Giant Leaps Begin!

As I mentioned last month, the celebration of Purdue’s 150th anniversary starts at Homecoming on September 22. The theme for this year-long celebration is “Giant Leaps” in honor of Purdue alumnus Neil Armstrong’s famous quote, “One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind” when he took his first step on the moon nearly 50 years ago. Now, we strive to make giant leaps to solve the world’s greatest challenges.

The Giant Leaps themes include Space Exploration, Artificial Intelligence, Health and Longevity, and Sustainable Economy and Planet. Agriculture faculty, students and staff have been working in all four of these areas for a long time, and will continue to make giant leaps in many of them. I plan to use the next 12 months here in my InFocus messages to explore areas where we are making leaps in teaching, research and Extension that fit with these themes. I think you will see that we have a diverse college committed to excellence and innovation across many different areas, which allows us to use different tools and technologies to make a global impact.

To be on the cutting edge of innovation means that we must continue to bring disciplines together across colleges to leverage strengths. This month, I will focus on the Giant Leap: Health and Longevity category. While our college is doing great cancer research that I will talk about in the future, this month I am focusing on Extension work in Health and Longevity—a very timely topic.

Farmers and rural communities are facing many pressures, from the difficult farm economy to the epidemic of opioid abuse. Extension educators and programs work to intervene early, when prevention can save money and, more importantly, save families. Educators in Health and Human Sciences and Agriculture collaborate on many of these programs. One example is the Strengthening Families Program that works to help reduce the levels of substance abuse among young people, increase their ability to resist peer pressure, and prevent conduct problems in school. The program helps parents build a positive relationship with their children—setting appropriate limits and following through on consequences while showing love and support. This vital program, which started in Ohio, is ranked #1 by the World Health Organization and every $1 spent returns $9.60 to the community.

In addition to our partnership with HHS on the opioid crisis, Purdue Extension is also helping Hoosiers deal with mental health issues. According to the CDC, farming has one of the highest suicide rates among all US occupations. Purdue Extension developed and delivers the Mental Health First Aid Program that is training people to be aware of the symptoms of mental health issues and educating them on how to deal with emergencies. These are two programs among many that illustrate how Purdue Extension is taking Giant Leaps in health and longevity through service to our communities.

All the best,

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