MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University professor with more than 20 years of experience is the new director of the school of human sciences.

Since 2004, Michael Newman has served as a professor in agricultural information science and education as well as a specialist for the MSU Extension Service.

In addition to numerous books, journal articles and presentations, Newman has been responsible for planning and evaluating both Extension programming and many grant-funded projects. The use of technology in agribusiness and education is one of Newman’s areas of expertise.

“Dr. Newman has played a key role in developing the federal 5-year Plan of Work and state strategic plans,” said Gary Jackson, director of the MSU Extension Service. “This, in addition to his work as a researcher and principal investigator on long-term evaluative studies, makes him ideally suited to the administrative tasks ahead of him.”

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in agriculture at MSU, Newman went to The Ohio State University for his master’s degree. Newman began his career at MSU as a graduate research assistant in 1989 and worked in various positions at MSU after he attained his doctorate in agricultural and Extension education in 1991. He has received numerous honors for his teaching ability and leadership, including the John Grisham Master Teacher and MSU StatePride awards.