By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-1773 ext. 281Source(s):
E.T. York york@mail.ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-6545
Peter Hildebrand peh@mail.ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-1845 ext. 436
Ayesha London, IICA alondon34@aol.com, (202) 458-3767
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two prominent University of Florida faculty members have been named to a group of 60 U.S. citizens and institutions who have contributed most to the progress of agriculture in the Americas over the last 60 years.
E. Travis York and Peter E. Hildebrand will be highlighted in a commemorative book, “60 At 60,” as part of the 60th anniversary of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
They also will be honored at a formal reception in Washington, D.C., Feb. 3 in the Organization of American States Hall of the Americas. IICA was created in 1942 and represents the agricultural progress and aspirations of 34 countries of the Western Hemisphere.
The “60 At 60” publication identifies the most influential individuals and institutions in the United States who have played an important role in promoting rural prosperity in the Americas.
York and Hildebrand are professors in UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) in Gainesville.
“Their selection underscores the UF/IFAS commitment to international cooperation in the spirit of world class advancement of agricultural science,” said Mike Martin, UF vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “Both of these leaders have served UF, Florida and the world.”
E.T. York
York, chancellor emeritus of Florida’s State University System, has spent a lifetime strengthening the land-grant university system and its role in domestic and international agricultural development. He has employed his talents as a scientist, educator and administrator, and has become a recognized leader in agriculture. York has served UF as vice president for agricultural affairs, executive vice president and interim president.
In addition to supporting the mission of land-grant universities, York served as an adviser to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan. In that capacity, he traveled widely to provide agricultural assistance in countries throughout Latin America, Asia and Africa. His analysis of the agricultural development challenges faced by the countries of Central America and the Caribbean was a precursor to the Caribbean Basin Initiative. He continues to focus on alleviating world hunger, particularly on expanding food production to meet rapidly growing needs, making food safer and more accessible, and increasing production efficiency to lower food costs. He has received many national and international honors with seven awards or programs established in his name.
Peter Hildebrand
Hildebrand, who directs the international programs for UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, joined the UF faculty following 15 years of living abroad and working on development programs. He developed many of the ideas that are the foundation for farming systems research and extension methodology, and he was the founding president of the global Association for Farming Systems Research and Extension, which is now the International Farming Systems Association (IFSA).
Hildebrand’s research on farming systems, gender analysis, small-farm livelihood systems, and tropical conservation and development pioneered participatory research techniques and narrowed the gap between research and farmers in developing countries.
Other leaders being honored by IICA include Norman Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, who continues to lead the advocacy of scientific solutions to address food security and hunger; Hugh Bennett, “father of soil conservation” who helped establish the Soil Conservation Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and became its first director; George Washington Carver, African-American agricultural pioneer and faculty member of the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama; Robert Chandler, recipient of numerous international awards, including the World Food Prize and the Presidential End Hunger Award; Peter McPherson, president of Michigan State University and former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development; Wilson Popenoe, pioneer agricultural leader in Central America and the Caribbean, and founder of research and education centers in Honduras; Henry Wallace, USDA secretary from 1933 to 1940 and later vice-president of the United States who was instrumental in founding of IICA.
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