EAST LANSING, Mich. — Ray Hammerschmidt was named interim director of Michigan State University extension on New Year’s Day. He’d served as interim associate director since July 2014, and replaces Margaret “Maggie” Bethel, who came out of retirement to fill the role vacated by Tom Coon in July.

Hammerschmidt brings 35 years of MSU experience to this role. He joined the university in 1980 with a research and teaching appointment and conducted fundamental and applied research on potato diseases. Previously, he was the associate chair of the MSU Department of Plant, Soils and Microbial Sciences, where his research and teaching focused on the physiology and biochemistry of plant disease and resistance.

Fred Poston, dean of MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), looks forward to working with the interim director. “Dr. Hammerschmidt has a lot of experience in many areas of the university,” he said. “His background in research gives him a unique opportunity to move MSU extension forward.”

When Poston appointed Bethel to the post last July, she was challenged with the task of working to reconnect extension educators with campus specialists and strengthen relationships between extension and industry partners. Hammerschmidt looks forward to more of the same.

“We want to continue to work on and invigorate the teams between the campus specialists and extension educators,” he said. “We’ve been looking very carefully at what it means to have a team and how the teams work together in terms of planning, as well as the creation and delivery of educational materials.”

Hammerschmidt said this model is key to ensuring the teams have the resources they need to work closely with industry stakeholders. “It is very important that we listen closely to what our stakeholders and clients have to say, and then use that information in the development of where our priorities should be in at the local level, regional level and statewide,” he said.

“It’s important to look pretty hard at all areas that we need to serve and make sure that we can do the very best job we can do with the resources we have.”

While gathering input from key stakeholders is important, Hammerschmidt said it is imperative to use that information to develop a long-range plan for extension.

“What we really want to do is look at our planning process with the different teams as being multiyear. That’s really important for a couple of reasons. First, nothing is done in a year. We also need to have a planning process that allows us to capture those changes and impacts that can take several years to capture.”

With his lengthy background as a researcher, he is interested in exploring how to more effectively integrate research in the work extension educators do to enhance programming.

“There are a lot of campus faculty who are doing work, which has the potential to really have an impact on our stakeholders,” he said, adding he would like to strengthen ties with that expertise.

“I’ve worked in the research realm for a long time. I understand the importance of using research to guide us and make decisions, and the results of research are most valuable when shared with the people who can use them to make a difference.

“We have experts and outreach professionals who are outstanding and experienced in delivering this important information. I look forward to working with them to improve the lives of Michigan’s residents,” he added.

Hammerschmidt earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the School of Agriculture at Purdue University in 1974 and a master’s degree in plant pathology from Purdue in 1976. In 1980, he earned a Ph.D. in plant disease resistance from the University of Kentucky.