Leslie Edgar will join the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in spring 2018 as the new department head for the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication.

Edgar is currently a professor and assistant dean for student programs in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

While at Arkansas, she served as a member of the dean’s leadership team, and as a representative of the dean, in developing the direction, policies and operations of the Bumpers College Honors Program and the International Programs Office. She also served as the primary point of contact for Bumpers College students and faculty interested in international experiences or the honors program to enhance the marketability of UARK students for professional careers associated with their majors.

She received a B.S. degree from Utah State University in animal science with a minor in business management. She earned an M.S. in agricultural systems, technology and education from Utah State, and a doctorate in agricultural leadership, education and communications from Texas A&M University.

Edgar is a fellow in the Food Systems Leadership Institute and LEAD 21: Leadership for the Twenty-first Century Certification recipient. She has received numerous honors, including the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teaching Scholar Award, NACTA Teaching Award of Merit, Winrock International President’s Volunteer Service Award, Academic Award of Excellence from the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences and National New Teacher Award for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.