Beverly Sparks
Q&A with Beverly Sparks
By Faith Peppers
Photo by Stephanie Schupska
On March 1, Beverly Sparks became the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' assistant dean for Extension. Sparks replaced Lamar Martin, who retired. As Sparks begins this new phase of her CAES career, she answered a few questions for Southscapes.
How long have you been with the college?
I actually first worked for the college as a student worker in the entomology department at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station while attending Tift County High School and ABAC in the late '70s. Then, CAES was my home for a BSA degree in horticulture and a master's degree in entomology.
I earned my Ph.D. from Louisiana State University and served as Extension urban entomologist for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A&M, from 1983 to 1989.
In 1989, I was offered the opportunity to return to UGA and CAES as a Cooperative Extension entomologist. I've been with CAES as a faculty member for 17 years.
In what capacities have you served?
What will your new position entail?
What challenges do you foresee?
Currently, the biggest challenge is matching Extension resources with the educational program needs of Georgia’s agricultural industries and programming needs for the environmental issues we face in the state.
The value of the agricultural industry in our state exceeds $6.4 billion. The industry is huge and diverse. Our top commodities include poultry, cotton, vegetables, livestock, peanuts, greenhouse and nursery crops, pecans, corn, soybeans, peaches, apples, forestry and forages. We have a flourishing urban agricultural industry involved in turfgrass and ornamental plant production, installation and maintenance and pest control.
Our state faces many issues related to conservation and management of our natural resources. Our recent budget cuts have resulted in a decline of faculty and staff in CAES, and it has become more and more difficult to meet the needs of all these clientele groups.
My most pressing challenge will be to identify and prioritize the most urgent Extension programming needs in ANR and then work with CAES administration, faculty and staff and the clientele groups we serve to identify and secure resources to address these priority programs.
What plans or goals do you have at this point?
In the first year, goals include learning more about all of Extension ANR programs and assessing the needs of our ANR Extension specialists and agents. I also hope to have many opportunities to meet and discuss the needs and issues of the agricultural and natural resources clientele groups Extension serves.
Immediate, additional goals include identifying and securing added resources for our ANR programs from local, regional, state and national sources.
NOTE:
Sparks is also acting interim associate dean for Extension.