Several new department heads have been appointed in the College. In addition, regional directors have been appointed in the eight regions created as part of an overall effort to enhance Penn State Cooperative Extension and engage the entire University in a broadened outreach effort (see "University Broadens Outreach and Cooperative Extension," Spring/Summer 1997).

Brenda Bernatowicz has been appointed director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Southwest Region, which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties. She is based at the Southwest Region office at Penn State Shenango. After earning her bachelor's degree in home economics education in 1980 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Bernatowicz joined Penn State as an urban 4-H youth agent in Erie County. In 1981, she transferred to Jefferson County and was promoted to 4-H youth coordinator. She returned to Erie County in 1984 as the county's family living coordinator. From 1987 until her appointment as regional director, Bernatowicz served as Erie County extension director. While there, she helped establish the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program, a cooperative program between Penn State and Cornell University. In 1995, Bernatowicz accepted an assignment as acting assistant to the regional director of the West Region. She received the 1995 Distinguished Service Award from the National and Pennsylvania Extension Associations of Family and Consumer Sciences and received the Continued Excellence Award from the same organizations in 1997. She earned her master's degree in adult education from Penn State in 1989.

Shirley Bixby has been appointed director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Susquehanna Region, which includes Brad-ford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, and Union Counties. She is based at the Susquehanna Region office at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. After earning her bachelor's degree in home economics education from Penn State in 1967, Bixby served as a caseworker for Bradford County Children and Youth Services in Towanda until 1983, when she joined Cornell Cooperative Extension as a home economics agent in Steuben County, New York. She worked in New York's Chenango County from 1986 to 1990, serving as the home economics program leader and family living agent. Bixby joined Penn State Cooperative Extension in 1990 as Columbia County extension director and family living agent. She served as acting assistant to the regional director for the Northeast Region in 1995 and was appointed interim director in 1996. She received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 1997. Bixby received a master's degree in adult education and management from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1992.

David Blandford has been appointed head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. Previously he was head of the Trade and Markets Division of the Directorate for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization spanning 29 countries working to encourage stable market economies and pluralistic democracy, to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth, and to improve economic and social well-being. The OECD advises and makes national policy recommendations to its members, arbitrates negotiations of multilateral agreements, and establishes legal codes in certain areas. Blandford supervised the directorate's work on agricultural commodity issues and directed the formulation of its quantitative economic models. His division performed quantitative analysis of agricultural policy issues and was responsible for producing the OECD's annual Agricultural Outlook report, its biggest-selling agricultural publication. Blandford has served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the US Department of Agriculture. Born in the United Kingdom, Blandford received his bachelor's degree in geography from Birmingham University in 1970. He earned a master's degree in agricultural economics from Manchester University in 1972 and received his doctorate from that institution in 1976. He taught and conducted research at Manchester University and Salford University in the United Kingdom from 1971 to 1975 and was on the faculty of Cornell University from 1975 to 1990. He was awarded the Kellogg Foundation International Fellowship in Food Systems from 1986 to 1989 and received the Quality of Communication Award from the American Association of Agricultural Economics in 1991.

Blannie Bowen, C. Lee Rumberger and Family professor of agriculture, has been named head of the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education. Bowen joined Penn State in 1988 as the C. Lee Rumberger and Family Professor of Agriculture, a professorship endowed to support the teaching, research, and extension programs of an outstanding faculty member in the College of Agricultural Sciences. He served as interim head of agricultural and extension education from 1990 to 1992 and as undergraduate programs coordinator in the department from 1992 to 1996. Bowen also served as associate dean for graduate programs and senior faculty mentor in the Center for Minority Graduate Opportunities and Faculty Development in Penn State's Graduate School. He stepped down from this position when he became department head. Bowen's current research focuses on factors related to African American enrollment in secondary agricultural science courses and how ethnic minority students develop their attitudes toward the agricultural and food sciences. He also teaches a graduate course on research methods. Before joining Penn State, Bowen held a joint appointment at The Ohio State University in the Department of Agricultural Education and the School of Natural Resources. He began his academic career in 1980 at Mississippi State University, where he taught in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education and was an extension training officer for the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service. Bowen received his doctorate in agricultural education from The Ohio State University in 1980 and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from North Carolina A&T State University, also in agricultural education.

