COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Jeff Ripley, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service assistant professor and Extension specialist, has received a Superior Service Award in the Specialist category.
The award was presented Jan. 8 during the agency’s Centennial Conference in College Station.
According to the award citation, Ripley was recognized for his work as an Extension specialist in organizational development, a position he has held since February 2009, bringing a wealth of organizational knowledge, experience, technical expertise and a vast network of connections to AgriLife Extension personnel.
Prior to 2009, Ripley had served AgriLife Extension for 20 years in various positions, including assistant county agent, county Extension agent and county Extension director.
In his award nomination, Ripley was cited for his work with new AgriLife employees, providing leadership in numerous responsibilities critically important to the agency.
“He provides leadership to the statewide program development and strategic planning efforts, conducts training for faculty in planning and implementing programs, and coordinates onboarding efforts of the agency for newly hired professionals at all levels of the agency,” the nomination states. “He also works in cooperation with 4-H faculty to provide leadership and direction to statewide volunteerism efforts and leads efforts to improve teaching effectiveness of faculty through in-depth training and resources.”
The nomination goes on to recognize the “breadth, volume and quality of his work as a specialist, which are truly impressive and demonstrably impactful. His work touches virtually every employee and unit of AgriLife Extension, providing a program development that is a cornerstone of the agency’s programming.”
Dr. Elaine Fries, an AgriLife Extension regional program leader, wrote in a commendation letter that through strategic planning and issue identification processes, “Jeff has worked to streamline our efforts to improve ways to gather local input that will ensure that our programs are rooted in issues that affect our clientele and are delivered through methods that will continue to maximize impacts.”
Dr. Ruben Saldana, an AgriLife Extension district administrator, wrote that “Dr. Ripley’s greatest contribution is the simple, practical approach he takes as he ensures that training is effective and easy to use. The result has been a stronger program development structure statewide and a stronger agency focus on this critical component of our programs.”
Superior Service awards are presented to personnel who demonstrate outstanding performance or provide exceptional service to AgriLife Extension, an educational outreach agency of the Texas A&M University System.