State Representative Arthur Hershey, a Chester County native who currently chairs the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, has been with RULE literally before the beginning. As part of the pilot group assembled by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in 1970 in an innovative effort to implement statewide leadership programs at selected land-grant universities, he helped turn that pilot program into what is now RULE and has been associated with the program ever since, progressing from student to instructor and legislative supporter. He’s a strong RULE advocate today, he says, because he remembers the difference it made in the life of a 33-year-old farmer with limited post-secondary education.

“It was like a mini college course to me,” Hershey says. “It opened my eyes to what was going on in the entire state rather than just my county. I was on the farm bureau and enjoyed public policy; RULE whet my appetite for public service, got me into public speaking, and helped me to express myself.

“I recommend it for anyone who wants to improve, to broaden his or her horizons,” he continues. “If you have a sincere desire to help others, it’s a great program to go through. There was a fellow who worked in Lancaster County’s department of public welfare who said he didn’t want to enroll and had to be pushed; he thought he was as far along in his career as he’d ever go. He enrolled in RULE, and even before he graduated, he got two promotions in two years on his job, just because he improved his skill sets. I know one person who was a state employee—a hard worker, but very quiet. I told her it would be good for her to participate in RULE. After she graduated, she blossomed and became more accessible and approachable. Shortly thereafter, she became president of one of Pennsylvania’s leading agricultural organizations.”

Ted Alter, former university associate vice president for extension and outreach and current RULE faculty advisor, believes RULE adds an important and positive component to Penn State Cooperative Extension’s leadership-education initiatives.
“I think it’s a great match with other programs that are more community-based and more localized,” Alter says. “It’s complementary to other leadership programs that are offered through extension, such as 4-H and Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow. Together, these programs add to the richness, complexity, and reach of leadership programming in extension.”

Faculty and staff referenced in this article are Ted Alter, professor of agricultural, environmental, and regional economics; Jacklyn Bruce, assistant professor of agricultural and extension education; Marilyn Corbin, associate director of cooperative extension and state program leader for children, youth, and families; Joy Dunbar, senior extension associate and chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Rural Leadership Program; Constance Flanagan, professor of agricultural and extension education; Daney Jackson, associate dean and director of cooperative extension; Joann Kowalski, extension educator in Susquehanna County; Daniel Perkins, professor of family and youth resiliency and policy; L. Richard Sayles, extension educator in Dauphin County; and Nicole Webster, assistant professor of agricultural and extension education.