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Michigan State University Extension Director Jeff Dwyer joins Spartans Athletic Director Bill Beekman on the MSU Today podcast.
Show Notes
Dwyer discusses his career path at MSU that began in 2006 as associate dean for research in the College of Human Medicine. He tells how the Flint Water Crisis was “when I had the privilege of becoming the director of MSU Extension. A lot of people thought, ‘Huh, this is odd. A sociologist who has spent the last decade in a College of Human Medicine with Extension.’ I think a number of people were sort of wondering how all of that worked, but I think it all comes down to the connection to the community.
“Flint's a good example of that. I actually took on this role in Extension right when the Flint water crisis became so public and actually within the first couple of weeks dug in. We were able to focus our people that were already working in Flint and Genesee County over that first year. We nearly doubled the number of people we had working in Flint because of the importance of the things that we were doing there around nutrition and around working with youth and many, many other things.”
Dwyer tells Beekman how MSU Extension works in all 83 Michigan counties.
“I think that's important because the way we are able to reach literally potentially all residents of the state of Michigan is because we have this 100+ year history and people know us and people expect us to be there. We're truly embedded in communities. I have a little north of 600 faculty and staff all over the state. And they're not just doing a job there, but they're sitting in the pew at church with people, they're at the grocery store, they're often elected to roles in their city or township or county. They’re really an embedded part of the communities in addition to bringing the resources of a great land-grant university to that community. I really think about our staff and Extension as being sentinels in the public health sense of sentinels who really know what's going on in communities.
“They really know what we need to be paying attention to and that has been important in our ability to address many, many different topics and issues and emerging issues of importance around the state. We work in so many different areas like agriculture, 4-H, and health and nutrition. And we work with communities on strategic development.”
“Flint's a good example of that. I actually took on this role in Extension right when the Flint water crisis became so public and actually within the first couple of weeks dug in. We were able to focus our people that were already working in Flint and Genesee County over that first year. We nearly doubled the number of people we had working in Flint because of the importance of the things that we were doing there around nutrition and around working with youth and many, many other things.”
Dwyer tells Beekman how MSU Extension works in all 83 Michigan counties.
“I think that's important because the way we are able to reach literally potentially all residents of the state of Michigan is because we have this 100+ year history and people know us and people expect us to be there. We're truly embedded in communities. I have a little north of 600 faculty and staff all over the state. And they're not just doing a job there, but they're sitting in the pew at church with people, they're at the grocery store, they're often elected to roles in their city or township or county. They’re really an embedded part of the communities in addition to bringing the resources of a great land-grant university to that community. I really think about our staff and Extension as being sentinels in the public health sense of sentinels who really know what's going on in communities.
“They really know what we need to be paying attention to and that has been important in our ability to address many, many different topics and issues and emerging issues of importance around the state. We work in so many different areas like agriculture, 4-H, and health and nutrition. And we work with communities on strategic development.”
Dwyer talks about how Extension pivoted its programming to address the pandemic and how MSUE itself helped to fight the virus.
“We’ve been able to continue to have an impact in at least three different ways. Early on we were positioned very well in communities throughout the state, including on-campus and in the Lansing region, in being a part of collecting PPE and getting it out to the health providers who truly needed it in those early days. We developed a protocol for decontaminating N95 masks that's very effective. Our staff made over 3,500 calls to businesses all over the state of Michigan to determine their need for PPE and to make them aware of those suppliers that might be able to assist with that need. So those are just three examples of things that we would not typically have thought of ourselves doing, but because of our statewide footprint, because of our embeddedness in communities, and because of the talented people that we have willing to jump in really on a moment's notice and address emerging issues, we've been able to play a key role I believe.”
MSU Today airs every Sunday morning at 9:00 on 105.1 FM, AM 870, and however you stream at home. Follow and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.
“We’ve been able to continue to have an impact in at least three different ways. Early on we were positioned very well in communities throughout the state, including on-campus and in the Lansing region, in being a part of collecting PPE and getting it out to the health providers who truly needed it in those early days. We developed a protocol for decontaminating N95 masks that's very effective. Our staff made over 3,500 calls to businesses all over the state of Michigan to determine their need for PPE and to make them aware of those suppliers that might be able to assist with that need. So those are just three examples of things that we would not typically have thought of ourselves doing, but because of our statewide footprint, because of our embeddedness in communities, and because of the talented people that we have willing to jump in really on a moment's notice and address emerging issues, we've been able to play a key role I believe.”
