Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce that Katherine Soule, Ph.D., will serve as ANR's new Assistant Vice Provost for Cooperative Extension. She will start her new duties on July 1, 2020, continue to serve as County Director for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties and as UCCE youth, families and communities advisor. The role was previously held by Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty until she assumed the role of Statewide 4-H Youth Development Program director.
We are excited to have Katherine on the Cooperative Extension administrative team! She brings a breadth of Cooperative Extension experiences and leadership skills.
Katherine Soule obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, Athens in 2013. The same year, she became the youth, families and communities advisor for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. In 2017, she accepted an additional appointment at County Director for these counties. She was elected as UC ANR's Academic Assembly Council President (7/18 -6/20).
Katherine is known for her innovative, collaborative, and strengths-based leadership. She cares deeply about improving lives and working environments for her unit, her community and ANR.
"As the Assistant Vice Provost of Cooperative Extension, I look forward to supporting the development and successes of new and existing County Directors,” she said. “I hope to promote collaborative, cross-county communication, while focusing on identifying and meeting the needs of County Directors across the division. We are all most effective when we learn from and support one another, so I look forward to connecting with academics, County Directors, ANR Leadership, and other UC ANR personnel in this new role."
Please join me in wishing Katherine much success in her new role.
L. Mark Lagrimini
Vice Provost for Research and Extension