By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
LITTLE ROCK — Jeantyl Norze, a new extension associate professor of Organizational Accountability and Evaluation for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said he looks forward to increasing the visibility of extension, particularly in urban communities.
EVALUATIVE THINKING — As the new extension associate professor of Organizational Accountability and Evaluation for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Jeantyl Norze hopes to increase the visibility of extension services in the state and ensure that the organization will "no longer be a 'best kept secret.'" (Division of Agriculture photo.)
“The Cooperative Extension Service has done an excellent job bringing about change in Arkansas communities,” Norze said. “However, we do not often have data to evidence the impact of extension in the lives of the individuals and communities we serve. I hope this position will help foster and sustain a culture of evidence in extension — a culture where everyone is actively seeking evidence of the impact being achieved and engaging in evidence-based storytelling.”
Norze said doing so is critical for scholarships and other necessary funding for extension.
“Extension should no longer be a ‘best kept secret,’” he said. “It’s imperative that our stakeholders — including our counterparts on campus, our partner organizations and the public — know and understand what we do.”
Stacey McCullough, extension assistant vice president of Community, Professional and Economic Development for the Division of Agriculture, said her team is excited to welcome Norze and his expertise.
“Under Dr. Norze’s leadership, we will strengthen our capacity to better evaluate the impact of Cooperative Extension Service programs and tell our story,” McCullough said.
Norze said evaluation will help more Arkansans benefit from extension’s services.
“I hope my position will help evaluative thinking become the new way of doing business at extension,” Norze said. “This is critical for quality programming and helps us focus on the programs that have greater public value. My position will help foster long-lasting collaborations with our internal and external stakeholders, including community partners, for broader impact. Relationships are key to making extension more effective.”
Norze received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2009 from the Agrarian University of Havana in Cuba. In 2015, he received his Master of Science in Human Resource Development and Leadership from Louisiana State University, where he later received his Ph.D. in Agricultural and Extension Education in 2018.
“I could not be more excited about joining the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service,” Norze said. “I hope to bring all that I have learned from my previous positions at other land-grant institutions. My colleagues are passionate about their work and eager to learn more about evaluation, which will help them continue improving their programs and achieve greater community change.”
Norze began his new extension role on April 3. He can be reached at jnorze@uada.edu. For more information about Community, Professional and Economic Development, visit uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/default.aspx.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.