By:
Tom Nordlie (352) 392-0400Source:
Ashley Wood amwood@ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-7227 ext. 293
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Ashley Wood, director of the University of Florida’s agricultural communications unit, has been honored by his peers for outstanding leadership.
Wood received the Award of Excellence in Leadership and Management from the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences, or ACE. The award was presented at the organization’s annual conference June 2-6 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
The award recognizes job performance as well as leadership in ACE. Wood, a 37-year UF employee, has led the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ IFAS Communication Services since 1998.
He supervises writers, photographers, videographers, graphic designers, distance education specialists and other personnel involved in producing technical publications, Web sites, extension materials and educational programming.
“What I appreciate most about the award is that I was nominated by my staff members,” Wood said. “This award recognizes their efforts as much as it does mine.”
Among his accomplishments, Wood played a key role in disseminating much-needed hurricane recovery information statewide in 2004 and 2005, and helped launch RadioSource.net, a Web-based service that provides audio programming from land-grant universities to radio stations and consumers.
He also helped create the largest for-sale publishing operation among the nation’s land-grant universities and the largest repository of electronic state extension publications.
Wood previously received the ACE Award of Excellence in Graphic Design in 1988 and the ACE Professional Award, the organization’s highest accolade, in 1997. He served as vice president of the organization in 1999-2000 and president in 2001-2002.
Wood is held in high regard by communicators at land-grant institutions nationwide, said Virginia Morgan, ACE immediate past president and co-leader of extension communications for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
“I was especially proud to be able to present Ashley with the award,” said Morgan, who is based at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. “He has been my mentor during my term as ACE president. I’ve appreciated his tips, his ACE institutional memory, and his graciousness whenever I’ve called upon him this past year.”
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