School selects new interim
head
By Anna Herkamp
Summer
Reporter
The School of Agriculture appointed a new interim
head and director of agricultural information systems on June 1.
Because of new career opportunities, the former
director left his position at Purdue and went to Penn State.
His successor, Patrick Smoker, is more than qualified
for the job, according to Randy Woodson, associate dean in the School
of Agriculture.
"Pat has been employed (in the School of Agriculture)
for many years as the assistant of the previous director. His critical
expertise ensures that we won't miss a beat," he said.
Smoker takes his career field seriously because
of his belief in information technology.
"Information technology is one of the most critical
tools in higher education because it really permeates every aspect of
the Ag School and the University at large. It plays major roles —
ranging from the student's first contact with University Web sites through
the countless systems that provide access to its information. It is
a key element in the administration, marketing and delivery of the teaching
research and outreach elements of the school and University," Smoker
said.
Information Technology is especially critical to
the School of Agriculture because of its associations with Indiana's
county extension offices.
Having a strong information technology system allows
for a free flowing communications system between Purdue and the county
extension offices, said Woodson.
The county extension offices allow Purdue's educational
resources to interact and give back to the communities throughout the
state.
Some examples of Purdue's associations with the
extension offices are 4H organizations and educational Web pages that
provide information about agriculture, which the community can access.
An example Woodson gave was that a homeowner in
Indiana might have a problem with gypsy moths on her property.
The homeowner could call the extension office to
get some information about dealing with the insect problem. She could
bring the insect to the office where a picture could be taken with a
digital camera and sent back to Purdue. A specialist at Purdue could
look at it and identify the insect and possible steps to get ride of
the insect.
Information technology makes services like this
possible, said Woodson.
"Though information technology is crucial, it is
only a tool," said Smoker. "We want to provide technologies that really
work for 'people.' People make the school great — information technology
must work for them and we need to apply all of our effort, our expertise
and our resources to meet that need," he said.
Smoker is qualified for the job as director because
he's been with Purdue since 1986. His previous position of operations
manager in agricultural information systems gave him the experience
needed to step into the director's position, Smoker said.
Eleven of those years he worked to bring technology
solutions to the School of Agriculture. Years of service and his associations
with the administration provided him with a perspective that gives an
"insightful view" of the school's leadership, he said.
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