Bill Liebhardt Returns to Extension Duties

SAREP director Bill Liebhardt will step down from his administrative duties June 30, 1998 to return to his Extension work at UC Davis. Liebhardt was hired in March 1987 after a national search for SAREP's first director.

"I'm very proud of the work we have done here at SAREP and I know that the program's capable and creative staff will continue to coordinate outstanding research and education efforts in sustainability," Liebhardt says. "I'll always appreciate the close relationship I've had with the SAREP staff and our advisory committees. I've enjoyed the opportunity to work in California both inside and outside the university," he adds. "Now, after 16 years as an administrator, I'm looking forward to doing my own research."

He will be working at UC Davis on projects related to sustainability issues in California and the U.S. A search is underway for a new director.

Liebhardt, the former director of research at the Rodale Research Center in Pennsylvania, was an associate professor at the University of Delaware and worked as an agronomist for Allied Chemical Co. in the southeastern United States as well as for Standard Fruit Co. in Honduras before coming to Davis.

A soils scientist who was raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm, Liebhardt has focused his research on soil fertility and farming systems comparison and analysis. He is the author of numerous articles on soil fertility and farming systems performance. [Look for a farewell from Liebhardt in the Summer 1998 issue of Sustainable Agriculture, Vol. 10, No. 2.]

SAREP Associate Director Heads to Washington

Jill Shore Auburn, SAREP's associate director, has been named national program leader for sustainable agriculture by the USDA. Her primary responsibility is to direct the federal Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. The national sustainable ag effort is part of the Economic and Community Systems unit at the USDA-Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. The sustainable ag unit awards $11 million per year in grants.

"We're extremely proud that someone as talented and committed as Jill has been selected to head the federal sustainable ag program," says Bill Liebhardt, SAREP director. "She has been instrumental in helping our California program reach national and international stature, and we will miss her contributions enormously. It will also be wonderful to have another person who has personal experience in the West in Washington, D.C."

Auburn, who came to SAREP in 1987, has also worked as the USDA sustainable agriculture program's Western Region professional development coordinator since 1994. In that capacity, she directed educational efforts aimed at Cooperative Extension and other ag professionals in 13 western states and the Pacific Island region.

She also helped establish the national Sustainable Agriculture Network. Auburn initiated SAREP's award-winning World Wide Web site for sustainable agriculture, one of the first Internet sites geared to farmers and extension agents. One of her latest projects is the book How to Find Agricultural Information on the Internet. Auburn, who received her doctorate from UC Davis in 1985, is a board member of the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture.

On a more personal note, Auburn leaves behind many colleagues and friends in California who have enjoyed working with her since she came to California in the late 1970s. An early member of the Committee for Sustainable Agriculture, and the originator of the Organic Market News and Information Service (OMNIS) market report, Auburn has a long history of involvement in sustainable agriculture. It is hard to say goodbye to a woman who has done research, written articles, procured grants, dispersed grants, been a fine administrator, and an even better friend. We wish you well, Jill!