In response to research demonstrating that Tennessee Extension agents desired a performance appraisal system that better reflected their jobs and provided for appraisers' professional development, a committee of University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University personnel undertook a 2-year initiative to revise the performance appraisal…

In 2010, University of Tennessee Extension conducted a strategic planning effort focused on the subsequent 10 years. The process involved approximately 3,000 Tennesseans in online surveys, area meetings, opinion polling, and focus group sessions. This article describes the process, tools, and outcomes--which included a comprehensive strategic…

Our study describes factors that influence Extension 4-H professionals' likelihood of participating in a professional development experience. We used a work group-developed survey to measure the level of influence of nine factors. Through convenience sampling, we obtained 558 responses from 4-H professionals representing all regions of the country…

This article describes Marathon Month, a workplace wellness program for Extension employees. The program promoted physical activity by challenging employees to walk or run the length of a marathon (26.2 mi) or half marathon (13.1 mi) over the course of 1 month. Of the 317 participants, 90% achieved a self-set goal of completing a full or half…

Performance appraisal is necessary for summative decisions about employees, such as merit pay and promotion. The research reported here describes Extension agent perceptions of their performance appraisal system. The population studied consisted of all Tennessee Extension agents (N = 312). Surveys were completed by 218 respondents, for a completed…