Dr. Ronald Howell, Jr. appointed as the Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Virginia
Dr. Ronald Howell, Jr.
“We are thrilled to welcome these dedicated individuals to USDA at such an important time in the Biden-Harris administration.”
President Joe Biden announced his intent on January 13, 2022, to appoint our own Dr. Ronald Howell, Jr. as the Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Virginia. Dr. Howell was included in a shortlist of new USDA appointees about whom Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “As we work to build a better America, we need talented and experienced staff working in our state offices.” He added, “We are thrilled to welcome these dedicated individuals to USDA at such an important time in the Biden-Harris administration.”
In his new role, Dr. Howell will oversee Farm Service Agency operations and agricultural policy implementation in the commonwealth. Each State Executive Director works with the State Committee to administer FSA programs and county office operations, develops and maintains stakeholder relationships with customers and other agencies and governments.
If something about leaving the VSU College of Agriculture and becoming the Executive Director of USDA’s FSA in Virginia sounds familiar, you’d be correct. VSU’s former Dean of the College of Agriculture and 1890s Administrator, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, also left her position at the College when then Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack tapped her for the same role Dr. Howell will be transitioning to now.
Dr. Howell has been serving as the Director of Operations Management in the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University since 2018 and is a 2009 VSU College of Agriculture alumnus. He previously served as the Special Assistant and Advisor for Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives to the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry in the Offices of Governors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam. He earned a master's degree from Virginia Tech in Agriculture and Extension Education-Community Development in 2012, and just last year he received his doctorate in P-20 Education and Community Leadership with a focus in Agriculture Education from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.
More details will follow regarding backfilling Dr. Howell’s position and duties. But for now, I hope you will join me in wishing him the very best in his new role. And, since many of our college’s programs have ties to FSA, I hope, too, under Dr. Howell’s leadership, we may discover new ways to strengthen existing ties, and forge new ones, to help FSA reach its mission to equitably serve all farmers, ranchers and agricultural partners through the delivery of effective, efficient agricultural programs for all Americans.
--Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, VSU College of Agriculture Dean/1890s Administrator