Contact: Sammy McDavid
Two administrators in Mississippi State's College of Forest Resources and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center are assuming new duties for the next year.
Steven Bullard and Douglas Richards recently were appointed to interim positions at the university. Bullard now leads the forestry department, while Richards is holding the research center's associate directorship.
Bullard will continue as director of the Institute of Furniture Manufacturing and Management. The Department Head position is a joint appointment with the college and MSU Extension Service. Richards has led the forestry department since 1977.
Their appointments were announced last week by Bob Karr, interim dean of the college and director of the research center, and extension service director Joe McGilberry.
Bullard joined the faculty in 1983, serving in the departments of forestry and forest products. A researcher in the areas of forest investment and furniture industry resources, manufacturing and marketing, he holds bachelor's and master's degrees from MSU and a doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Richards holds a bachelor's degree from the University of British Columbia and master's and doctoral degrees from Oregon State University.
As interim associate director, he will coordinate research efforts at the center, a separately funded unit in the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine.
Created by the Mississippi Legislature in 1994, the center's research expenditures totaled more than $4 million for fiscal year 2002.