Robert Ray Meadows honored with emeritus status
Robert Ray Meadows of Christiansburg, Va., state program leader, 4-H youth development and associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Science at Virginia Tech, was conferred the "state 4-H director emeritus" title by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors during the board's quarterly meeting Nov. 12.
The title of emeritus may be conferred on retired professors and associate professors, administrative officers, librarians, and exceptional staff members who have given exemplary service to the university and who are specially recommended to the board of visitors by Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board of visitors receive an emeritus certificate from the university.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1985, Meadows has provided excellent service in his role as director of the sate 4-H program and associate director for Virginia Cooperative Extension., encouraging faculty and staff to meet the needs of Virginia’s youth and volunteers with exceptional service. He served as the director of the National Camping Institute for three years, ensuring that all six of Virginia’s 4-H centers became certified by the American Camping Association, and served as the president of the Virginia Association of Extension 4-H Agents and the Extension and Outreach Faculty Association. Meadows provided statewide leadership for the 4-H CHARACTER COUNTS! program.
Meadows was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents in 1989, the Honorary 4-H All Star Award in 1991, and the Alumni Association Extension Excellence Award in 1999.
Meadows received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from West Virginia University and a Ed.D. from Virginia Tech.
Nationally ranked among the top research institutions of its kind, Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences focuses on the science and business of living systems through learning, discovery, and engagement. The college’s comprehensive curriculum gives more than 2,400 students in a dozen academic departments a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. Students learn from the world’s leading agricultural scientists, who bring the latest science and technology into the classroom.
Virginia Cooperative Extension brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. Through a system of on-campus specialists and locally based agents, it delivers education in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development. With a network of faculty at two universities, 107 county and city offices, 13 agricultural research and Extension centers, and six 4-H educational centers, Virginia Cooperative Extension provides solutions to the problems facing Virginians today.
