After six months as interim associate dean in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Ricky Telg is taking a role working closer with Florida’s agriculture and natural resources industries and the students learning to protect them.
By assuming the role of PIE Center director in July, Telg will also return to the classroom for the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication.
Although the directorship is Telg’s first official position in the PIE Center, he long served as a consultant and collaborator since the PIE Center’s creation in 2008 by participating in various team meetings, a strategic planning session and the inaugural advisory board meeting.
“I’ve been fortunate to play a small role in the PIE Center throughout the years,” Telg said. “I hope that familiarity will foster a smooth transition and a solid team that can effectively serve the agricultural and natural resources interests of the state.”
As director, Telg will provide leadership in all facets of the PIE Center. He plans to examine and evaluate the PIE Center’s current offerings to make sure the center best meets its audience’s needs.
“I’m eager to lead the PIE Center into a great new era of relevant research, practical outreach materials and useful communications,” he said. “We’re in the midst of updating our strategic plan, so this is a perfect time to see what we can do better.”
Telgn recently hired Sandra Anderson as the PIE Center’s newest research coordinator and will consult with former director Tracy Irani as the PIE Center hires its third tenure-track faculty member. The faculty member will be housed in Family, Youth and Community Sciences, where Irani serves as department chair.
“The PIE Center is fortunate to have such a strong communicator and leader in Ricky,” Irani said. “I’m thankful he wanted to take a more prominent role in developing the center, and I know the faculty, staff and students won’t skip a beat as they continue to move the PIE Center to achieve its vision.”
Telg, who teaches writing and digital media production classes, joined the University of Florida’s Department of Agricultural Education and Communication in 1995 after getting his doctorate in human resource development and distance education from Texas A&M University. He received this year’s Undergraduate Adviser of the Year award from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, to go with Teacher of the Year honors in 1997 and 2011.
