College STation, Texas
October 31, 2003
The man
whose leadership has shaped the course of Texas agriculture over
the past 37 years has announced a new route for the coming year.
Dr.
Edward A. Hiler will retire, effective Aug. 31, 2004, to pursue
other professional interests and to spend more time with his
family and in community service.
Hiler
heads The Texas A&M University
System Agriculture Program, which encompasses the Texas
Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas Cooperative Extension,
Texas Forest Service, Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic
Laboratory, and agricultural colleges at five system
universities. He also is dean of agriculture and life sciences
at Texas A&M University.
"I'm
pleased with the progress we have made and the current positive
stature and momentum of the Agriculture Program," Hiler said in
his announcement Friday to faculty and staff.
Among
his successes is Agriculture Program 21, a visionary and
goal-setting process in which faculty, staff and administrators
of the college, Experiment Station and Extension plus 50
external leaders embarked on a year-long effort to envision the
future needs for education and research.
"We
studied changes under way in science, technology, education and
human affairs, and deliberated about the challenges ahead," he
recalled. The Agriculture Program 21 effort, which yielded goals
to be met in upcoming years, was a collective commitment to
"making a difference for Texans and the world," Hiler said.
Hiler
came to Texas A&M in 1966 as assistant professor after
completing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in
agricultural engineering from The Ohio State University. His
research on water issues quickly was recognized in Texas which
vacillates between drought and flood – often in the same year.
He looks
at agricultural engineering broadly – once saying "we are
engineers specializing in optimizing environments for plant and
animal growth and production while maintaining and improving the
environment for people."
After
eight years as a teacher and researcher, Hiler began his
administrative leadership as head of the agricultural
engineering department in 1974. For the Texas A&M University
System, he became deputy chancellor for academic and research
programs in 1989 and was interim chancellor in 1991 prior to
being selected to his current position in 1992.
His
career accomplishments have netted numerous honors and awards
including membership in the National Academy of Engineering,
Distinguished Alumnus of The Ohio State University, and
presidency of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers in
1991-92 and the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists
in 1999.
He
was presented the Texas A&M Faculty Distinguished Achievement
Award in 1973, the ASAE Young Researcher Award in 1977 and the
John Deere Gold Medal in 1991. Hiler has served as consultant to
the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment and the U.S.
Department of Interior's Office of Water Research and
Technology. He currently serves on the board of CNH Global, the
world's largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment. |