Missouri educator Patricia Sobrero has been named associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of Virginia Cooperative Extension.

She has served as associate vice president and associate director of University Outreach and Extension at the University of Missouri since 1999 and holds the rank of professor in the College of Human Environmental Sciences there.

At Missouri, Sobrero has addressed issues at the county, campus, system, state, and national levels. She is recognized for her ability to develop strong, lasting partnerships that generate programs and funding.

"We are indeed fortunate to have someone of Dr. Sobrero's proven vision and leadership skills to move into this critical position," said Sharron Quisenberry, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "At the University of Missouri, she has played a pivotal role in helping the Extension system develop a 21st Century Strategic Direction and in implementing meaningful and accessible programs for diverse learners.

"The breadth of her background in education, leadership, administration, external relations, organizational learning, and program development will strengthen Extension and the College," Quisenberry said. "In the future, we must closely align the educational outreach expertise of Extension together with teaching and research to address problems that face society. With her leadership, Virginia Cooperative Extension can reach new heights in meeting the needs of the citizens of Virginia."

From 1991 to 1999, Sobrero was associate dean at the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service. From 1985 to 1991, she served as associate district supervisor in the Middle Tennessee Extension District. She also has experience as a teacher and administrator in the public schools.

She serves on the Strategic Direction Council of the national Extension Committee on Organization and Policy. Sobrero also serves on the Committee's Health, Nutrition, and Wellness Committee, on the Expanded Food and Nutrition Task Force, and the Health and Human Sciences Task Force. Earlier this year, she was appointed to the Secretary of Energy's national Energy Advisory Board as a representative of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.

Sobrero earned her bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University, her master's from the University of Maryland, and her doctorate from Vanderbilt University.

She will assume her new position July 1.

Consistently ranked by the National Science Foundation among the top 10 institutions in agricultural research, Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers students the opportunity to learn from some of the world's leading agricultural scientists. The college's comprehensive curriculum gives students a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. The college is a national leader in incorporating technology, biotechnology, computer applications, and other recent scientific advances into its teaching program.

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become the largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech's eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top 30 research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.

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