Buckner to serve as 1890 Research Representative for Southern Regional Aquaculture Center Board of Directors
Dr. Edmund R. Buckner, dean, and director of Land-Grant Programs for the School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at Alcorn State University has been selected to serve as the 1890 Research Representative on the Board of Directors for the USDA-NIFA Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC).
The SRAC is one of five regional aquaculture centers established by Congress in 1985 and administered through the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Its mission is to support aquaculture research, development, demonstration, and education to enhance viable and profitable U.S. aquaculture production to benefit consumers, producers, service industries, and the American economy. The 13 states and two territories represented by SRAC are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Virginia.
Buckner is an experienced leader with more than 20 years of expertise in planning, academia, research, and outreach. In addition to his appointment with SRAC, he is also a board member for the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board. In this role, his responsibilities include serving in Category E. – the National Aquaculture Association, and providing advice to Sonny Perdue, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, as well as to land-grant colleges and universities on top priorities and policies for food and agricultural research, education, extension, and economics.
As an SRAC board member, Buckner will contribute to the overall administration and management of the regional center program. He will also help to establish regional aquaculture research and extension goals, along with the distribution of fiscal resources to ensure that the center develops strong programs in research and extension.
The nine current members of the Board are as follows:
Dr. Edmund Buckner, 1890 Research Representative, Alcorn State University
Dr. Wes Burger, 1862 Research Representative, Mississippi State University
Dr. Doze Butler, 1890 Extension Representative, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Dr. Rick Cartwright, 1862 Extension Representative, University of Arkansas
Dr. Phil Elzer, 1862 Research Representative, Louisiana State University
Dr. Gina Eubanks, 1862 Extension Representative, Louisiana State University
Dr. Gary Lemme, 1862 Extension Representative, Auburn University
Dr. Steve Lommel, 1862 Research Representative, NC State University
Dr. Reuben Moore, interim chair, SRAC host institution, Mississippi State University
For more information or to learn more, please visit https://www.srac.msstate.edu/.