Frederick Davis has been appointed director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Southeast Region, which includes Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and Schuylkill Counties. He is based at the Southeast Region office at the Berks campus of Penn State's Berks-Lehigh Valley College. After earning his bachelor's degree in horticulture from Penn State in 1965, Davis entered the US Army, serving from 1966 to 1969 and earning the rank of captain. In 1969, Davis began managing his family's retail florist business, Davis Florists in Wernersville. He received the 1987 Florist of the Year Award from the Pennsylvania Florists Association. By the time he sold the business in 1988, the company had 32 employees and was one of the largest-volume shops in the area. In 1996, he regained ownership of the floral firm and he continues to participate in the decision making for the business. From 1988 to 1990, Davis worked as a business analyst at Lehigh University's Small Business Development Center, counseling more than 700 entrepreneurs in all areas of business. In 1990, Davis joined Penn State as a financial resource management agent based in Schuylkill County and serving four other counties. From 1992 to 1995, he served as extension director in Delaware County and as interim assistant to the regional director. He served as treasurer of the Pennsylvania Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Davis earned his M.B.A. at Lehigh University in 1991.

Dennis Decoteau has been named head of the Department of Horticulture. Previously he was chair of the horticulture department at Clemson University. His principal areas of research include vegetable physiology, light regulated growth of plants, alternative cropping systems, tropical lettuce production, and alternative pest control. Decoteau received his bachelor's degree in environmental studies from the University of Maine at Fort Kent and his master's degree and doctorate in plant science/physiology from the University of Massachusetts. After doing postdoctoral research position at Purdue University, he moved through the ranks to full professor and department chair at Clemson. A graduate of the USDA Experiment Station/Academic Committee on Policy Leadership Program, Decoteau has received significant awards for both research and teaching, including the L. M. Ware Distinguished Research Award from the American Society for Horticultural Sciences (Southeast Region) and an Outstanding Teacher Award from Clemson.

Mary Jo Depp has been appointed director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the North Central Region, which includes Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Jefferson, McKean, and Potter Counties. She is based at the North Central Region office in the Agricultural Administration Building at the University Park campus. After earning a bachelor's degree in rehabilitation education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1974, Depp joined Penn State Cooperative Extension in 1975 as a 4-H program assistant in Jefferson County. In 1976, she was promoted to extension agent, remaining in Jefferson County until 1981. In March 1981, Depp was named a 4-H area extension agent for the North Central Region. In May of that year, she earned her master's degree in counseling services from Slippery Rock University. Depp was promoted to 4-H regional program leader for cooperative extension's Central Region in 1985 and was named assistant to the Central Region director and senior extension agent in 1988. She earned her doctorate in rural sociology from Penn State in 1993. Depp received the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) Search for Professional Excellence Award in 1980, 1984, and 1989. She also received the NACAA Achievement Award in 1981 and the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents in 1985.

Terry Etherton, distinguished professor of animal nutrition, has been named head of the Department of Dairy and Animal Science. Etherton led the department's development of an internationally recognized research program focusing on endocrine regulation of animal growth. He is most noted for pioneering studies on the effects of treating pigs with recombinantly derived porcine growth hormone (pGH) and on the use of hypothalamic peptide growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) in pigs. He also has taught courses in animal growth and development, integrated animal biology, and regulation of nutrient metabolism. Etherton is a leading authority on the safety and usefulness of agricultural biotechnology. He has received numerous scientific awards, including the Hoffman-LaRoche Animal Growth and Development Award from the American Society of Animal Science in 1990, Penn State's University Faculty Scholar Medal in Life and Health Sciences in 1991, and the College's Alex and Jessie C. Black Award for Excellence in Research in 1993. In 1996, Penn State named him a distinguished professor. Etherton earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural sciences in 1971 and his master's degree in animal science in 1974, both from the University of Illinois. He received his doctorate in animal science from the University of Minnesota in 1978. Etherton was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University from 1978 until he joined the faculty at Penn State in 1979.

Michael McDavid has been appointed director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Northeast Region, which includes Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming Counties. He is based at the Northeast Region office at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. After graduating from Eastern Kentucky University with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1972, McDavid started a 20-year career in the US Army. He retired as a lieutenant colonel. McDavid joined Penn State in 1992 as a continuing and distance education area representative at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, where he planned and developed programming for business and industry, special events, and conferences. McDavid earned an master's degree in management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and is currently working on a doctorate in administration and leadership studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Society, the Erie Chapter of the Reserve Officer Association, and the Retired Officer Association.

