UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Dave Filson has been appointed regional director for the South Central region of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach, effective Jan. 1, 2001.

Filson will provide programmatic and administrative leadership for cooperative extension and coordination for university outreach programs in the region's nine counties: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry and Somerset.

According to Ted Alter, associate vice president for outreach and director of Penn State Cooperative Extension, Filson brings a 17-year record of dedicated and exemplary service as an extension educator, county extension director and director of Penn State's Juniata Valley Outreach Center to his new position.

"I'm really looking forward to forging new relationships between extension staff, extension clientele and extension board members over a larger region," Filson says. "The issues and questions may change, but our staff continues to be the greatest asset Penn State has to offer."

Filson joined Penn State in 1984 as an agricultural agent in Mifflin County. In 1991, he was named county extension director for Mifflin and Juniata counties. Since 1998, he also has directed Penn State's first Outreach and Cooperative Extension Center. Located in Lewistown, the center provides residents of Mifflin, Juniata and surrounding counties with one-stop access to Contact all of the university's outreach efforts, including cooperative extension, continuing education, distance education, technology transfer and other programs.

Filson received his bachelor's degree in agronomy and master's degree in extension education from Penn State. He is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) and the Pennsylvania Association of County Agricultural Agents (PACAA). He has won several communications awards and received the NACAA Distinguished Service Award in 1999.

Filson will be based at the South Central Region Cooperative Extension office in 215 Lubert Building, University Park. The region's Web site can be found at http://www.extension.psu.edu/scregion/.

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EDITORS: Contact Dave Filson at 814-863-6424 or DFilson@psu.edu.

Contacts: Kim Dionis KDionis@psu.edu 814-863-2703 814-865-1068 fax