Gale VandeBerg

Hall of Fame Class of 1996

In 1951, Gale VandeBerg was selected as one of four County Extension agents, nationally, by the Franklin Pierce Foundation, to receive a year's fellowship for graduate study. He chose Cornell University, the only university with an Extension Education graduate program at the time. He joined the State Cooperative Extension staff of the University of Wisconsin (UW) in 1954. Under his leadership, Wisconsin developed B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Extension Education.

He was awarded one of the first W. K. Kellogg Foundation fellowships at the University of Wisconsin and, after receiving the first Ph.D. to be granted at the Center, joined the National Center faculty. As Wisconsin Assistant State Director, in charge of Programs, he developed the first extensive Community Resource Development Program of any state in the nation.

He was appointed State Director of Cooperative Extension in Wisconsin and Assistant Chancellor at UW-Extension, served two terms as Chair of Extension's National Policy Committee and Vice-Chair of the National Association of State Colleges and Land Grant Universities, received the Distinguished Service Award from the National County Agent's Association, the USDA Superior Service Award, and the Epsilon Sigma Phi, national Extension fraternity, Ruby Award. Following his retirement in 1983, he was elected President of the fraternity.