UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- William Kleiner, extension director in Adams County, has been appointed director of Penn State Cooperative Extension's Southeast Region, effective Jan. 2, 2007. As regional director, Kleiner will provide administrative and programmatic leadership for cooperative extension in the region's nine counties: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill.

"With a wide range of programs and community needs -- ranging from urban gardening, nutrition education and at-risk youth to mushroom, dairy and crop production -- the Southeast Region presents unique challenges and opportunities," says Leona Joseph, nutrition educator and co-director of extension for Philadelphia County, who served on the search committee for the regional director position. "Bill Kleiner is a motivator and a coach who understands the diversity of the region and is open to exploring new ideas and untapped possibilities."

After receiving his bachelor's degree in horticulture from Penn State in 1980, Kleiner served as wholesale manager for a commercial floral and greenhouse operation in his native Williamsport. He joined Penn State Cooperative Extension in 1981 as an agriculture and 4-H educator, serving in Lackawanna and Clearfield counties. From 1986 to 1988, he was a diagnostician in Penn State's Plant Disease Clinic while earning his master's degree in plant pathology.

In 1988, he moved to Adams County to conduct extension education programs for commercial and home fruit growers in a seven-county region. He became Adams County extension director in 1996 and is currently pursuing his doctorate in agricultural and extension education. Kleiner was the first Penn State Cooperative Extension Director's Administrative Leadership Fellow. He has served in leadership positions for and has been honored by several professional organizations of which he is a member.

"Bill Kleiner rose to the top of a highly qualified and competitive group of candidates," says Daney Jackson, statewide director of Penn State Cooperative Extension. "His leadership experience and skill in building effective programming and funding partnerships will enhance our ability to serve the citizens and communities of southeastern Pennsylvania."

A resident of York Springs, Pa., Kleiner will be based at the Southeast Region extension office at Penn State Berks in Reading. He replaces former regional director Frederick Davis, who retired earlier this year.

Penn State Cooperative Extension, with offices in each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, transfers research-based information to Pennsylvania's citizens through nonformal educational programs designed to meet locally identified needs.

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EDITORS: Contact William Kleiner before Jan. 2 at 717-334-6271 or after Jan. 2 at 610-378-4362. Leona Joseph can be reached at 215-471-2200, and Daney Jackson can be reached at 814-865-5410.

Writer/Editor Chuck Gill Phone: 814-863-2713 E-mail: cdg5@psu.edu