MSU Faculty Member Earns Reappointment to USDA Policy Group

Rita Green

BY LINDA BREAZEALE
MSU AG Extension Service

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State University faculty member Rita W. Green will serve another year on a key policymaking board for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reappointed Green, an assistant professor of consumer economics in the School of Human Sciences, to the National Agricultural Research Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board. Green will represent national consumer interests.

This board advises the secretary and land-grant colleges and universities on top national priorities and policies for food and agricultural research, education, Extension and economics.

“Since my appointment in 2011, we have addressed Extension and research issues, including partnerships with private industries, federal government and university research,” Green said. “Meetings have been in Washington, D.C., and at various land-grant university locations around the country, such as University of Texas and Ohio State University.”

As a board member, Green is serving on the Specialty Crop Committee and has chaired the working group that developed recommendations for the Cooperative Extension Service.

Green began her career with the MSU Extension Service in 2008. She is a NeighborWorks certified housing counselor and serves on the Federal Reserve’s Community Development Advisory Council for the Eighth District.

Green earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Memphis. She received her doctorate in adult education from the University of Memphis in 2012.