Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Ed Smith, retired director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, was recently inducted into the Tyrus R. Timm Honor Registry in the department of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University.
Smith was inducted during the 100-year Centennial Celebration of Extension at the College Station Hilton and Conference Center. Dr. Bob Whitson, retired dean of agriculture at Oklahoma State University and former director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, led the induction.
The registry recognizes outstanding former students for meritorious accomplishments in their fields. It is the highest departmental honor and is named after Tyrus R. Timm, who led the university’s agricultural economics department from 1953 until 1973 during its rise to national prominence in teaching, research and Extension. Timm was known for his knowledge of finance and agricultural banking.
“Ed Smith had both a unique vision of understanding critical problems affecting Texas farmers and was articulate in explaining the real impacts of these issues to Washington policy makers. His career epitomized a life-long commitment to Extension,” said Dr. Parr Rosson, head of the department of agricultural economics at Texas A&M.
“What drove Ed was what was right for Texas. He was willing to put a lot of pain into doing the right thing,” Whitson said.
Smith began his career with AgriLife Extension as an assistant county agent in 1975. He served as the county agent in Gaines and Terry counties prior to starting his doctoral degree studies in 1980. From 1982 to 1988, he held the grain marketing specialist position and in 1988 was named the Distinguished Roy B. Davis Professor in Agricultural Cooperation. In 2001, Smith became associate director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and served as agency director from 2005-2012.
According to the nomination, Smith dedicated his professional career in service to agriculture, Texas and national land-grant university systems. As an economist and Extension educator, Smith earned a reputation for his ability to understand problems affecting farmers and to articulate the underlying issues to federal policy makers, according to the nomination.
Additional information regarding the Tyrus R. Timm Honor Registry and its members may be found at http://tyrustimmregistry.org/.
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