MSU Today airs every Sunday morning at 9:00 on 105.1 FM, AM 870, and however you stream at home. Follow and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Creators & Guests
What is MSU Today with Russ White?
MSU Today is a lively look at Michigan State University-related people, places, events and attitudes put into focus by Russ White. The show airs Saturdays at 5 P.M. and Sundays at 5 A.M. on 102.3 FM and AM 870 WKAR, and 8 P.M. on AM 760 WJR.
Unknown Speaker 0:00
Welcome back to MSU. Today, we're joined by Jeff Dwyer, the director of MSU Extension services. Jeff has been a longtime MSU employee. And, Jeff, you've been in a number of really interesting roles over the years that brought you in a somewhat circuitous route to extension. I tell us as a as a starting point a little bit about your career at MSU, where you've been in what you've done.
Unknown Speaker 0:28
Well, thank you very much, Bill. And thank you for the opportunity to join you this morning. Yeah, I've been with Michigan State University since 2006, I had the chance to come and join. Marcia Rapley, then the had just become the Dean of the College of human medicine and her team there in May of 2006, as the Associate Dean for Research, and eventually, shortly after, that became the Senior Associate Dean for outreach, and for Senior Associate Dean for Research and community engagement. And was really fortunate for a decade while I had that title, for most of that decade, as as you recall, Bill, so much was going on in the College of human medicine. And at the university around health, we had the chance to build the Secchia center, I worked for a number of years helping to prepare the public health environment in Flint, which has now been doing very, very well, and then helped to recruit a number of faculty in Grand Rapids that eventually, as of a couple of years ago, fill the research building there.
Unknown Speaker 1:34
Yeah, no, it's been, it's been an extraordinary growth in the College of human medicine. And, and you were really a part of so much of that I was, I was blessed to be part of the college in the early 2000s. And at the very beginning of that, that work in Grand Rapids, and I don't think anybody could have imagined how, how amazing it would be, and how much that how much that would just really explode as a campus. And then on the heels of that the work that you and Marcia did in Flint to begin to really, and we've been in Flint, Flint for many, many decades, but to, to really take that and, and have that it just really sort of grow exponentially in terms of public health mission, and then, you know, and then I think that that sort of, we had the good fortune to be well prepared to deal with it to help the city work through the issues related to the water crisis there. And, and, yeah, it's just, I think, a good example of the extraordinary work that that Michigan does, and a Michigan State University does in a really boots on the ground kind of way.
Unknown Speaker 2:54
Well, I couldn't agree more bill and you're mentioned the Flint water crisis, I think is a good segue then into how I and when I became I had the privilege of becoming the director of MSU Extension. But when Tom Kuhn went on to take a vice president role at Oklahoma State University and and they were looking for someone to take on that role I had the opportunity through a long standing and long term friendship and and and working relationship with Doug Bueller became aware that that might be an opportunity. And we talked about that with with the two of us and with others as well. And it seemed like a good match. A lot of people thought, huh, this is odd, a sociologist who has spent the last decade in a college of human medicine, with extension and and I think a number of people were sort of wondering how all of that work, but I think it all comes down to the connection to the community. And, and Flint's a good example of that, because as you said, I spent so many years on the College of human medicine side helping to prepare the way for what Deborah for Holden and others are now doing in Flint. So effectively. And I actually took on this role and extension, right when the Flint water crisis became so public and actually, within the first couple of weeks, dug in and we were able to focus our people that were already working in Flint and Genesee County, and over that first year, so we nearly doubled the number of people we had working in Flint, because of the importance of the things that we were doing there around nutrition and around, working with youth and many, many other things.
