Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The head of Mississippi State's forestry department is a new Fellow of the Society of American Foresters.
Andrew W. Ezell is being honored by the organization for contributions to the professional organization and the nation's forest industry.
An expert in hardwood management and growth, Ezell has served the land-grant university for 25 years as an extension specialist and professor. Most recently, he was named to lead the state's only four-year academic program in forestry.
"Dr. Ezell is an exceptional professor and administrator," said Dean George Hopper of the College of Forest Resources. "He directs the research of graduate students and teaches two classes in addition to his administrative duties."
A Linden, Tenn. native, Ezell holds a bachelor's degree in forest management from the University of Tennessee, a master's in forest ecology from Yale University and a doctorate degree in forest management and wood quality from Louisiana State University. He previously worked for the University System of Georgia and Texas A&M University.
"Dr. Ezell does an excellent job of informing different groups about hardwoods, forest herbicides and their effect on invasive woody species," Hopper said. "He is a nationally acclaimed expert in the culture and management of hardwood forests and a highly respected forester."
In addition to SAF, Ezell is a member of the Mississippi Forestry and Mississippi Vegetation Management associations, as well as the Mississippi Agricultural Industry Council, Society of American Foresters, Mississippi Weed Science Society and Weed Science Society of America.
The Society of American Foresters is the national scientific and educational organization representing the forestry profession in the United States. Founded in 1900, it is the world's largest organization representing the profession.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.