Harold Ott has been appointed director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the South Central Region, which includes Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, and Somerset Counties. He is based at the South Central Region office at the University Park campus. Ott joined Penn State as an extension agent in Erie County in 1964 after earning his bachelor's degree in animal husbandry from Penn State in 1963. He earned his master's degree in extension education from Penn State in 1972. Ott remained in Erie County as an agent and 4-H program coordinator until 1982, when he was promoted to 4-H program leader for the West Region. He was named assistant regional director for the Central Region in 1987 and was promoted to central regional director in 1989. Ott earned his doctorate in education administration from Penn State in 1995 and is an affiliate assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education. Ott served as an adviser to the Lithuanian Agricultural Advisory Committee in 1997 and traveled to Swaziland in 1990, where he and other extension agents helped develop an extension system for the African country. In 1998, Ott visited Bosnia as part of a team Congressman John Murtha assembled to determine how the United States might support that country in nonmilitary ways. He has received many awards, including the Lion's International District Governor's Award and Outstanding Service Award in 1990 and the Mercer Area School District Award of Excellence in 1987. He received the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents Distinguished Service Award in 1981 and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents Distinguished Service Award in 1986.

Michelle Rodgers has been appointed director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Capital Region, which includes Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York Counties. She is based at the Capital Region office at Penn State Harrisburg. After receiving her bachelor's degree in home economics education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1980, Rodgers spent nine years as a Penn State Cooperative Extension home economics agent in Lancaster and Berks Counties. From 1989 until her appointment as regional director, she served a combined eight years as assistant to the regional directors of the Capital and Southeast regions. From July 1994 to April 1995, she was interim regional director for the Capital Region. Rodgers received her master's degree in rural sociology in 1988 and her doctorate in agricultural education with a minor in public administration in 1997, both from Penn State. She is a member of numerous professional organizations and has received several national and regional awards and honors, including a National Extension Leadership Development internship in 1996­97.

A. Catharine Ross has been named head of the Department of Veterinary Science. Ross previously held appointments as professor of nutrition and Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair in the Department of Nutrition at Penn State and as professor of biochemistry and director of the Division of Nutrition at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. At Penn State, she has been a member of the steering committee for the Life Sciences Consortium and is co-director of the consortium's graduate option in nutrition science. Ross received her bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of California at Davis and her master's degree in nutritional sciences and doctorate in molecular and cell biology from Cornell University. Her postdoctoral training in metabolism and nutrition was conducted in Columbia University's Department of Medicine. She has received the Research and Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health and the Mead-Johnson Award from the American Institute of Nutrition. In 1996, she received the Pattishall Award for Excellence in Research from the College of Health and Human Development. She is a past member of the Nutrition Study Section and past member and chair of the Metabolic Pathology Study Section of the National Institutes of Health. She also is an active member of the Council of the American Society for Nutrition Sciences and the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine.

David Rynd has been named director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Northwest Region, which includes Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, and Warren Counties. He is based at the Northwest Region office at Penn State Shenango. Rynd received a bachelor's degree in agronomy in 1971 and master's degree in agricultural and extension education in 1980, both from Penn State. He began his career as an agricultural extension agent in Lawrence County in 1971 and was promoted to regional agricultural program leader in 1983, supervising agricultural programs in 17 counties. He was assistant to the regional director for the West Region from 1988 to 1995. He was named acting regional director for the West Region and then became interim regional director in 1995. In 1980, he received the Achievement Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. Rynd lives in Mercer, where he participates in community groups such as the Coolspring Township Zoning Hearing Board, and the Fredonia Lions Club.

Roy Young has been named professor and head of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Previously he was professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Clemson University. His research focuses on the mechanization of plant micropropagation. He also has researched liquid and plastic film color filters as greenhouse covers for the control of plant morphology. His work has resulted in five patents, including three for automated systems for plant propagation. Before joining Clemson in 1984, he worked as a horticultural engineering section manager in the Silvicultural Engineering Department of the Weyerhaeuser Company in Tacoma, Washington. From 1972 to 1978, he was an assistant professor of agricultural engineering at Auburn University, where he studied vehicle guidance and controlled traffic to reduce soil compaction. Young also worked as a research engineer at North Carolina State University in 1970 and was a scientific guest at the Max Planck Institute in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, in 1969. Young earned his bachelor's degree in biological and agricultural engineering from North Carolina State University in 1966 and earned his doctorate in biological and agricultural engineering from the university in 1972. He received his master's degree in agricultural engineering from Iowa State University in 1968 and has been a registered professional engineer since 1976. Young was named a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) in 1994. His other honors include the ASAE President's Citation in 1989 and ASAE Technical Paper Awards in 1986 and 1995.