ALEC Department Head Spring Update

Greetings ALEC friends,

This newsletter comes to you as we face unprecedented times in light of a global pandemic. Though we have not faced a similar situation in our lifetimes, I am proud of the resilience of our students, alumni, faculty and staff as you rise to the challenge of adapting your lives.

Though UGA research activities on-campus have largely ceased, we are lucky enough to continue working toward our mission while social distancing. Faculty have continued interdisciplinary work with student researchers and guided our MAEE students to complete their thesis work. Faculty have been recognized for their outstanding instructional efforts in the classroom, and we look forward to the day we can be back together on campus again.

In the meantime, we seek to celebrate our Spring and Summer 2020 graduates. Whether graduating with a BSA or MAEE degree, we mourn the loss of celebrating in-person with the students who have worked so hard to achieve the goal of a degree from UGA. Thanks to the leadership of the ALEC Graduate Student Association, we were able to host a virtual graduation celebration on Wednesday, May 6. We wish these graduates well and have included a special farewell to them in this newsletter.

Our graduates are not the only ones bidding farewell to UGA this spring. I have accepted a position as the new Associate Dean of Research and Experiment Station Director at New Mexico State University. Though my time here has come to an end, it has been a pleasure serving each of you as Department Head over the past two years, and I know you will continue to build on the progress we’ve made together.

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Barry Croom, professor on the Tifton campus, has been named as the ALEC Interim Department Head. Dr. Croom will begin these responsibilities on June 1, as I depart May 31. He is already working on a plan to be on the Athens campus weekly, and we appreciate our Tifton students sharing him with us in a larger capacity. I can truly say that the department is in excellent hands.

Leslie Edgar
Department Head
Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication


Dr. Leslie Edgar
Dr. Leslie Edgar, Department Head, UGA Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication