Spring 1988
Volume 26 Number 1 What's Their Perception? James C. Miller, Jr.
State Extension Leader-Personnel
College of Agricultural Sciences
Cooperative Extension Service
Clemson University-Clemson. How legislators perceive the Cooperative Extension Service is important to the future of this statewide agency. Since legislators determine the major funds that support Extension programs, they need to know and understand the structure and operation of the agency as a basis for making decisions. To determine the extent of the legislators' knowledge about the educational activities and programs Extension provides South Carolina citizens, a study was conducted in 1985. In South Carolina, the continuing population shift from rural to urban areas created legislative redistribution that may influence how appropriations are determined. Census reports show the state's urban population increased from 36.8% to 53.6% between 1950 and 1980. As its clientele has been largely concentrated on farms and in rural areas, Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service (CUCES) was concerned about the support that a more urban legislature might give to requests for appropriations. Its continued success depends on the image it projects to the legislators on whom it relies for financial support. Cooperative Funding Extension programs are financed cooperatively from federal, state, and county sources. The current national distribution pattern reflects federal support amounting to 40%, state support also about 40%, county support 18%, and two percent from nontax sources.1 | |
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