By Faith Peppers
University of
Georgia
J. Scott Angle, dean and director of the University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, announced
today that Steve L. Brown will be interim assistant dean of the
UGA Tifton campus.
Brown, a professor of entomology and UGA Cooperative Extension
program coordinator, will serve in the position being vacated by
David C. Bridges, who was recently named president of Abraham
Baldwin Agricultural College.
A national search will be conducted for a new assistant dean for
Tifton.
“Dr. Brown brings a wealth of experience to the position, having
spent nearly 16 years working on the Tifton campus,” Angle
said. “There are many new programs just getting under way on the
campus, and I look forward to working with Dr. Brown to move
each of these forward.”
Brown played a key role on a team of scientists that developed
practical programs and management strategies for tomato spotted
wilt virus, a deadly plant disease that attacks tobacco,
tomatoes, peppers, peanuts and other Georgia crops.
He developed the UGA Spotted Wilt Risk Index, a planning tool
that helps growers assess and lower their crop’s risk for the
disease. Economic analysis shows that Georgia farmers who use
the risk index can see a net return of as much as $280 per
acre.
Brown is also a leading expert in the Southeast for insect
control in stored grains, peanuts and cottonseed. He oversees
the South’s only demonstration grain treatment and storage
facility, which provides hands-on training for UGA Extension
county agents and growers.
The UGA Tifton campus is home to the Coastal Plain Experiment
Station, Tifton Conference Center, CAES academic programs and
the Rural Development Center.
Brown will begin in his new role in mid-June. The search for a
permanent assistant dean will begin following a review of the
structural relationship between the CAES operations in Tifton,
Griffin and Athens.
“This review is a part of an ongoing effort to better align the
administration of our college to meet the needs of our students,
our researchers and the public we serve,” Angle said. “Our aim
is to develop a structure that will help us run more efficiently
and be more effective in meeting our mission.”
