As vice president for Agricultural Administration
and University Outreach at Ohio State University,
Bobby Moser oversees one of the largest adult,
continuing education and extension programs in
the nation. He became the head administrator
of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural,
and Environmental Sciences in 1991.
As vice president
for Agricultural Administration, Moser heads
the College's resident instruction program,
Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio Agricultural
Research and Developmental Center, and the
Agricultural Technical Institute at Wooster.
He oversees the 2,200 faculty and staff statewide
and the 3,200 agricultural and natural resource
students in the undergraduate, graduate and two-year
programs within the College of Food, Agriculture,
and Environmental Sciences.
Moser was director of OSU Extension from 1988,
until becoming vice president. He came to Ohio
after seven years at the University of Missouri,
where he was associate dean of Agriculture and
Agriculture Extension program director from 1986
to 1988. Prior to that, Moser chaired the Department
of Animal Science at Missouri and was on the
animal science faculty at the University of Nebraska.
Moser developed and implemented a wide
array of educational programs, including raising
millions of dollars within communities, state
legislatures, federal government, private organizations
and foundations. He developed interdisciplinary
extension programs designed to meet the needs
of farmers, communities, parents and businesses
that included emerging technologies (biological,
energy, solar, and computer).
Nationally, Moser initiated the National Association
of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
(NASULGC) task force for Globalizing Agricultural
Science and Education Programs for America (GASEPA).
He was founding leader of the Agricultural
Satellite Program (Ag*SAT) consortium (now
American Distance Education Consortium) and,
served on its board of birectors, and chaired
the NASULGC Board on Agriculture.
Moser was a member
of a national extension task force on the extension
system in the 21 st century and co-chaired
the team that developed the concept for the new
e-Extension program. He developed educational
collaborations with Latin America, the Caribbean,
Africa and Asia. Moser has received regional
and national outstanding college teaching awards
and has published more than one hundred articles
in adult and extension education, animal nutrition,
leadership and management.
Moser’s legacy as vice president at Ohio
State University includes developing scientifically
sound and sustainable programs, while incorporating
ecological ethics and technological innovations.
His developments in the field will continue to
influence and drive the future of agriculture
in the United States and around the world.