A lot of it has been relationship-building. So much of who we are is about people serving people, knowing people. And Nevada has been so welcoming to us and inviting us in, talking about what we do, how we could partner together. And that's been one of the exciting things is I think Nevada has been so welcoming to how we can collaborate and have open arms to conversations on how we can be better. So, the number of partners that we've kind of created to help serve Nevada better has been exciting and continues to grow as I have more individuals on my calendar to meet with and engage around these conversations all across the state from Clark County to rural communities.

And there's been some new endeavors. We have a 4-H camp in Alamo that we're super excited about and have had kids out there for the very first time and had outstanding results. And I think that's another way that we're going to serve Clark County and the Clark County School District is bringing young people from that area and from Lincoln and surrounding areas to the camp experiencing things they've never experienced before.

Sandoval: No, I'm looking forward to going out there. So, you talked about the rural and urban areas. So, you're serving Clark County with two million plus people there, and you're serving some of the smaller counties with a few thousand people. So, what are some of the challenges in balancing that programming between urban and rural?

DeDecker: Yeah, very different. So, we really work on a statewide. We are a statewide program, a statewide organization. However, we are based on the needs of the community. And so even counties right next to each other might differ in our program outlook and how we do collaboration simply because of what they need us to be within that space. So, we try to organize strategically on where our investments are at and how we meet those needs and do things regionally in Clark County as much as possible. And sometimes we just need to do something unique within that community because that's where we are. So, it's both, I think the benefit and sometimes the challenge is being in the community, doing those needs assessments, talking with people and creating programs that impact them right where they are, which may be different than the county next door.

Sandoval: And you have established relationships with the local elected officials, county commissioners, city council persons, et cetera.

DeDecker: Yeah, it's a privilege to meet with them and again, trying to meet people where they are. And I've been traveling across the state, being in counties and communities and talking with them and getting to know their spaces and how we can work together better, but that's about those key relationships on how we can work together to serve their community better. And I think when we talk about people first and how can we really be as a serving entity in those spaces, there's that commonality where we can come together and say, all right, let's talk and let's see how we can work together better.

Sandoval: So, you had a lot of experience, obviously. So, what sets our Extension apart from, for example, from other states’ maybe in Michigan?

DeDecker: I think that the uniqueness of the state. Well, when we talked about two 4-H camps, there's not very many states in the country that would have the 4-H resources that we have in those camping facilities. I think the work that we do around fire wise and fire prevention is leading the country. We've developed some of that work because of what we have and what we need to do with here. Other states are benefiting from Nevada because of our research and expertise within those spaces. And I think just the passion of who we are, I mean, the people of Nevada have just been so welcoming and engaging and want to make a difference. And this University and the place that it has in the state all comes together to tell a great story of collaboration and partnership and thinking for the future of how we can grow together. And I think that makes it a really nice place. It’s such an honor to be a part of University of Nevada, Reno and Extension.

Sandoval: So, we have a couple more minutes. How’s the transition been? How have you settled and do you love, you know, obviously you love Nevada, but I kind of want interested in the difference.

DeDecker: Yeah, well, it's very different coming from Michigan, so the great lake state where there's fresh water everywhere and, and then coming to Nevada, which is a little bit different. So we've just, we love outdoors, we love the environment, and so our two of our kids have been skiing at Sky Tavern all winter and have loved it. So, we've been enjoying the BLM ground and the mountains and it's been a great way to see a different part of the state. And I think the communities have been so warming too. So, you know, coming out here we have four kids. So, my wife and I have a 13 year old, 11 year old, a nine year old and a six year old. So, getting the family embedded in the community, and my wife does a fantastic job with that, but we've felt so welcomed in those different environments. So, the spaces are different, but it's warm; it's exciting; it's a different way of experiencing the environment, so we can't wait.

Sandoval: That's fantastic. And you've had the opportunity to visit almost all the counties and Carson City in the state. Have you made it to all of them yet?

DeDecker: I've been in all the counties. I've not met with all the stakeholders that I wanted to yet, so I have a couple left on my calendar coming up next month to be able to finish that. But in some areas, I'm on round two, so almost there, but we're close.

Sandoval: So, any good memories of some of these visits out in the rural counties?

DeDecker: Always. And I think just getting to know people is special and getting to know this part of the environment. I'm used to driving through the countryside and being able to know what's growing on the road and in Nevada, that's been a new learning experience for me of learning, understanding the environment a little bit different. So always asking questions and learning from people has been fantastic, but mostly it's the people and their own experiences, and it's great from individuals saying how long they've lived in Nevada and what generation they are. And it's exciting and just a warm feeling to get to know them in the state.

 Sandoval: Well, you're in Nevada now, and we're very pleased that you're here. But unfortunately, that is all the time we have for this episode of Sagebrushers. And again, Jake, thank you so much for joining us. Join us next time for another episode of Sagebrushers as we continue to tell the stories that make our University special and unique. Until then, I'm University President Brian Sandoval and go Pack.