Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences
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A Message from Dr. Edwards, Our New Department Head:
Greetings from the hill! It is an exciting time in the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences department, as we have just completed on-campus interviews for a new faculty position in Water Quality and are moving forward with our searches to fill positions in Soil Fertility and Production Agriculture/Crop Physiology. I look forward to updating you on these searches, as well as our progress in filling other key faculty positions in coming issues of our newsletter.
I’ve only been part of the CSES family for a few weeks, but I have already come to appreciate the outstanding group of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters that make our department successful. I look forward to learning more about our impactful research, teaching, and extension programs. I am also looking forward to meeting more of you at Extension meetings and alumni events around the state in the coming year. WPS!
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Dr. Jeff Edwards Appointed Department Head
Edwards takes leadership of the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Department on Jan. 10 and said he wants his first year on the job focused on getting to know students and stakeholders. "I want to interact with as many people as possible to learn more about the University of Arkansas System and the people we serve. I want to learn more about our research and extension programs and how I might be able to facilitate them in accomplishing our mission."
Deacue Fields, Dean of the Bumpers College said, "You don't often get a chance to hire someone with his reputation and proven track record for leadership success as a department head. Jeff has the vision to continue building the national prominence of our department of crop, soil, and environmental sciences, and it is a bonus that he completed his graduate work here at the U of A."
Edwards is coming to Arkansas from Oklahoma State University, where he has served as department head for the Plant and Soil Sciences department since 2015. Prior to that, he was the Warth Distinguished Professor of Agronomy at OSU. Edwards said that students became more connected to the plant and soil sciences department during his time as department head at OSU. "I worked to develop very much a family atmosphere, and we were all part of the family working for the same goal."
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Dr. Mark J. Cochran, Vice President for Agriculture, retired Sept. 30th.
Cochran encouraged the growth of the entrepreneurship and commercialization of research products and fought hard to obtain funding to continue the Division of Agriculture's research and extension work, enabling the traditional land grant mission to remain strong in Arkansas.
"We are the only higher education institution that has faculty and staff in all 75 counties of Arkansas and programs that reach from cradle into adulthood," he said. "I'm particularly proud of the impact made on youth by our 4-H program and how that impact will continue into the future. The land grant mission is as relevant today as it was in the beginning," Cochran said. "We are fortunate to have highly qualified faculty, county agents, staff and leadership who are well positioned to continue to make a difference for Arkansans of all walks of life in all counties of the state."
Among Cochran's accomplishments was attaining the first increase in the Division of Agriculture's recurring funds in more than a decade. Under his leadership, division faculty and staff adapted in-person activities to online platforms to continue delivering services as COVID-19 emerged, while simultaneously restructuring and merging all of its business and human resources functions into one system for greater transparency.
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CSES Student Club President Avery Blair, on the right, and Club VP Lauren Gwaltney, on the left, attending the 2021 HillFest at the Arkansas Union Mall. The Office of Student Activities host HillFest as an information fair for students to meet the different offices, departments, Registered Student Organizations, and other resources that are available to them on campus.
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The Annual Tri-Societies meeting, held in Salt Lake City, Utah this year, is a gathering of The American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America. In the above two pictures Dr. Nathan Slaton, the interim department head for the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences department, is seen giving a presentation to the scientific community. Graduate students Tatum Simms and Francia Ravelombola, with the CSES departmental manager Daniela Kidd, are pictured below attending to the department booth during the conference answering questions for potential recruits.
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