Unknown Speaker 4:46
Jeff, one of the great points of pride for Michigan State University is our impact on the people of the state of Michigan and there are there are many colleges that The impact of the state in a broad way, thinking back to our experience in the College of human medicine, the College of Osteopathic Medicine, both of our medical schools have students that that train and, and engage in residencies and ultimately practice throughout the state of Michigan. We also have talked on this program with Ron Hendrick, and some of the operations of the College of Agriculture natural resources and the impact they have throughout the state of Michigan. But really, if there was one entity that touched pretty much every corner of our state, it would be MSU. Extension. And could you tell us a little bit about the the work that the different kinds of things that extension does really in in literally every county of the state of Michigan,
Unknown Speaker 5:52
yeah, you're right, Bill, we do work in all 83 counties in the state. And I believe as we talk this morning, I have people living in 82 of those 83 counties, the only one we I think don't have someone a resident of right now is keyword county way up in the northern reaches of the Upper Peninsula. And and I think that's important, because the way we are able to reach literally, potentially all residents of the state of Michigan, is because we have this 100 plus year history, and people know us and people expect us to be there. We're truly embedded in communities. And so I have 600, a little north of 600, faculty and staff all over the state. And they're not just doing a job there. But they're sitting in the Pew at church with people, they're at the grocery store, they're there, they're often elected to roles in their city or township or county. And so they're really an embedded part of the communities in addition to bringing the resources of a great land grant university, Michigan State University, to that community, one of the things we talk about bill that that is really true, is that for many of my folks, they may be the only Michigan State University that people know in their community. And so I really view that as a two way street in that they're responsible for bringing the the research and the programming and opportunities of a great land grant university to a particular community. But they're also responsible for making sure that those of us who are sort of based more on campus whether we're with extension or or with some other part of the university, they're responsible for making sure that we know what's going on in the communities that they work in. And so in that sense, I really think about our staff and extension as being sentinels in the public health sense of sentinels that they really know what's going on in communities, they really know what we need to be paying attention to. And, and that has been important in our ability to address many, many different topics and issues and emerging issues of importance around the state, we work in abroad. The other thing that's unique to us is we work in so many different areas. So we work in agriculture, and that's been a big part of our history. We work with children and youth, and certainly for age with over 200,000 youth and for ages a big part of not only what we do today, but our history. But a lot of people don't realize that we also have substantial programming and research in health and nutrition. We have over 100 certified nursing instructors, who provide snap Ed services around the state, we have people who do diabetes education and Mental Health First Aid and a variety of other things. And then we also have a whole group that's focused on working with communities around strategic development around how to do everything from run meetings better to take stock of what the needs of their community are, and how to bring jobs and how to be connected to state services, and all of those other sorts of things. And so one of the things I like to use as a references, I like to think that that there's an element of us that sort of like what you see on Amazon when you go and buy a book where if you buy a book often you see that band at the bottom that says people who bought this book also bought this book or that book or or another book. And I like to think that the range of our services over 200 programs as we speak, is such that if we're if we're working with the youth and for age, we should be thinking about what other programs do we Offer, or partners do we work with that would benefit these youth or their family or their community. And that's that's kind of how we work.
Unknown Speaker 10:09
Now, that's, that's a really great analogy. And I think that, you know, for many that are familiar with Michigan State University, when one mentions the words MSU Extension, one tends to go to what were the roots of our extension. And that's tied largely to agriculture. But, as you say, Extension has developed over the years, into a very, very different kind of organization that does agricultural support work, but but also does so, so much more. And I came to learn of that, during my time working with the with the President and the Board of Trustees, when we visited the city of Detroit, and learned about all of the things that MSU Extension was doing in the city of Detroit, for, you know, for the residents of that community. And, and while there were some some agricultural threads through things like supporting the work that was going on with community gardens, it was really so much more and, and so comprehensive, that it I think, was would be surprising to people to learn about so much that goes on there. But let me ask you about how how all of this work has been going in the context of the the pandemic we've been in?
