ERS Administrator Kitty Smith to retire
USDA Economic Research Service Administrator Kitty Smith will retire August 13, Agriculture Undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics Cathie Woteki has announced.
In the period until then, Smith, who is attending to family needs, will be not be in the ERS office every day, Woteki said. Mary Bohman will serve as acting administrator for the next eight weeks, and Laurian Unnevehr will take on the acting administrator role in July.
USDA will launch a national search for the next ERS administrator, and USDA Chief Economist Josesph Glauber will chair the review committee, Woteki said.
Smith joined ERS as a research economist in 1976 and has been administrator since 2006. She also served as acting deputy undersecretary for research, education and economics during most of 2009.
In a memo to her staff, Woteki said Smith “has provided leadership and guidance on the agency’s research agenda and helped spread the word about the vital role USDA science plays in the formation of policies that matter to Americans.” She also noted that Smith has made ERS reports more widely available and has worked in a number of department-wide projects, including chairing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Joint Working Party on Agriculture and the Environment, the department’s Executive Review Board; and USDA’s Women and Working Lands group.
In the period until then, Smith, who is attending to family needs, will be not be in the ERS office every day, Woteki said. Mary Bohman will serve as acting administrator for the next eight weeks, and Laurian Unnevehr will take on the acting administrator role in July.
USDA will launch a national search for the next ERS administrator, and USDA Chief Economist Josesph Glauber will chair the review committee, Woteki said.
Smith joined ERS as a research economist in 1976 and has been administrator since 2006. She also served as acting deputy undersecretary for research, education and economics during most of 2009.
In a memo to her staff, Woteki said Smith “has provided leadership and guidance on the agency’s research agenda and helped spread the word about the vital role USDA science plays in the formation of policies that matter to Americans.” She also noted that Smith has made ERS reports more widely available and has worked in a number of department-wide projects, including chairing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Joint Working Party on Agriculture and the Environment, the department’s Executive Review Board; and USDA’s Women and Working Lands group.
