Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce that Brent Hales will be joining UC ANR as the new associate vice president for research and cooperative extension beginning July 1. After a nationwide search, Brent emerged as a proven and respected leader who will help us to strengthen partnerships, build trust, address challenges, and define our 2040 strategic vision.

He brings over 20 years of higher education research and leadership experience, including at land grant institutions and in cooperative extension.  Brent currently serves as an associate dean of Penn State University's College of Agricultural Sciences and director of Penn State Extension. Before joining Penn State in 2019, he served as the senior associate dean and chief financial officer of the University of Minnesota Extension, associate dean for the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality, and the director of the Economic Development Authority Center at University of Minnesota, Crookston.

His research focuses on holistic community and economic development and entrepreneurship. Working with the University of Southern Mississippi, three community colleges, the Mississippi Department of Education and four public school districts, Brent founded the Southern Entrepreneurship Program, which teaches entrepreneurship skills to high school and community college students; it has expanded to serve displaced workers throughout the U.S. and across the globe. He is also a past president of the Community Development Society. 

Brent earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Brigham Young University, a master's degree in sociology from Middle Tennessee State University and a Ph.D. in rural sociology from Iowa State University.

“I am very excited to join the UC ANR family,” Brent said. “My grandfather was a 1939 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and both of my parents grew up in California. What excites me most is to be part of the leadership team for the premier institution of Ag and Natural Resources research and extension in the United States. The people, the facilities, the opportunities, and the engagement with the communities and organizations of California is second to none. I look forward to meeting everyone.”

Brent will be joining us at the UC ANR Statewide Conference in Fresno so you will have an opportunity to meet him soon. He and his wife Candy will be relocating to the Davis area. Brent will be based at the UC ANR building in Davis. You can follow him on Twitter @BrentDHales. 

I am deeply grateful to Deanne Meyer for her dedication to UC ANR and her strong and steady leadership as interim AVP over the past year. She will be assisting Brent with the transition. Many thanks also to the search committee members for their time and dedication to this important recruitment. 

Please join me in welcoming Brent Hales to UC ANR.

Glenda Humiston
Vice President