Extension director Scott to return to faculty; Division of Agriculture to initiate nationwide search
“This has been an incredible opportunity, and I am grateful to the people of extension and Arkansas at large for putting their trust in me.” — Bob Scott
May 17, 2023
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts
- Scott joined Division of Agriculture in 2002
- Fields to begin nationwide search
(370 words)
(Newsrooms: with filers of Scott)
LITTLE ROCK — Bob Scott, director of the Cooperative Extension Service, has announced his intention to return to faculty, and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will initiate a nationwide search to replace him, Deacue Fields, head of the Division of Agriculture, said on Monday.
“To say this job has been rewarding is an understatement,” Scott said. “This has been a great opportunity to lead an organization with one of the most positive missions there is — to help our fellow Arkansans.
“This has been an incredible opportunity, and I am grateful to the people of extension and Arkansas at large for putting their trust in me,” Scott said.
“I have learned a lot about our organization over the past three years, including much on the extension side, where I’d already served 16 years as a weed control specialist,” Scott said. “I leave this position with a new appreciation for all the county staff and our 4-H, Family and Consumer Sciences and Community, Professional and Economic Development areas. I will certainly be taking this knowledge back with me as I am looking forward to exploring new opportunities back in the faculty ranks.
“I made this decision for both professional and personal reasons and I appreciate Dr. Fields’ support in returning to faculty,” Scott said.
Fields said that “we are grateful to Bob for his leadership of our extension efforts in Arkansas during an especially difficult time as COVID-19 disrupted everything. He has a lot to be proud of during his time as director, not the least of which was for bridging the extension mission from COVID back to normalcy, overseeing completion of the Jackson County Extension Center and breaking ground for a new Greene County Extension Office, among other achievements.
“We know it will be a challenge to replace him in this position, and to that end, the Division of Agriculture will begin a nationwide search for a new extension director,” Fields said. “Bob has graciously agreed to remain as director until the search has had a successful completion.”
Scott became director of the Cooperative Extension Service in July 2020 after two years leading the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart. He has been with the Division of Agriculture since 2002.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension
Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division
of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture,
visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
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. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work
within the nation’s historic land grant education system through the Agricultural
Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
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 to all eligible persons 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
mhightower@uada.edu