1/4/00

Contacts:
Wendy Wintersteen, Director, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension, 515/294-7801
Susan Thompson, Agriculture Information, 515/294-0705

ISU ANNOUNCES LEOPOLD CENTER DIRECTOR CANDIDATES

AMES, Iowa -- Five finalists have been named in the search for a new director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. Each finalist will visit the campus during January and February. They are:

• Charles Francis, professor of agronomy, Director of Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb.
• Fred Kirschenmann, president, Farm Verified Organic, Inc., Windsor, N.D.
• Ann Sorensen, assistant vice president for research, American Farmland Trust, DeKalb, Ill.
• Jean Steiner, research leader and director of the Natural Resource Conservation Center, Agricultural Research Service, Watkinsville, Ga.
• William F. Wilcke, professor, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.

Each candidate will participate in an open forum 3-4 p.m. in the Brenton Center in Curtiss Hall, Room 9. The open forum presentation dates for the candidates are: Wilcke, Jan. 11; Sorensen, Jan. 20; Francis, Jan. 25; Kirschenmann, Feb. 1; and Steiner, Feb. 10.

Allen Trenkle, distinguished professor, animal science, is serving as interim director until a replacement for Dennis Keeney is chosen. Keeney retired Dec. 31, 1999 following 11 years as the Leopold Center's first director. Wendy Wintersteen, director of Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension, is chairing the search committee for the new director.

The Leopold Center was established by the Iowa Legislature as part of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act of 1987. Its mandated missions are to identify impacts of agricultural practices, contribute to the development of profitable farming systems that conserve natural resources and cooperate with ISU Extension to inform the public of new findings.

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