The Extension Division (1921-1957) was the unit at Brigham Young University responsible for coordinating distance education and extension work. The Extension Division was established in 1921 in a reorganization of the earlier Extension Department. It was charged with providing educational services to those outside the university campus, such as off-campus programs, lectures, classroom offerings, and correspondence courses. Directors of the division included Lowry Nelson (1921-1936), Harrison R. Merrill (1936-1939), Carlton Culmsee (1939-1944), Gerrit de Jong (Acting Director, 1944-1946), Thomas L. Broadbent (Acting Director, 1946-1947), and Harold Glen Clark (1947-1957). In 1957 the unit was renamed as Adult Education and Extension Services.

Lowry Nelson (1893-1986) was a sociology professor and academic administrator in Utah.

Lowry Nelson was born on April 16, 1893 in Ferron, Utah. He served as secretary to the president of Utah State Agricultural College from 1917 to 1919. In 1921 he became editor of the magazine Utah Farmer. From 1923-1934 he was BYU's Extension Divsion's director. In 1924 he married Florence Newell. In 1929 he also held the position of Dean of the College of Applied Science. In 1934 Dr. Nelson organized the social welfare division of the Utah Emergency Relief Administration. From 1937-1958 he was rural sociologist at the University of Minnesota. Nelson became a member of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Farm Tenancy Committee in 1936. He died in 1986.