IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Dixie Watts Reaves
Associate Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech
ixie Watts Reaves, a national leader in
agriculture and cooperative education, joined
the faculty of Virginia Tech (VT) in 1993.
Her primary interests are in agribusiness
youth education, agribusiness product and
service marketing and the impacts of agricultural and
environmental policy on economic decision-making.
Reaves’ youth-education efforts include working with the
Virginia Council of Farmer Cooperatives and the National
Council of Farmer Cooperatives to educate high school
students about agribusiness management. Her current
research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning,
including the benefits and costs of extracurricular activities
and the educational value of debates in a classroom setting.
How did you first become aware of, or start working
with, cooperatives?
As a child growing up on a hog and tobacco farm in
Southside Virginia, I was aware of cooperatives: my
electricity was provided by a cooperative and I knew that we
were members of our tobacco cooperative. But my deep
involvement with co-ops really began soon after I started my
career at Virginia Tech.
The faculty member who had previously worked with the
Virginia Council of Farmer Cooperatives (VCFC) to sponsor
its annual youth conference needed to cut back on some of
his activities. As the newest person in the department, I was
an obvious person to ask to step in. My acceptance of that
invitation to work with VCFC was one of the most important
career decisions I ever made. We have forged a strong
partnership that has continued through the years.
I remain actively involved in VCFC’s annual co-op
education youth conference. I serve as an advisor to its board
the research and education committee. VCFC supports my
students with scholarships, and its members provide them
with internships and hire them for full-time employment.
VCFC supported my effort to create a cooperatives course at
Virginia Tech, and I consider them a true partner in all of my
cooperative education endeavors.
Why is co-op education at the college level important?
Cooperatives touch many areas of our day-to-day lives,
often in ways that we are not even aware. From providing
services such as phone, electricity and cable, to the marketing
of raw or finished products, to the provision of housing or
child care or health care, cooperatives can, and do, make a
difference. There are many other ways cooperatives could
solve problems, but they are often not considered because not
enough people are knowledgeable of the cooperative model.
Today’s college students need to understand this. They will
be tomorrow’s employees, member-owners and board
members.
You also teach a course on the impact of cooperatives
on the human condition. What major points are made
in that class?
During end-of-semester evaluations, students often say
they had no idea of the widespread nature of co-ops in our
society prior to taking the co-ops course. When I created the
course on cooperatives, I wanted students to be aware of all
of the areas of our daily lives that are, or could be, impacted
by co-ops. We discuss both agricultural and non-agricultural
cooperatives, why they are formed, what unmet need they fill,
how they empower people, and how they help people help
themselves. This course is in our university’s core curriculum,
so it draws students from all colleges on campus and brings a
diverse perspective to our classroom discussions.
What are typical career goals for your students, and are
many of them looking at co-ops as future employers?
Many of our students want to enter the agricultural
finance sector or the input-supply sector after graduation,
while others want to go into production agriculture.
Therefore, cooperatives are an ideal employer for VT ag
economics students, and many are currently employed with
cooperatives in different states across the nation.
You were largely responsible for re-establishing the National
Institute on Cooperative Education (NICE) Conference as a
smaller meeting aimed at secondary-level students. How is
that effort going?
When the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
(NCFC) decided to discontinue NICE, the state-level
councils took action. Prior to NICE 2002 in Chicago, I
spoke with a number of people who were interested in seeing
the youth component of NICE continue. Finding substantial
support, I organized a meeting at that final NCFC-sponsored
NICE in Chicago, and spoke with the state co-op council
representatives about how we might partner to move it
forward. There was overwhelming support for a continued
youth cooperative education program, and I volunteered to
host the diamond anniversary NICE on the Virginia Tech
campus the following year.
The conference was an overwhelming success, with 100
percent of participants indicating that they would
recommend the conference to a friend. There was a steep
learning curve the first year, determining all that needed to
be done to host a national-level conference like NICE, so I
offered to host a second year, and the state councils agreed.
Kentucky volunteered to host it in 2005, followed by
Pennsylvania in 2006. The conferences were outstanding,
with general co-op education sessions, case studies, games
and ice breakers, leadership development and a farm-supply
store simulation. Each year, the attendees say they learn a lot
in a fun atmosphere and have an opportunity to meet people
from all over the country. A testament to the success of the
conference is the number of youth who express interest in
returning the following year as a youth leader.
What happened to the NICE Ambassador program?
It has been renamed the Outstanding Youth Scholar
Contest. Each year, one male and one female are chosen to
serve as ambassadors for NICE. They assist with the
planning of the coming year’s conference and assist on-site
the following year. If any cooperative would like to have the
Outstanding Youth Scholars participate in any type of co-opsponsored
event, we would welcome invitations for the youth to participate.
Where will the next conference be held?
Pennsylvania has again agreed to host in 2007, July 19-22,
in Shippensburg. For cooperatives that would like to support
this youth education effort, a number of sponsorship
opportunities are available, and we would welcome any and
all support. If a state does not have a state co-op council that
focuses on youth education, those states could still sponsor
one or more youth to attend the conference. In my mind,
there has been a successful transition from the NCFCsponsored
NICE to the state-sponsored
NICE, and I anticipate that in 2028, we will
be celebrating the centennial of NICE.
What can co-ops do to support
co-op education?
Cooperatives are already doing a great
deal to support co-op education. Some
states have very strong and active state
councils of cooperatives, and many host a
state-level youth education program each
year. In those states where such programs
are taking place, it is important for
individual co-ops to support those efforts
through sponsorships, door prizes,
providing conference speakers and simply
being present to allow the youth to interact
with representatives from industry. In those
states where there are no current state-level
programs, a group of cooperatives might
consider working together to start one, or at
least sponsor youth to attend NICE.
Offering summer internships is another way
to support co-op education. Internships are a
win-win situation, providing cooperatives an opportunity to
assess potential future employees and giving students muchneeded
hands-on experience. What better way to learn about
cooperatives and see how they positively impact the wellbeing
of their member-owners than by working side-by-side
with those who serve the members every day?
A number of co-ops or co-op councils support their youth
through the provision of scholarships. In addition to
monetary support, knowing that the agricultural industry
supports ag majors and is willing to reward them for
academic achievement is a powerful motivator.
I am very appreciative of the support that I and my
students have received from VCFC and its member
cooperatives. I know co-ops around the country are
supporting the youth in their local communities, and I’d like
to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you.
Contact Reaves at: Dixie@vt.edu or 540-231-6153.
