Two faculty members with U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences have been selected to participate in this year's Class 19 LEAD21 program.

Mary Savin and Amanda Terrell are two of 90 from across the nation selected for the 2023-24 class.

LEAD21 is a leadership program aimed at developing leaders in land-grant institutions and their strategic partners who link research, academics and extension for leadership roles at colleges and universities across the nation.

"This is a tremendous honor and opportunity for both Mary and Amanda to be chosen for LEAD21," said Jean-Francois Meullenet, interim dean and director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station for the U of A System Division of Agriculture. "They are both excellent faculty members, and this experience will allow them to further expand their skills through this leadership development program and network with other rising leaders across the country. The focus on the land-grant system clearly aligns with our mission and purpose of meeting needs in areas of teaching and education, research, and service and outreach."

Savin is a professor of microbial ecology and soil biology in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. She is also assistant director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture, where she works to expand collaborative efforts in advancing food and agriculture research initiatives across the state and nationally. A qualified environmental professional certified through the Institute of Professional Environmental Practice, she researches the microbial ecology of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Terrell is associate professor of human development and family sciences in the School of Human Environmental Sciences. Her scholarly focus is interdisciplinary, mixed-method research on adolescent and emerging adult health and development in diverse contexts, with emphasis on families, communities and digital landscapes.

LEAD21 was established in 2004 to address the needs of future leaders in the 21st Century within the land-grant system. Working in regular small-group meetings combined with three week-long immersive sessions, participants learn effective leadership skills for increasingly complex higher education environments, as well as strategies for influencing institutional transformation in their current and future leadership positions.

The program is targeted at faculty specialists, program and team leaders, research station and center directors, district and regional directors, department heads and chairs, and others in land-grant university colleges of agricultural, environmental and human sciences, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The 90 participating faculty and administrators selected for Class 19 are here.

"LEAD21 is a long-standing leadership development program that has supported faculty and administrators across our land-grant system for nearly 20 years," said Cynda Clary, LEAD21 Board of Directors chair and associate dean for the Ferguson College of Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. "Our land-grant systems continue to evolve to better address society's needs. With each challenge and opportunity, prepared leaders are needed to step up and move us forward. LEAD21 helps build this leadership capacity within and across institutions."

Savin and Terrell join recent selections:

LEAD21 2022

• Chris Estepp, associate professor of agricultural education
  Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology
• Jeremy Ross, professor and extension agronomist
  Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
• Ioannis Tzanetakis, professor of plant virology
  Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology

LEAD21 2021

• Jacquelyn Wiersma-Mosley, professor of human development and family sciences
  School of Human Environmental Sciences
  Bumpers College assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion

LEAD21 2020

• Jill Rucker, associate professor of agricultural leadership and communications
  Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology
• Bob Scott, senior association vice president for agriculture-extension
  director of the Cooperative Extension Service

More about the LEAD21 program is here.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.