By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-1773 x 281Source(s):
Mike Martin mvm@ifas.ufl.edu, 352-392-1971
Melda Bassett mlbassett@ifas.ufl.edu, 352-392-1975
Gene Trotter eet@ifas.ufl.edu, 352-392-1038
Hannah Carter hscarter@ifas.ufl.edu, 352-392-1038
GAINESVILLE, FLA.—Changes in the leadership of two programs at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will occur over the next few months. New administrators have been named for the SHARE (Special Help for Agricultural Research and Education) private support program and the Wedgworth Leadership Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Gene Trotter, a professor who currently directs the Wedgworth Leadership Institute, will replace Melda Bassett, assistant vice president and director of the SHARE program, when she retires June 30.
The administrative changes were announced today by Mike Martin, UF vice president for agriculture and natural resources, who said Trotter will begin working with Bassett to ensure a smooth transition in leadership when she retires.
“We are grateful for Melda Bassett’s many years of service and strong leadership of the SHARE development program, and we look forward to having Gene Trotter continue building and strengthening this important program,” Martin said.
Martin said Bassett helped obtain more than $64 million in private support during UF’s last capital campaign that ended in 2000 – exceeding the SHARE goal by more than $10 million. During her leadership of the program over the past 16 years, SHARE has generated nearly $150 million in private support.
When she joined the staff in 1981, Bassett was the first woman to become a development officer at UF. She was named assistant vice president for IFAS/SHARE development in November 1989. Prior to joining UF, Bassett was director of alumni affairs at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and director of alumnae affairs at Brenau University in Gainesville, Ga. She also has a bachelor’s degree in science from Brenau.
Trotter, who joined the UF faculty in 1990, started the Florida Leadership Program for Agriculture and Natural Resources after serving as director of a similar program at Michigan State University for 11 years. In February 2002, the name of the UF program was changed to Wedgworth Leadership Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources in honor of George Wedgworth, a prominent grower and Florida agricultural leader in Belle Glade.
Trotter received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Southern Illinois University, his master’s degree in horticulture from the same institution and his doctoral degree in agricultural education and agricultural economics from the University of Illinois.
Martin also announced that Hannah Carter, program coordinator for the leadership institute, will replace Trotter as director. Ed Osborne, professor and chairman of the UF/IFAS agricultural education and communication department, was named executive director of the institute and will help lead the program.
Carter, whose professional experience includes five years of work for the extension service at the University of Maine, joined the institute in 2000. She earned her bachelor’s degree in science and biology from UM and her master’s degree in agricultural education and communication from UF. She will receive a doctoral degree in agricultural education and communication from UF in Spring 2004.
Osborne, who became chair of UF’s agricultural education and communication department in 1997, was an associate professor and program chair of agricultural education at the University of Illinois prior to accepting his administrative position at UF. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural education at Virginia Tech and completed his doctoral degree in agricultural education at The Ohio State University.
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