News Release 12-12-2001 |
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DOUGLASS AWARDED HONORARY DOCTORATE BY WVU “I welcome this recognition not so much for personal acclaim, but for the attention it brings to agriculture,” Douglass said. “Although often overlooked and sometimes taken for granted, American agriculture has exceeded every other nation and every other period in history in its productivity.” Commissioner Douglass also noted the diversity of careers available in agriculture today. “Agriculture is a marvelously broad field of study, one critically important to our society. WVU has 17 undergraduate majors within the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences,” he said. “In past years, agriculture meant the production of crops or livestock. Today, we have added numerous other disciplines. Many agriculture professionals never set foot on a farm, but they still make a huge contribution to American agriculture, whether through the advancement of biotechnology or through the development of better ways to protect the environment while feeding our nation and the world.” Commissioner Douglass was first elected commissioner of agriculture in 1964. Now in his ninth term in office, he is the longest serving agriculture commissioner in the country. He also served as assistant commissioner, and owned a farm equipment and motor truck dealership for a number of years. He and his son, Tom, currently operate the family’s 400-acre cattle farm in Mason County. He and his wife Anna Lee have four children and six grandchildren. Raised amidst agriculture in Grimms Landing Douglass served as state and national president of the Future Farmers of America (FFA), was chosen as a West Virginia Star Farmer and 4-H All Star, and later helped to organize and served as first president of the National FFA Alumni Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree from WVU and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from West Virginia State College. He has served as president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA), and was chairman of the Southern Regional Committee for Food and Agriculture under President Jimmy Carter. Recently, he has been instrumental in national preparations against foot and mouth disease and other biological threats to the nation’s food supply. Commissioner Douglass has served twice as president of the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA). He also participated as a member of several national agriculture committees and task forces, and has been frequently called upon to give testimony before Congressional committees regarding national agricultural policy. He currently chairs the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on International Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases, representing the state departments of agriculture. He serves on three NASDA committees, including International Marketing and Trade, Food Regulation and Nutrition, and is chair of the Animal and Plant Industries Committee. He has received a number of awards and honors, including the Gamma Sigma Delta award for Distinguished Service to West Virginia Agriculture and Progressive Farmer magazine’s “Man of the Year” in West Virginia Agriculture. In 1990, he was enshrined into the West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame. He serves on the West Virginia Rural Development Council, of which he is past chairman, and also chairs the State Soil Conservation Committee. Currently, he is a member of the West Virginia Housing Development Fund and Air Quality Board, a director for Peoples Bank of Point Pleasant, and a trustee for Pleasant Valley Hospital. He is a member of the board of the State Farm Museum, and is on the board of directors for the State Fair of West Virginia. Throughout his career, he has served on more than 25 boards, commissions and committees, including chairman of the West Virginia Air Pollution Control Commission and State Forestry Commission. |
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©2001, 2002 West Virginia Department of Agriculture, All Rights Reserved |
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