AUBURN, Ala.—Paul Mask, a 31-year veteran of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, has been named assistant director for agriculture, forestry and natural resources programs and assistant dean for Extension at Auburn University, effective, Jan. 1, 2014, College of Agriculture Dean/Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Director Bill Batchelor and Alabama Cooperative Extension System Director Gary Lemme have announced.
Mask’s appointment to the two-year, limited-term position follows an internal search for an individual who will bring into alignment the visions and directions of the college and Extension. The position will be located in the College of Agriculture, but Mask will report to both Batchelor and to Paul Brown, associate director of the Extension system.
“Paul Mask’s background and experience with both the College of Agriculture and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System make him an ideal fit for this new position,” Batchelor said. “The college and Extension are both vital to the agricultural industry of our state and region, and Dr. Mask’s service will help ensure that both units grow and advance strategically together.”
Mask, who since 2003 has served in the assistant director role for Extension, arrived at Auburn University in 1982 as an Extension agronomist specializing in grain crops and silage. In 1988, he added the title of assistant professor in what today is the College of Agriculture’s Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, rising through the ranks to associate professor in 1991 and full professor in 1999.
“As Extension assistant director, Mask will continue providing leadership for the development, delivery, evaluation and reporting of Extension programs to the citizens of Alabama,” Brown said.
In the new assistant dean for Extension role, Mask will be responsible for the coordination and integration of Extension programs in the college, serving as a liaison between the college and ACES and representing the dean on Extension issues.
Mask received his undergraduate degree in biology from Georgia State University, a master’s in agronomy from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D. in agronomy from The Ohio State University.