Unknown Speaker 11:38
It's a great question. And, and I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that it's certainly been different. But I think we've been no less effective. And, and really, Bill, we have the metrics to show that we're reaching more people than ever before. And so when the stay home, stay safe, Executive Order went, came into being in March, our people went home, as did virtually everyone else at the university, and began to work from home. In most cases in a new way. Within six days, we had a new website launch that we called the remote learning and Resources website. And and that was initially put there to provide interactive virtual opportunities for education and support and information of many different kinds. So helping parents keep their children on track while learning at home, an extensive list of online programs for adults from Cabin Fever conversations, and information so that people could start thinking about their gardens. For example, while back in March, we were pretty much still cooped up at home. We had a calendar of virtual events, educational videos, stress, mindfulness, yoga opportunities for people. And so we worked really hard to take everything that we did in more traditional settings. And and get it online as quickly as we could. I referred to metrics a moment ago, and prior to the pandemic, we, in a typical month, would get somewhere between eight and 900,000 visitors to our website every single month. And and people might say, Wow, that's a lot. How does that work? Well, it works because we have over 30,000 pieces of evidence based content, and a whole host of topics on our website. And so what happens is sometimes people know to come directly to our website. But our data shows that only about 3% of visitors to our website come through the homepage. The typical way they get to us is they Google something like nutrition or home brewing or hunting or fishing or something like that. And we are one of the top things that pop up on the internet search the Google search whatever they're using, and they come in that way. So prior to the pandemic, we were getting 800 to 900,000 visit visitors a few weeks in we reached 1.4 million visitors to our website every month. And since about May June, we've been averaging about one and a quarter million visitors so that's one piece of evidence that we we know that we're we're reaching more people, but also in areas, even areas typically in agriculture where the programming was was historically done all in person. And we were forced to move things virtually, we not only got better attendance during the live events, because they were often in the evening, people didn't need to drive, they didn't need to be away from their farms or their planting, or whatever, for quite such a long period of time. But also, because we were able to archive those live opportunities, then many, many other people came. So we have, for example, this isn't an agricultural reference, necessarily, but we have live food safety experiences every week, that eventually reach more than 50,000 people around the world. And so it's really been an amazing opportunity to think about how we convey the information that we have
Unknown Speaker 15:54
in new and different ways. Our people, many of our people are becoming quite sophisticated video developers and and online video training, doing online trainings and things like that. And we're very excited, because we think what happens is, we all are able to go back to something that looks a little more like normal bill, is that an extension, we can't go back all the way to the way it was, because we've learned too much. And we've learned how to reach more people. And we've learned how to use our skills in different ways. And so we imagine that the future of MSU Extension will actually be a hybrid, more of a hybrid of some of the in person programming that we used to do, that we're anxious to get back to, while also continuing to do some of the virtual programming that has been so impactful.
Unknown Speaker 16:52
Well, and I think that's one of the things that many of us have discovered, in this, this pandemic, and in how we how we respond to it. You know, it's, it's amazing to me that you're in talking with a number of our Dean's, and even my experience in the athletic department, that, you know, there are things we've done, that have actually increased our reach, and, and in significant ways. And so while we may go back to some of the the ways that we did things in the past, you know, thinking about how we, how we maintain that increased reach, and how we continue to try and touch the lives of so many people that we've been able to do through electronic means, and figuring out how to how to sort of marry the past with the future. And, and and learn those lessons is really, really important. And it's exciting to hear that, that you're having that that same experience is one of the things that I think that I've heard that Extension has also been able to help with is the development of the p p e supply as part of the pandemic.
Unknown Speaker 18:11
Yeah, that's been really a remarkable opportunity for us. And I think Bill it, it highlights the fact that and I'm just, you know, very proud of the fact and as I said at the outset, it's a privilege for me to be in this role, because we have really outstanding creative people. And I would say that we were able to have been able continue to have an impact in at least three different ways. early on. We were I think positioned very well in communities throughout the state, including on campus and in the Lansing region, by the way, in being a part of collecting p p e and getting it out to the health providers that truly needed it in those early days. Interestingly, some of the PP that the that the health providers most needed is not uncommon in the agricultural industry. For those for example, who apply pesticides or do other sorts of things where they might need an N 95 mask, or a gown or a face shield. And so I think we were well positioned on an off campus to become a collection point as well as getting those the the PP out where it needed to be to healthcare providers. We were also part of what really became just a really substantial effort by many on campus to actually make face shields that really helped hospitals and healthcare environments, especially over those first two or three months March, April May, when they were so hard to get it was hard to get Get your hands on face shields in other ways. And so making them with equipment that people already had in their labs was was very important. So I think that that's one very early example, a second that I'm just so proud of. And you and others perhaps have, have read some about his. And I'll tell you that just a brief little story, because I think it says so much about Michigan State University Extension. But frankly, it says a great deal about Michigan State University and the kind of place that it is. But we have a new food processing Innovation Center, just north