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Logo: Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research

 

The Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research (WCMER) is a multi-university collaboration established by the Western Extension Directors Association to

  • increase the internal capacity of Western Extension programs to address metropolitan issues, and to
  • elevate the stature and value of Cooperative Extension to external metropolitan audiences.

Since WCMER’s founding in 2014 we have focused our efforts on applied research on best Extension practices and issues facing metropolitan areas, and professional development for Extension professionals, with a goal of better aligning programs and program delivery with the needs, issues and interest of their metropolitan constituency.

Institutional membership in the WCMER has expanded beyond the west from an original group of six founding university Extension members, to thirteen members from coast to coast. This greater participation and diversity has allowed us to broaden our collaborations, extend our reach, and engage in new projects that advance the knowledge base of Extension work in our metropolitan regions.

 

Engage

Membership

Membership in WCMER is open to any Cooperative Extension organization. Benefits of membership apply to all faculty and staff in your institution.

Advance

Projects

The Western Center is embarking on projects that advance the knowledge base of Extension work in our metropolitan regions.

Innovate

Fellowships

WCMER empowers Deep Dive, Urban Sabbatical and Urban Graduate Fellows to address complex issues facing metropolitan areas.

Features

Soils in the City Webinar

Watch the recording of the Soils in the City webinar presented by Dr Doug Collins on April 17. Doug shares results from a National Urban Research & Extension Fellowship which included an observational study of soil parameters in farmed soils in urban and peri-urban environments in three different urban areas: 1) Medellin, Colombia; 2) Chicago, IL, USA; and 3) Seattle, WA, USA. These three urban areas provided a diversity of cultural-industrial histories to evaluate anthropogenic influences.
Visit Soils in the City Webinar

Partnering Opportunities with Cities

The National Urban Research & Extension Center (NUREC) invites you to participate in this Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to determine where there are opportunities for partnership and collaboration amongst research and Extension and the National League of Cities.
Visit Partnering Opportunities with Cities

Career Progression for Urban Extension Professionals

To be successful in achieving Extension impact and community change, urban Extension professionals need flexibility from the academic system. This paper from WCMER Applied Research Fellows Jeantyl Norze and Eric Killian explores how new and innovative career tracks balanced with academic rigor will help propel urban Extension professionals to both greater academic advancement and overall impact.
Visit Career Progression for Urban Extension Professionals

GROW – Urban Agriculture Conference

The inaugural Generating Research Opportunities Workshop (GROW) for Urban Agriculture, is a virtual three-part conference for researchers, extension professional, educators and stakeholders designed to build interdisciplinary teams and support their efforts to secure funding for research, extension and education (REE) that supports and expands urban agriculture.
Visit GROW – Urban Agriculture Conference

ESP Conference Poster

WCMER Fellows Ramona Madhosingh-Hector and Alyssa Bowers presented a poster at the 2023 Epsilon Sigma Phi annual conference in Billings, MT.
Visit ESP Conference Poster

Best Practices in Suburban Housing Affordability

Suburban communities across the United States have experienced a steady rise in median housing prices. Lower housing affordability has a host of negative consequences including increased homelessness, poor health outcomes, unaddressed racial housing inequality, and lower disposable incomes. WCMER Applied Research Fellows, Craig Carpenter, Tyler Augst and Dave Ivan from Michigan State University developed a position paper on affordable housing, focusing on first and second ring suburban cities and smaller, growing urban centers.
Visit Best Practices in Suburban Housing Affordability

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Explore our Leading Edge Dialogues White Paper Series

National Urban Extension dialogue on: Density, Youth Engagement, Preparing the Extension Workforce, Data and Policy, Fulfilling the Land Grant University Mission, and Smart Cities.
Visit Explore our Leading Edge Dialogues White Paper Series

Member Benefit: The NATURA Project

WCMER is a partner of the NATURA project. WCMER member schools are invited to join the conversation and take advantage of learning networks, fellowships, and event opportunities.
Visit Member Benefit: The NATURA Project

Meet Our Research Fellows

Ramona C. Madhosingh-Hector, MS
Research Fellow
University of Florida
white woman with red hair and red lipstick smiling Alyssa Bowers, MS
Research Fellow
University of Florida
Doug Collins, Ph. D.
Urban Sabbatical Fellow
Washington State University

 

white man with glasses and arms crossed Todd Murray, Ph.D
Research Fellow, Advisory Board
Washington State University
white woman in denim shirt smiling and pointing to a home grown tomato Jordan Jobe, MS
Research Fellow
Washington State University
Fe Moncloa, Ph.D.
Research Fellow
University of California
headshot Prabesh Khanal
Graduate Research Fellow
Washington State University

 

Caucasian woman with curly hair smiling Lea Wilson, MS
Graduate Research Fellow
Washington State University
steven worker university of california

 
Steven Worker, Ph.D.
Research Fellow
University of California

 
Joan Wu, Ph.D.
Research Fellow
Washington State University