The Central Region has a total of 85 colleagues who are jointly employed with county governments and UWEX.
The fourteen counties in Extension's Central Region have very
strong and supportive partnerships with each of the county governments.
These professional staff positions are housed in fourteen county
government centers or courthouses. These counties also work with
the other research stations located at Hancock, Langlade County
and Marshfield.
The Central Region Office is located on the campus of UW-Stevens
Point. Also on this campus in the College of Natural Resources,
eight Extension Specialists reside to provide statewide information
and educational programming in water quality, land use planning
and other environmental issues. There are four core program areas
covered throughout the district-4-H and youth development; agriculture;
community, natural resource and economic development; and family
living.
Each county office, working with their county oversight
committee, conducts program needs assessments to determine the
local educational program directives. During this current four
year planning cycle special attention is being given to help
people throughout the state to acquire knowledge and skills to:
" Solve problems in their businesses
and farms."
"Improve their local governments and neighborhoods."
"Enhance the quality of their families' lives."
"Use natural resources responsibly."
"Help their children grow and learn. "
The programming in the counties reflects the citizen, geographic,
and economic bases in the region. The Central Region UWEX Cooperative
Extension's fourteen counties range from the north woods to the
central sands. This geography has determined the economic base
from lumber and paper mills to vegetable crops, cranberries,
ginseng and dairy. The area also has major service companies
such as insurance, publishing, medical supply, and other technology
based industries. There is a four-year higher education institution
located at Stevens Point (UW-Stevens Point), as well as two-year
institutions (UW-Marathon County and UW-Marshfield/Wood County)
and several technical schools. Also located in the district are the College of Menominee Nation and a Native American reservation. The diversity of the region provides
the need for partnerships with other institutions and organizations
as well as the flexibility of educational program delivery. |
