Smith appointed assistant director at Geneva Ag Station

By Linda McCandless

Marc Smith has been appointed assistant director of Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y., to serve as a member of the station's administrative team, along with director James E. Hunter and associate director Robert Seem.

Smith's day-to-day activities will be to provide leadership for the field research unit, institute better policies for resource allocation, introduce "best agricultural practices" in station greenhouses and chair the station's safety committee.

He will work on issues associated with Cornell's Agriculture and Food Technology Park and farm use and acquisition. He also will work as the station's liaison with agricultural producers and organizations throughout the state.

Smith replaces Roscoe "Pat" Krauss, who retired as assistant to the director in 1995 but continued serving on a casual appointment until December 2000.

"Marc brings to the job an excellent educational background, good administrative experience and a broad knowledge of New York agriculture," said Hunter. "He is committed to helping the station function more effectively and improving the station's relationship with external audiences."

Smith brings a varied agricultural background to his position. He grew up on a 2,500-acre, 900-cow dairy farm in New York, graduated from Cornell in 1976 with a B.S. in ag economics and served in the Peace Corps in Chile. He then spent two years in Australia, where he earned a master's degree in economics from the University of New England. In 1981, he returned to the farm in New York, where he served as town supervisor in Livingston County and worked with Cornell's department of agricultural economics as a research support specialist.

In 1985, he set up an agricultural advisory council for U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-28th Dist.) from Rochester. That led to his appointment as state executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency, from 1994 to 2001. That agency provides farm program money, disaster assistance and institutes agricultural conservation policies.

"That position helped me establish the connections I have with growers, producers, legislators and state agricultural groups," said Smith.