Contact: Jack Bailey (304) 766-4109 jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) Vice President for Research and Public Service Dr. Orlando F. McMeans has been named to the Board of Directors for the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), a research, policy and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of public universities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
McMeans will serve on the board in a commission representative role, by virtue of his newly elected capacity as Chair of APLU’s Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) Policy Board of Directors. McMeans began his term as BAA Chair earlier this month in San Antonio, Texas, and is the first person to be elected to the position from an 1890 Land-Grant University. WVSU is one of only 19 such universities in the nation.
“I am extremely grateful to the leadership at APLU and my peers across the land-grant system for having the confidence in me to be appointed to these two important international leadership and advocacy roles,” McMeans said. “While I deem it important for me first and foremost to represent all the constituents that comprise the APLU member institutions, this platform will allow me an opportunity to represent West Virginia State University and advocate for those areas of importance to WVSU and the State of West Virginia.”
BAA is a unit of APLU’s Commission on Food, Environment and Renewable Resources that promotes agriculture in all of its phases, including food, environment, natural resources and internationally, throughout the land-grant university system, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of the Pacific and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In his role as WVSU’s Vice President for Research and Public Service, McMeans oversees the University’s growing agricultural research portfolio and extension service programming efforts, which have focused on alternative agriculture initiatives to help West Virginia’s small farm enterprises.
With a membership of 237 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems and affiliated organizations, APLU’s agenda is built on the three pillars of increasing degree completion and academic success, advancing scientific research, and expanding engagement. The association’s work is furthered by an active and effective advocacy arm that works with Congress and the administration, as well as the media, to advance federal policies that strengthen public universities and benefit the students they serve. Follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter .
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