MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – Chad Kruger is the new director for the Washington State University Mount Vernon Northwestern Research and Extension Center (NWREC) as of Aug. 17.
He will continue to lead the statewide WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR), which has been based in Wenatchee, Wash. A new assistant director position has been created within CSANR to oversee activities that Kruger will set aside in order to focus on NWREC.
Previous Mount Vernon director Steve Jones left the position earlier this year to direct the Mount Vernon Bread Lab and oversee its new state-of-the-art research facility, to be completed in 2016.
“Chad’s leadership and expertise in sustainable agriculture is an excellent fit for the research and extension programs at Mount Vernon,” said Rich Koenig, director of WSU Extension. “He has the vision as well as the administrative experience to integrate the center, CSANR and the Bread Lab.”
“I’m looking forward to working with the fantastic group of people here who already work so well to address local research issues,” Kruger said. “Their relationship with the community is truly remarkable.”
He said he plans to build on NWREC’s existing success as well as expand research into such regional concerns as soil health, water quality and quantity and dairy management.
“I want to ensure that the productive capacity of faculty, staff and students here is solid,” he said. “I’ll be looking for opportunities to build and increase the capacity of the current programs.”