FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Research Center Administrators Society has bestowed its 2021 Distinguished Service Award to Vaughn Skinner, resident director of the Milo J. Shult Research and Extension Center in Arkansas.

Don Hubbell, awards committee chair and director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station's Livestock and Forestry Research Station near Batesville, presented the award to Skinner during the society's annual conference Jan. 29, held virtually for the first time. Research center directors from 30 states were able to attend this first RCAS virtual winter meeting.

This is the second straight year an Arkansas center director has won. Larry Earnest at Rohwer Research Station earned the award in 2020. 

Hubbell said Vaughn is the RCAS communications officer and as part of that job, Vaughn maintains the website, Facebook page, meeting records and distributes to applicable sites and platforms. During his multi-year tenure as communications officer, he built the Facebook page and revamped the website to make it more user-friendly and accessible. He is also getting all of the historical records for the Society scanned and stored for easy access nationally.

"The Research Center Administrators Society has been an excellent group to associate within the years I have been a member," Vaughn said. "I am very honored to receive this award from the RCAS, an organization that has greatly helped my professional development as a Research and Extension Center director. 

"This organization continues to provide information and ideas that are such a benefit to our station by improving the service we provide to our faculty, staff and students," he said. 

Nathan McKinney, assistant director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, noted Skinners' "broad and growing skillset. He is a role model for professional development and this award is a nice recognition of his accomplishments and dedication."

The Agricultural Experiment Station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: aaes.uark.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch.

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. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation's historic land grant education system.

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 and services 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.

About RCAS: The Research Center Administrators Society is a national non-profit organization whose membership is comprised of agricultural research station managers, directors, university, college and USDA administrators. To learn more about RCAS, visit www.thercas.org. The society mission is to advance the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge concerning the nature, use, improvement, and interrelationships of research center administration scientific research, and new technology.