One of the 11 new appointees for the U.S. Department of Agriculture advisory board is from MSU.
Jeffrey Armstrong, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, was appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman on Oct. 1 to serve on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board.
The board advises the department on economic policies and how to allocate research grants.
Armstrong is one of 30 committee members who specialize in different areas of agriculture.
Armstrong said he was nominated for his work with food animal science and believes his new position is a great way to represent the university.
“I was quite honored that I was selected, it was very complimentary,” he said.
Although all members are specialized, he said they all work together for the good of the department.
“Although food science is the primary reason I’m on the committee, I’m also very interested in what’s best for the state of Michigan and MSU, as well as for what’s good for the USDA as a whole,” he said.
And Armstrong said he wouldn’t have been nominated if he hadn’t gotten great support from the university and MSU President M. Peter McPherson.
Members of the committee serve three-year terms and some serve only two. Armstrong’s term will expire September 2004. The position will not affect his position as dean, he said.
Shirley Morgan, program support coordinator for the advisory board, said Armstrong was hired based on his involvement in various agriculture organizations over the years.
“His curriculum is really impressive,” Morgan said. “He was highly recommended and I’m glad he was chosen.”
And Morgan said Armstrong is the only board member from Michigan, so his voice is very important.
She also said the board has been influential in presenting ideas for the department administrators.
“We don’t pay their salary, we basically pay them for their research in their different fields of expertise,” she said.
MSU Provost Lou Anna Simon said having Armstrong in such a prominent position is really important for agriculture at MSU because he’ll get firsthand experience of what is happening in agriculture at the national level.
“I think he understands the very needs of agriculture, especially with the animal industry and with research and scholarship,” Simon said. “He’s also working on issues facing agriculture today and is helping to craft solutions to tomorrow’s problems.”
