By Jennifer Tiffany
Tiffany
From improving access to healthy foods to reducing risk-taking by adolescents, College of Human Ecology students will work with faculty researchers throughout the summer to address pressing concerns in communities across New York thanks to the wide reach of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). Established in 2007 to support Cornell’s land-grant mission, the CCE Summer Internship Program enables students to discover and contribute to faculty research while also engaging in outreach and gaining a hands-on understanding of the university’s extension system.
This summer, 22 students will assist faculty members from all five academic departments in the College of Human Ecology, as well as researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (see details on Human Ecology projects below). Among the topics in the College of Human Ecology: the promotion of healthy food and activity choices, dissemination of evidence-based risk reduction programs, developing an evidence base for new and adapted interventions, using distance learning to promote use of personal protective clothing, learning how the public views congestion pricing for traffic reduction, and early childhood factors underlying the income-related achievement gap. Multiple projects will focus on improving access to healthy foods, particularly for school lunch programs. The initiative has been embraced widely by Human Ecology faculty members, according to Dean Alan Mathios. “It is especially encouraging that faculty with and without out extension appointments are participating,” he said.
The students will engage with CCE associations and communities in nearly every part of the state -- from New York City to Western New York. The internships are an important way to build and strengthen connections between community-based CCE associations and campus-based faculty – ties that help support the translational research mission of the college’s Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR). For the College of Human Ecology, the internships are closely aligned with the college’s tri-partite mission of teaching, research, and outreach.
Faculty report that the internships serve to initiate or continue a partnership with a Cornell Cooperative Extension association and the communities it serves, while at the same time engaging undergraduate students in ongoing research projects. For students, the internships provide an experience that helps define long-term goals and aspirations while also contributing to their undergraduate experience at Cornell. For some, it is a transformative experience that inspires them down a new and unexplored path.
We are grateful to have support for the CHE internships provided by the College of Human Ecology and the CCE Director’s Innovation Fund, as well as gifts from Cindy Noble and Elizabeth Poit Cernosia, who supports three internships for "students who focus their research on the health and well-being of children from infants to teenagers."
In the fall, students report on their experiences at an annual CCE Internship poster presentation and reception. It is exciting to learn about their findings and how their projects have deepened connections between Cornell, CCE, and the communities we serve. The public is welcome to attend this showcase, to be held from 5-7 p.m., Sept. 24. In addition, the BCTR will sponsor a roundtable discussion for student and faculty participants in the internship program at the beginning of the fall semester.
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2012 Summer Internship Projects
Testing Educational Resources for Diverse Audiences
Faculty: Charlotte Coffman (FSAD)
CCE Location: Ontario County
Adopting Healthy Habits
Faculty: Jamie Dollahite (DNS)
CCE Location: Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties
Parent Education in and around Tompkins County
Faculty: Rachel Dunifon (PAM)
CCE Location: Tompkins and adjacent counties
The PROSPER Partnership Model in New York State: An evidence-based delivery system for preventing risky behaviors in youth, promoting positive youth development, and strengthening families
Faculty: John Eckenrode (HD)
CCE Location: Schuyler or Livingston County
Early Origins of Income Achievement Gap
Faculty: Gary Evans (DEA) and Marianella Casasola (HD)
CCE Location: Cortland, Tompkins and Yates Counties
Public Acceptance of Congestion Pricing of Transportation
Faculty: Rick Geddes (PAM)
Location: Cornell’s Community and Regional Development Institute
Research for Continuous Improvement of 4-H
Faculty: Stephen Hamilton (HD)
CCE Location: Erie, Genesee, Wyoming, and Orleans Counties
Interventions for Risk Reduction and Avoidance in Adolescents
Faculty: Valerie Reyna (HD)
CCE Location: NYC and Broome County
Healthy Gardens, Healthy Youth
Faculty: Nancy Wells (DEA)
CCE Location: NYC, Suffolk, Wayne, Monroe, Schenectady, Rockland, and Delaware Counties
Developing Strategies for Fruit and Vegetable Distribution from Farms to Schools in Wayne County
Faculty: Jennifer Wilkins (DNS)
CCE Location: Wayne County
Jennifer Sarah Tiffany, PhD, is associate director for outreach and extension in the College of Human Ecology and director of outreach and community engagement in the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research.