SUAREC Chancellor Leodrey Williams has made a career of helping to render educational programs and services to citizens outside the mainstream of society. On October 21, he will be one of ten original inductees to be inducted into the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) Hall of Fame. The honor signifies contributions made by Williams during the past 10 years to help CSREES complete a "Decade of Excellence." The award, which celebrates the tenth anniversary of the establishment of CSREES in 1994, also represents the significant changes made in the field of agriculture, and the contributions and leadership provided by Williams and the other inductees as it relates to agriculture being viewed as a science-based, global enterprise. Inductees into the CSREES Hall of Fame must have worked, coordinated, and supported activities exemplifying CSREES' synergy of excellence in any combination of research, education and extension approaches on local, regional, national, or international levels, and they must have demonstrated a measurable and positive impact on the lives of citizens.

"CSREES is dedicated to helping citizens of this country, just as the Southern University Agricultural Center is dedicated to helping citizens of Louisiana. I am honored to be inducted into the CSREES Hall of Fame, and I'm proud to celebrate the organization's tenth anniversary, and the many accomplishments they have made," says Williams.

In addition to his career at Southern, Williams also served as the former USDA extension administrator and associate administrator of CSREES. Williams also served as president of the Association of Extension Administrators, executive committee member of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, member of USDA's advisory committee to the Secretary of Agriculture, and consultant to the governments of Ethiopia and Sierra Leone in the areas of Extension administration and adult and continuing education.

Other honors received during Williams' career includes being a 1996 original inductee in the Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame, housed at the University of Oklahoma; the George Washington Carver Award given to agriculture administrators/practitioners who best exemplified ideals and teachings of George Washington Carver at Tuskegee University; and the 1996 Chicago Museum of Science and Technology Award presented by the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, acknowledging 23 African Americans who made significant contributions in a griculture. The 23 award recipients spanned more than 100 years of agricultural achievement and contributions made by great men of agriculture - beginning with George Washington Carver, including former Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, and ending in '96 with Williams. The Southern University Board of Supervisors also acknowledged Williams for this noteworthy accomplishment.

Williams has served as chancellor of SUAREC since its creation in July 2001.

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