UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is celebrating its 100th anniversary of Florida Extension with guest speakers, free food and a ceremonial cake cutting.
The event will take place today on the Plaza of the Americas from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The extension, established by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, has allowed researchers at UF and Florida A&M University to convert their research into usable knowledge to share with millions of Floridians over the past 100 years, according to the 100th Anniversary of Florida Extension blog.
Nick Place, dean and director for IFAS Extension, said the event is significant for his department because it offers the opportunity to educate the university community on the outreach mission of the extension.
Place emphasized that the event not only celebrates past successes, but it also offers a chance to celebrate what is to come in the future of extension and outreach.
“We have had great success for the last 100 years, but really what we want to be focusing on is what we need to be doing for the next 100 years to address some of these big issues we face in this state,” he said.
Candace O’Neill, a 20-year-old UF dietetics junior, said she heard about the IFAS extension program through guest presenters in her community nutrition classes.
“From what I have learned, I think Extension does a great job at benefitting Floridian citizens by bringing things to the community level to people that need it most,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 4/17/2014 under the headline "IFAS celebrates 100 years"]
