Extension & Outreach

Extension & Outreach

Connecting the university to our communities.

Partnering with communities and industries.

Cooperative Extension works to improve lives, communities, and the economy through a statewide network of knowledgeable faculty and staff. As a part of our land-grant university, Cooperative Extension plays a critical role in our mission to educate our communities and empower the next generation of experts to grow sustainable regional and global economies, and to develop new knowledge and technologies to benefit society.

Extension Faculty

Cooperative Extension faculty and our county agents apply human behavioral research and financial literacy techniques to improve Arizona communities. From children and families to classrooms and health centers, we implement best practices and resources that keep our communities happy and healthy.

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Dan McDonald

Daniel McDonald, Ph.D.

Director, Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research
Extension Specialist, Financial Literacy
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Kate Speirs

Kate Speirs, Ph.D.

Associate State Specialist for Early Childhood, FCS Cooperative Extension
Associate Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences
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Michele Walsh, Ph.D.

Associate Director, Cooperative Extension Family, Consumer and Health Sciences
Professor, Human Development & Family Science
Specialist, Evaluation, Cooperative Extension

Explore Extension

Working alongside communities to improve lives, and livelihoods

Our Extension Agents, Specialists, and Norton School faculty take the science of the University to the people of Arizona through programs, publications, classes, events and one-on-one teaching. The wide variety of programs listed below are a testament to the far reaching impact of our 4-H Youth Development, Community and Business, Food Nutrition and Health, Tribal Extension, and Youth and Family areas of expertise and involvement.

View Norton Extension Programs

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Take Charge Cats

The Take Charge Cats are a group of University of Arizona students who are trained on financial literacy and seek to create a generation of financially-informed youth in Arizona. Throughout the year, they deliver a series of personal finance workshops in middle and high schools across Arizona, introducing the fundamentals of finance from spending plans and credit reports to savings and identity theft.