Spotlight   |   Fall 2003

A winning combination

Tormoehlen

Purdue Agriculture is combining 4-H, academic programs in agricultural communications and teacher education under the umbrella of a newly created department—Youth Development and Agricultural Education.

“Merging these units strengthens our academic research, our scholarly capacity and our ability to interact with young people across Indiana,” says Dean of Agriculture Victor Lechtenberg.

The new department will open the door for growth and development in all three areas, attracting a wider array of youth to 4-H programs, adding new faculty in agricultural communications and strengthening the curriculum in agricultural education.

Roger Tormoehlen, a professor in 4-H youth, heads the newly consolidated department. “While we eliminate boundaries, we will still maintain the unique strengths of our 4-H, agricultural education and agricultural communication programs,” says Tormoehlen, a Purdue faculty member since 1988. “My challenge is to look at all the resources we now have available in this new department and see how each area can benefit from and enhance the others.”