Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds.
Farm bill, farm marketing, agribusiness webinars, & farm policy.
Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages.
Scheduling and methods of irrigation.
Explore our Extension locations around the state.
Commercial row crop production in Arkansas.
Agriculture weed management resources.
Use virtual and real tools to improve critical calculations for farms and ranches.
Learn to ID forages and more.
Explore our research locations around the state.
Get the latest research results from our county agents.
Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation.
Keep our food, fiber and fuel supplies safe from disaster.
Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education.
Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals.
Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture.
Gaining garden smarts and sharing skills.
Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener.
Creating beauty in and around the home.
Maintenance calendar, and best practices.
Coaxing the best produce from asparagus to zucchini.
What’s wrong with my plants? The clinic can help.
Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers.
Ask our experts plant, animal, or insect questions.
Enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor.
Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA.
Growing together from youth to maturity.
Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases.
Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information.
Grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar.
Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions.
Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures.
Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit.
Position your business to compete for government contracts.
Find trends, opportunities and impacts.
Providing unbiased information to enable educated votes on critical issues.
Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved.
Research-based connection to government and policy issues.
Support Arkansas local food initiatives.
Read about our efforts.
Preparing for and recovering from disasters.
Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals.
Preserving water quality and quantity.
Cleaner air for healthier living.
Firewood & bioenergy resources.
Managing a complex forest ecosystem.
Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S.
Learn to manage wildlife on your land.
Soil quality and its use here in Arkansas.
Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors.
Timely updates from our specialists.
Eating right and staying healthy.
Ensuring safe meals.
Take charge of your well-being.
Cooking with Arkansas foods.
Making the most of your money.
Making sound choices for families and ourselves.
Nurturing our future.
Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more!
Understanding aging and its effects.
Giving back to the community.
Managing safely when disaster strikes.
Listen to our latest episode!
June 22, 2022
By John LovettU of A System Division of Agriculture
(707 words)
Related PHOTOS: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzVmRg
Download MS Word format:
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, was recently named the 2022 recipient of the Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors’ Excellence in Leadership award.
Jean-François Meullenet, director of the experiment station and senior associate vice president for agriculture-research, is the first representative of Arkansas to be recognized for the prestigious award from the association. SAAESD facilitates cooperation of regional and national research through 15 land-grant university agricultural experiment stations in the southern United States, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
“Dr. Meullenet has consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership at all levels, from local to regional to national,” said Gary A. Thompson, executive director of the Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors. “While his leadership has had a lasting positive impact on agriculture at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and throughout Arkansas, I also see a positive trajectory impacting agriculture across the country.”
Meullenet’s long-running service to several agriculture research organizations, breadth of knowledge, and his leadership during the covid pandemic, were listed by colleagues in their nomination for the distinction.
“Dr. Meullenet possesses great organizational skills and an outstanding work ethic which has served the organization well during a very difficult time,” Robert A. Gilbert, dean for research and director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, wrote in his nomination letter. “The Excellence in Leadership Award is meant ‘to recognize those who have served the Southern Experiment Stations, SAAESD, and the national Land-Grant System with exemplary distinction’ and Dr. Meullenet clearly meets these criteria.”
Robert W. Godfrey, retired director of the University of the Virgin Islands Agricultural Experiment Station and professor of animal science, noted Meullenet’s commitment to service on many committees to benefit both Arkansas and the southern region.
“His passion for agriculture, and especially the southern region, is evident in all that he does,” Godfrey said in his nomination. “In discussions, both personally and in a group setting, he has always been very thoughtful in presenting his ideas and was able to speak intelligently about a wide variety of topics related to agriculture administration and research.”
In addition to serving as treasurer and past chair of the Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors’ executive committee, Meullenet is on the executive committee of the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy. ESCOP is the representative governing body of the Experiment Station Section, a unit of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities Commission on Food, Environment, and Renewable Resources, and the Board on Agriculture Assembly. Meullenet is also the incoming chair of the ESCOP communication and marketing committee. ESCOP handles continuing business, organization, and policy issues on behalf of the state agricultural experiment station directors and administrators.
Nathan McKinney, associate vice president for agriculture-research with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and chair of the SAAESD’s multistate research committee, noted that Meullenet also serves on the Joint Cotton Breeding Committee, and is an administrative advisor for the Delta Region Farm Management and Agricultural Policy Working Group. Meullenet also provides administrative support for projects focused on specialty crops, food systems, and the U.S. potato gene bank.
“He recognizes that we cannot be as effective alone as we can be as active members of SAAESD,” McKinney writes. “Our accomplishments will be measured, in large part, by collaborated efforts and a teamwork approach, which JF models daily. By all measures, Dr. Meullenet is deserving of the Excellence in Leadership Award.”
In addition to his Agricultural Experiment Station duties, Meullenet was recently selected to serve as interim dean of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas beginning July 1. He has served as director of the Agricultural Experiment Station since 2018, after being named interim director in 2017. Before that, he was head of the Food Science Department and director of the Institute of Food Science and Engineering, posts he held since 2010.
"I am very grateful for this award from my colleagues with the Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors," Meullenet said. "It is a high honor that provides notoriety to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the state's agricultural community on a regional and national level."
To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch.
To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
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.
# # #
Media Contact: John LovettU of A System Division of AgricultureArkansas Agricultural Experiment Station(479) 763-5929jlovett@uada.edu