Bobby D. Moser
Hall of Fame Class of 2005
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.