2011 David J. Allee and Paul R. Eberts Community and Economic Vitality Award Presented to the CCE Marcellus Shale Team.

This year's David J. Allee and Paul R. Eberts Community and Economic Vitality Award was presented to the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Marcellus Shale Team.   

The awardees are Sharon Anderson, Extension Educator, CCE Tompkins County; Brett Chedzoy, Extension Educator, CCE Schuyler County; Robert Ross, Associate Director for Outreach, Paleontological Research Institution (PRI); Trisha Smrecak, Global Change and Evolution Projects Manager, PRI; Kelly Cronin, Outreach Associate, PRI; Susan Riha, Charles L. Pack Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of the New York State Water Resources Institute; Rich Stedman, Associate Professor, Dept. of Natural Resources; Jeffrey Jacquet, Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Natural Resources; and Ken Smith, Executive Director, CCE Chenango County.

The team represents a diversity of disciplines and perspectives within a framework of cooperation and collaboration to support informed decision making around the complexity of issues associated with Marcellus Shale development.  The award was presented by Rod Howe, Executive Director of CaRDI and John Sipple, co-Faculty Director of CaRDI.

Stephen Johnson, Vice President of Government and Community Relations, voiced Cornell's support of CaRDI's work and the work of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marcellus Shale Team

The Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Marcellus Shale Team has been active since 2008, originally in response to significant demand from landowners who were approached by energy industry representatives to sign leases. Since that time, the need for multidisciplinary and research-based education and information has expanded to a broader audience, as the issue has become one that is of vital interest and concern to a wide variety of stakeholders. A core group of educators, associates and faculty have helped to guide an integrated research, education and outreach initiative. Their work was funded in part by Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (Smith Lever/Hatch funding).

The Marcellus Shale Team’s educational approach takes into account the protection of environmental health, creating and maintaining vital communities, and promoting economic opportunities. The team has responded to a variety of stakeholders who seek a scientific, economic, social, and environmental understanding of the issues associated with Marcellus Shale natural gas exploration and drilling. "This has been a tremendous example of a land grant university at work," says Rod Howe, Executive Director, CaRDI.

As part of an effort to disseminate accurate information, the team’s work has included the development of the Natural Gas Resource Center website, naturalgas.cce.cornell.edu. In addition, they have compiled and disseminated a variety of materials that support informed dialogue and Cornell University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator and employer.

decision making on the natural gas development process and associated impacts. They have advocated for academic research at Cornell University that examines development impacts and mitigation strategies. They have fostered cross-collaboration of outreach and education activities among many of the educational and research institutions throughout the Marcellus Shale region.

The CCE Marcellus Shale team’s activities overlap with other multidisciplinary team initiatives that resulted in the development of a paper entitled, "Energy Transitions: A Systems Approach Including Marcellus Shale Gas Development," and a framework focused on the impact of green energy development on rural community sustainability. Both of these additional initiatives received support from the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. 

The award ceremony and reception took place in Weill Hall in conjunction with a 3:00 p.m. seminar entitled "How Will Rural Areas Contribute to America's Energy Transitions?" by Thomas Johnson, Director of Academic and Analytic Programs, Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI). Click here to download the presentation.

Previous Winners:

2010 CEV Award Winner: Rural Learning Network of Western and Central New York