“Teamwork the Key to Organizational Success”: Dwyer Reflects on Five Years Leading MSU Extension

<p>“It’s has been a great privilege for me to serve as the director of <a href="https://www.canr.msu.edu/outreach/">MSU Extension</a> and the highlight of my professional career,” Dwyer says.  </p><p> </p><p>“It's not very often you get to wake up every single day knowing that the organization you're a part of is impacting tens of thousands of people that day. And that's what it's like being the director of MSU Extension—working with over 600 people who are immensely talented, who are located across the state and who are doing great work every day. Whatever has been accomplished over the past five years has been a team effort in every sense of the word.” </p><p> </p><p>Dwyer talks about enhancing the agricultural and 4-H programs historically associated with Extension while also launching innovative healthcare and community development initiatives. He’s also proud of better connecting MSU Extension to the greater campus community and for ramping up assistance during such unanticipated events as the Flint water crisis and mounting depression among farm families.    </p><p>“One of the things we were able to do in Flint was remind people that MSU Extension is one of those rare organizations that doesn't have to go to a place like Flint to help when it's needed because we're already there. Given that we're there, we can help emergently and also grow our presence.  We've had Extension educators in Flint since 1907. When the Flint water crisis hit really right at the beginning of my tenure as director, we had in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 people working full-time in Flint and Genesee County. Now we have well over 40 working there full-time on a regular basis and that's because we were able to build on the great people that were already there helping Flint in this particular crisis and bring in other resources to grow what we're doing there.”</p><p>“About four years ago, we became very aware that there were some real struggles in rural America and on farms. And particularly, we were seeing, at least anecdotal