UA System sets search panel for agriculture post

University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt has established a search committee to help find the next vice president of the Division of Agriculture, his office announced Monday.

The search committee includes representatives from agricultural constituents, faculty and staff, a chancellor of another UA System institution and a member of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees.

The Division of Agriculture is considered by industry officials to be one of the key components in an agricultural state like Arkansas. The Division conducts research through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and extends assistance or services through the Cooperative Extension Service.

The division has locations in all 75 of Arkansas’ counties. Its primary mission is to help producers and processors of food, fiber and fuels access and use appropriate technology, according to its website.

The broader mission includes dealing with issues such as food safety and security, health and nutrition, natural resource conservation, and programs serving youth, families and communities. One such program is 4-H.

Bobbitt will lead the national search. The committee will develop a short list of candidates to recommend to Bobbitt, who will select one to present to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees.

The board makes the final decision vased on Bobbitt’s recommendation. The Division of Agriculture is part of the UA System. The UA Board of Trustees is the governing body for the UA System.

The search committee will begin its work in December, the UA System office announced Monday. The panel will profile the position and list and promote it before the end of the year, according to the announcement from the UA System office. A search webpage will be developed, as well, the office said.

Bobbitt is looking for someone to replace Mark J. Cochran, vice president for agriculture since 2011. He retired Sept. 30.

Bobbitt assigned Chuck Culver, assistant vice president and director of external relations at the Division of Agriculture, to lead the division as interim vice president since Oct. 1.

The search committee members and their affiliations are:

Christina Miller, Division of Agriculture staff; Marvin Childers Poultry Federation/ Agricultural Development Council; Mike Freeze, Arkansas Farm Bureau/Agricultural Development Council; Blair Griffin, County Agent/Extension; Debbie Moreland, Conservation/Agricultural Development Council; John Anderson, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, faculty and a department head; Ioannis Tzanetakis, UA faculty; John Clark; UA Faculty; Ed Fryar, a member of the UA Board of Trustees; Peggy Doss, chancellor, the University of Arkansas at Monticello; Kelly Robbins, Arkansas Rice Federation; and Bobbitt.