UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – William Shuffstall, senior extension educator for Penn State Cooperative Extension, has been selected by the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania as the group's first-ever CCAP/Cooperative Extension Fellow for a one-year term that will run through June 2008.

The fellowship will sponsor Shuffstall to work in Harrisburg with the association, providing expertise to commissioners in the state’s 67 counties to enhance a statewide partnership between the County Commissioners' Association of Pennsylvania and the university while learning more about state agencies and offices. Shuffstall will be involved in legislative and public affairs, research and technical services. He also will provide educational and technical assistance to individual counties, raising awareness about the association and extension programs within each organization.

Shuffstall will collaborate with the association's legislative department in his areas of expertise, including increasing Internet access for rural communities. Kristen Goshorn, association government relations specialist, says he will be a valuable conduit for commissioners in need of information.

“Counties are partners with extension in providing educational programs and resources for people throughout the state,” she says. “Working together through this fellowship, we can connect county officials and the communities they serve to the valuable informational resources and expertise available through the Cooperative Extension network.”

Daney Jackson, director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and university associate vice president for outreach, says he expects the partnership to be mutually beneficial for both agencies in serving the public.

“County commissioners provide a significant amount of the overall public support to Cooperative Extension, and if we have a better understanding of the issues they face, we can be better partners,” he says. “We believe a strong relationship between the two organizations will help both to serve the needs of Pennsylvania citizens more effectively and efficiently. Penn State can be an even stronger resource to address issues in our commonwealth, and a strong relationship with the commissioners can help make the best use of Penn State as an agent of positive change.”

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EDITORS: Contact William Shuffstall at 814-865-5665 or by e-mail at wcs2@psu.edu.

Writer-Editor: Gary Abdullah 814-863-2708 gxa2@psu.edu