Oct. 25, 2019
Lehigh joins as Division of Agriculture counsel
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts
- Retired Air Force Reserve Colonel Lehigh joined as counsel Oct. 9
- Comes with extensive military legal experience
- Served as assistant prosecutor
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LITTLE ROCK – DeAnn Lehigh, incoming associate general counsel for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, brings more than 20 years legal experience as a highly decorated military judge advocate and roots as an Arkansas 4-H member.
Lehigh, a retired colonel in the Air Force Reserve, joined the Division of Agriculture on Oct. 9 from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Missouri native has a bachelor’s from Rockhurst University, and a JD from the University of Missouri. She also has an LLM in taxation law from the University of Denver and a master’s degree in military operational arts and science. Lehigh also completed a course in Advance Joint Professional Military Education from the Joint Forces Staff College. She has years of experience in environmental law, especially the Clean Water and Endangered Species acts and hazardous waste compliance.
“We’re pleased to welcome DeAnn to the Division of Agriculture,” said Mark Cochran, vice president for agriculture for the University of Arkansas System. “She comes to us with a deep knowledge of the law borne of years of high-level performance in various venues and we are eager for her to share that experience with us.”
In 2007, she was named the Air Force Reserve Command’s Outstanding Judge Advocate while serving with the 931st Air Refueling Group at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas. While at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma with the 507th Refueling Wing, she was named the Air Force Reserve Judge Advocate Junior Officer’s Council Mentor of the Year and has been twice awarded the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal; earning a fifth oak leaf cluster.
Lehigh also earned the Joint Commendation Medal and the Joint Meritorious Unit Awards.
Her background also includes serving as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Lawrence County, Missouri, and as an adjunct at Arkansas Tech University teaching “Recreation Law and Policy.”
“I was interested in transitioning from federal service because I was really looking to become more rooted in my adopted community and state,” Lehigh said. “Being a part of the U of A System, the heart of being an Arkansan, was the perfect fit.
“I am really coming full circle as I join the Division of Agriculture because I learned and grew as a young person through the 4-H program, a part of the Cooperative Extension Service,” she said. “My years in 4-H led me to military service and prepared me to be a leader.”
Lehigh said that her service in the judge advocate general corps, or JAG, “prepared me for the diverse issues that come in the door every day. As I looked at the Division of Agriculture’s strategic plan, I couldn’t help but be excited about the myriad possibilities to do good work that benefits my fellow Arkansans,” she said.
“What I want to accomplish with Dr. Cochran is to provide him and the Division with world class legal advice so that they can achieve the Division’s mission,” Lehigh said.
To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/ or @AgInArk on Twitter.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media Contact: Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
(501) 671-2006
mhightower@uada.edu