Extension director reaches out

Jan Seitz has never met a stranger.

"I'm a real people person," she says. "I love talking and making connections with everyone I meet. We can learn so very much from each other."

Seitz joined the University as the new director of Cooperative Extension on May 1. In this role, she also serves as associate dean for extension and outreach for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The mission of Delaware Cooperative Extension is to share University-based research and information with the public, and Seitz has spent her first weeks on the job traveling throughout the state, listening to the needs, concerns and ideas of Extension personnel and the many different constituencies they serve.

"I am so proud to be part of an institution that touches the lives of virtually every Delawarean," Seitz says. "Cooperative Extension provides horticulture and environmental education, 4-H youth programming, family and consumer resource programs, agricultural programs and much, much more. Extension is making a difference in rural, suburban and urban communities throughout our state."

Seitz previously served as assistant dean and director of Extension 4-H Youth Development at the University of Illinois, where she was responsible for the direction and long-range program development of one of the largest 4-H programs in the country.

Seitz says that it was hard to leave so many close friends and colleagues--in addition to a grown son and daughter and other relatives in the Midwest--but that she and her husband, Wes, quickly fell in love with their new home state.

"The people here are very friendly, and it's so easy to get to know everyone in a small state," she says. "In Illinois, I traveled to and from 102 different counties. Here, I can easily attend a morning meeting in Sussex, a lunch event in Kent and be back in New Castle County for afternoon appointments on campus."

Robin Morgan, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, says Seitz is a great asset to the College and Cooperative Extension.

"We are delighted that Jan Seitz has joined us," Morgan says. "Dr. Seitz's unique skills and experiences will facilitate our efforts to expand Cooperative Extension and to create partnerships between Cooperative Extension and other entities with shared missions both within and outside the University."

--Margo McDonough, AS '86, '95M