Professor Richard Guthrie
Just as agricultural seasons come and go, so goes the ebb and flow within Auburn University…and change is on the horizon for the College of Agriculture and the AAES.
During the June meeting of the AU Board of Trustees, approval was given to establish a new institute at Auburn to coordinate the university's agricultural and natural resource programs. The board's decision capped more than two years of study that included input from major agricultural, forestry and related constituent organizations as well as faculty and staff of the campus units that will be part of the new institute.
The institute, which is currently called the Initiative for Alabama but will be renamed in the future, combines several agricultural and natural resource organizations and academic units under one umbrella and will establish a new vice presidential position at Auburn.
Reporting to the new vice president will be the deans of the AU School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and College of Agriculture, the directors of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the director of the Auburn University Environmental Institute and administrators of newly formed areas for the study and support of environmental initiatives and alternative energy. The new vice president will make further recommendations for organizing the institute.
I am truly excited about the board's approval of the initiative proposal, and we are prepared to assist President Richardson with plans for implementation. I think we can expect some exciting changes as we look ahead to the future.
–Richard Guthrie, CoAg Dean & AAES Director