History

In 2006, the Western Extension Directors Association (WEDA) tasked a committee to identify the characteristics of urban and metropolitan areas in the western United States and explore new ways to increase the effectiveness of Extension’s urban work. The committee’s report, Extension in the Urban West, found that a common approach to urban Extension and issue analysis did not exist in the West, and that little had been published about it. The report, among other recommendations, encouraged Extension to embrace engaged scholarship and applied research to address the needs of metropolitan stakeholders, and proposed the creation of an urban research and Extension center for the west.

In 2014 WEDA, with fiscal support from six founding institutional members (see sidebar), established the Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research (WCMER) with a goal of increasing the internal capacity of western Extension programs to address urban issues, and to elevate the stature and value of Cooperative Extension to urban audiences. Since its inception, this multi-university collaboration focused its efforts on applied research on best practices related to urban Extension, and professional development for Extension professionals, with a goal of better aligning programs and delivery methods with the needs, issues and interest of their metropolitan constituency.

Expanding Our Reach

Within a few years, non-western institutions expressed interest in joining and, in 2018, WCMER began welcoming new members from across the US. This enabled us to broaden our collaborations and engage in new projects to advance the knowledge base of Extension in urban regions.

In 2024, with over one quarter of its members now outside the West, and with the potential to increase our national impact, WCMER transitioned to become the National Urban Research and Extension Center (NUREC).

NUREC has been hosted at Washington State University by WSU Extension and administered by the Metropolitan Center for Applied Research and Extension since its founding as WCMER.

NUREC Membership

We are now offering membership to all Extension organizations. Membership provides tools to maintain an impactful presence for your Extension organization in cities and metropolitan areas, professional development for Extension faculty and staff, opportunities to engage in applied research, project and funding opportunities, and a broader forum for advancing effective models of working within metropolitan regions.

To learn more about all of the NUREC’s membership benefits, please visit our membership page.