Alabama Cooperative Extension System

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) is a primary outreach and engagement organization that provides educational outreach to the citizens of Alabama on behalf of the state's two land grant universities: Alabama A&M University (the state's 1890 land-grant institution) and Auburn University (a 1872 land-grant institution).
ACES employs more than 800 faculty, professional educators, and staff members operating in offices in each of Alabama's 67 counties and in nine urban centers covering the major regions of the state. In conjunction with the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the system also staffs six extension and research centers located in the state's principal geographic regions. Under its terms, the Extension programs and other land-grant university functions of Alabama A&M, Auburn, and Tuskegee universities were combined and served as cooperative partners within this unified system.
This combined effort is headed by a director appointed by the presidents of Alabama A&M and Auburn universities. The Extension director serves as the organization's chief executive officer and maintains offices at both campuses.
Judge Murphy called for an expanded and updated Cooperative Extension mission that continued to address traditional programming needs and was better equipped to respond to the needs of a population that had become more urbanized and racially and ethnically diverse. In addition to providing for an associate director for Rural and Traditional Programs, who would be housed at Auburn University, Judge Murphy also mandated that an associate director of Urban and New Nontraditional Programs be employed and housed at Alabama A&M University. Judge Murphy also mandated that an associate director of Urban and New Nontraditional Programs be employed and housed at Alabama A&M University. This new associate director, Murphy stated, would be "expected to open new areas of Extension work and expand the outreach of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to more fully serve all the people of Alabama."
Directors of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System
* J. F. Duggar, 1914-1920
* Luther N. Duncan, 1920-1937
* P. O. Davis, 1937-1959
* E. T. York, 1959-1961
* Fred R. Robertson, 1961-1971
* Ralph R. Jones, 1971-1974
* W. H. Taylor (Acting), 1974-1975
* J. Michael Sprott, 1975-1983
* Ray Cavender (Acting), 1983-1984
* Ann E. Thompson, 1984-1994
* W. Gaines Smith (Interim), 1994-1997
* Stephen B. Jones, 1997-2001
* W. Gaines Smith, 2001-2011
* Gary Lemme, 2011-2021
* Mike Phillips, 2021-present
2004 reorganization
In 2004, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System completed a restructuring effort. specializing in one of 14 program priority areas.
History
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System was created following the passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which provided federal funds to land-grant universities to support Extension work. The roots of the organization extend as far back as the late 18th century, following the American Revolution, when affluent farmers first began organizing groups to sponsor educational meetings to disseminate useful farming information. In some cases, these lectures even were delivered by university professors - a practice that foreshadowed Cooperative Extension work more than a century later.
These efforts became more formalized over time. By the 1850s, for example, many schools and colleges began holding farmer institutes - public meetings where lecturers discussed new farming insights.

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