The Extension Department of St. Francis Xavier was established in 1928. St.F.X. received funding from the Carnegie Foundation and the Scottish Catholic Society. However, tremendous support for the creation of this body came from the Alumni Association of St. F.X. who passed a resolution advocating its formation. In addition, encouragement came from the American Association of Adult Education, of which Father Jimmy was a member.
This is what Father Jimmy was promoting for years. In fact, this new organization shared many of the ideals of his. Rev. Dr. Moses M. Coady, its first Director, supported Tompkins' idea that rather than have the people come to us (at the university) we would go to them to impart knowledge.
Furthermore, Doctor Coady also believed that the content of the education program offered by the Extension Department be economic in nature. That is, that people be taught the fundamentals of co-operation. Yet, like Father Jimmy, Dr. Coady still wasn't sure how to deliver this education to the people.
In 1927, Dr. Coady was involved with a group of farmers from Cape Breton. He had them study and discuss different options available to them. They decided in the end to enter into certain types of agricultural production. In the final analysis, when these small rural farmers bought their product directly to the market they did a business of $5,300, far more than what they received in past years.
From this experience Dr. Coady found that the best method to offer education to those who need it the most, the poor, would be to use studying and discussion, in an economic context. This concept was along the lines of what Father Jimmy wanted. From this came three basic characteristics that the Extension Department became known for:
Doctor Coady and the other leaders of the Extension Department came to realize that adult education with an emphasis on economic understanding, would help create a better person, that it would raise him to a higher level of life. These people realized that the best way to attain this economic understanding was through the technique of study clubs, something which Father Jimmy had been advocating. In fact, in Canso, Father Jimmy had already been successful in creating some study clubs. Consequently, the Extension Department began to promote mass meetings, from which study clubs would be introduced and the members drawn. The following chart shows the activities of the Extension Department and how many people in Nova Scotia were drawn into study clubs:
| Year | General Meetings | Attendence | Study Clubs | Membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930-31 | 192 | 14,856 | 173 | 1,384 |
| 1931-32 | 280 | 20,476 | 179 | 1,500 |
| 1932-33 | 380 | 23,000 | 350 | 5,250 |
| 1933-34 | 500 | 25,000 | 950 | 7,256 |
| 1934-35 | 450 | 27,000 | 940 | 8,460 |
| 1935-36 | 470 | 43,000 | 860 | 8,000 |
| 1936-37 | ------- | ------- | 1,013 | 10,000 |
| 1937-38 | ------- | ------- | 1,100 | 10,000 |
The Extension Department of St.F.X. was largely responsible for the creation of materials with which people would study in the study clubs. Father Jimmy was always ready and able to make his contribution and was quick to inform Doctor Coady if there was something he didn't agree with.
Although Father Jimmy was still located in Canso and didn't play a huge role in the creation of the Extension Department, it should be pointed out that its implementation was his idea and it was something that he had been fighting for since his introduction to the activities of the Extension Department of the University of Wisconsin years before.
