Annual Meeting Details for
Club Spring Meeting, Thursday
May 16, 2013
Dr. Victor Lechtenberg, recently Vice Provost and currently Vice President for Engagement, Purdue University, will be the featured speaker for the Purdue Alumni Club of Southwest Michigan’s Spring meeting to be held at the St. Joseph River Yacht Club http://www.sjryc.com/at 6:00 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013. A representative of the Purdue Alumni Association will also join to share information about international alumni activities.
As Vice President for Engagement, Lechtenberg has led Purdue’s expanded effort to use university resources to address economic development and other issues affecting the state’s prosperity and quality of life. He worked directly with Indiana’s leaders, the business community and citizens to find ways for Purdue to advance that mission.
Lechtenberg helped communities throughout the state develop technology parks and promote the growth of high-paying jobs. He also advanced initiatives such as the Technical Assistance Program, which last year helped 536 Indiana companies implement new technologies. Additional programs under Lechtenberg’s supervision included the Office for Continuing Education and Conferences; Opportunity for Indiana, a statewide initiative to counter the brain drain; and Science Bound, which assists Indianapolis Public Schools students in preparing for a science-related degree at Purdue.
As Vice Provost, Lechtenberg said, “Provost Mason has left us with a solid foundation,” Lechtenberg said. “I look forward to continuing those efforts and to working with the deans, faculty, chancellors and public officials to enhance Purdue’s position as a leader in academic excellence.”
Lechtenberg joined the Purdue faculty in 1971 and became a professor of agronomy in 1979. He then served as associate director of the Indiana Agriculture Experiment Station (now the Office of Agricultural Research Programs) from 1982-89. That job entailed serving as liaison between agricultural researchers and funding sources, as well as reviewing research proposals from academic departments. Lechtenberg was named executive associate dean of agriculture in 1989. In that position, he made recommendations to the dean about research, teaching and Cooperative Extension Service programs, and he assisted in facilities planning as well as budget and personnel decisions. The dean of agriculture administers the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and the Office of Academic Programs, Office of Agricultural Research Programs and International Programs in Agriculture. Lechtenberg is a member of several academic, professional and scholarly societies and has written nearly 150 technical papers, approximately 50 abstracts and six chapters in books. He served as chair of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s national Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board from 1996 through 2002. In that capacity, he provided written testimony on biosecurity for the U.S. Senate.
Lechtenberg is a native of Butte, Neb., where he grew up on a general livestock farm. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska in 1967 and earned a doctorate in agronomy from Purdue in 1971.
Make sure to mark your calendar for this exciting. To reserve your spot at this dinner, we need a Reservation Form from you. You may (a) download and print it from the link below* and mail it to us at R. E. Gifford, 4442 Sunnymeade Dr., St. Joseph, MI 49085 or (b) call Club President Bob Gifford by May 2nd. You can reach him at 269-556-2166 or email him at regifford@sbcglobal.net.
*Download the 2013 Annual Spring Meeting Reservation Form by clicking HERE. You do not have to be a member of the club to attend our functions! Club memberships help to support on on-going activities but are not required in any way.
Boiler Up!
Your Southwest Michigan Board Members:
Bob Gifford ’64, President
Nick Pampalone ’09
Pete Plikaitis ’87
Lee Passaro ’70
Charlotte Poole ’65
Howard Poole ’65
John Ripley ’63
Glenn Youngstedt ’68