of 96 in openness, just a bit off of the MSU campus. And shortly after the stay home stay safe order. We were doing we were using that site as a site for the collection and distribution of p p e and I was walking through it with a couple of our our folks who are just expert at food processing and related things and, and one of them said, Tina Conklin said, you know, often he is used to decontaminate. I wonder if we could decontaminate personal protection equipment in our spiral oven. And within 24 hours, we were able to call upon experts at our partner at at Sparrow hospital, who walked the facility with us. And and this is where I think, you know, I say, the kind of place Michigan State University is because Sparrow hospital is not a historical partner of Michigan State University Extension. But it is a historical partner of Michigan State University, and particularly the health colleges. And so those relationships really helped us to make that partnership early on. And that's really developed into where we, we did develop a protocol for decontaminating and 95 masks that's very effective. We've done substantial testing. And we remain in a FDA process for gaining emergency authorization for the use of dry heat for the decontamination of N 95. Masks. And so that's that's something that if you just said to me a year ago, hey, you're gonna MSU Extension is going to be decontaminating and 95 masks, I would have said, You're crazy that that just wouldn't ever be on our radar. And yet we have these talented creative people who are always thinking about how to use the resources and relationships available to us. And then I'll quickly mention the third thing bill is we've we've just completed in recent weeks, a process, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, has done a really nice job of finding suppliers for PPP and trying to marry those suppliers, to those who needed the PPP. And one of the issues they were having is they're so busy, that they didn't have enough people to literally make the calls to the businesses to see if they needed PP, whether it's a dental office or any kind of a business. And so we were able to
Unknown Speaker 23:34
transition some of our staff for a period of weeks, who eventually have made over 3500 calls to businesses all over the state of Michigan, to determine their need for PPP, and to make them aware of those suppliers in Michigan, especially, but outside if needed, that might be able to assist with that need. So those are just three examples of things that we would not typically have thought of ourselves doing. But because of our statewide footprint because of our embeddedness and communities and because of the talented people that we have, willing to jump in, really on a moment's notice and address emerging issues. We've been able to play a key role, I believe,
Unknown Speaker 24:21
with Jeff that that really speaks to the the adaptability of MSU Extension and the problem solving ability and just you and your team, your willingness to take on whatever we really whatever comes our way as a state as a set of communities and figure out how to make our communities better for the people in the state of Michigan and from my perspective at least that's it when I talk to our student athletes, I talk about a Spartan being a person who makes their corner of the world a better place. There are a few exam new view examples that are better than than MSU. Extension. So as we as we wrap up today, I always enjoy talking with with the guests we have in the program, we discussed so many media issues, but but I like to end with a question that maybe is a little more on the fun side. And as the as the head of our extension programs, as we've talked about, they're really in in all 83 counties of the state of Michigan. And so, you know, your job requires a lot of getting around and seeing things and working with people criss crossing the state. So is there a favorite place in the state of Michigan that you like to visit?
Unknown Speaker 25:46
It's a great question. And and Bill, I'm just going to amplify your emphasis on the 83 counties, because in the summer of 2019, over a 14 week period, I spent two days each of those 14 weeks in each of our 14 districts. And while in each district, I was in every county. So over 14 weeks in the summer of 2019, I was in all 83 counties in the state of Michigan. And I'll tell you, not just being in the counties, but driving all over the state in a constrained period of time like that, you really do gain an appreciation for what an amazing state this is, and what an amazing role Michigan State University has in the state of Michigan. And and I'm going to cheat on your question a little bit. And I'm going to say that my favorite place in the state of Michigan, is Alger County, up in the Upper Peninsula where the Pictured Rocks are. And that's because as you and a few others know, Bill, that's where my wife, Nancy and I have made our home since 2003. throughout my entire time in the College of human medicine in Michigan State University, I've commuted from there. And it's just such an amazing, beautiful part of the state. And one of the things we like about it is that it's a it's a small community less than 10,000 in the whole county. So we really know a lot of people very well. But it's also a county that now draws in a typical summer, almost a million visitors. So we get to see a wide range of people mostly during the summertime and really get a sense of of those who are traveling in Michigan during that period of time. But then we also have a substantial period of time, in the fall, winter and spring to spend with our friends and neighbors there. And then we have the privilege of being connected to Michigan State University at the same time. So it's really been an amazing couple of decades.
Unknown Speaker 27:50
Well, Jeff I, as a person who loves travel myself have spent some time up in the Upper Peninsula, the pitcher rocks, and that's common on walls and then and then heading heading west to some of the other the other parts of our great state and, and I certainly can can vouch for that it is a it is a wonderful part of America. So we want to thank you for joining us today. Again, our guest has been Jeff Dwyer, who is the head of the MSU Extension programs throughout Michigan's 83 counties. And in each and every one of those counties doing the great work of Michigan State University to make those communities better places and, and as one of Jeff, one of our former leaders said MSU is a great assists leader. We don't need to score the points. We really like to make the assist to help people make things happen in their communities. And so it's that arm and arm partnership that is so prevalent and extension that I think is is so much of what makes Michigan State a very special place. And so thank you for your role in that. And thank you for joining us today.
Unknown Speaker 29:04
Well thank you so much for the opportunity bill. It's been a pleasure.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai