— Editor's Roundup —
USDA people in the news

Gary Cunningham was selected as the associate administrator of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

Before joining USDA, from 1968 until his selection Cunningham served in several positions at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. From 1997 until 2001 he was its vice-president for research, where he concentrated on building interdisciplinary research programs, including social sciences and liberal arts.

From 1990-97 Cunningham served as associate dean of NMSU’s College of Agriculture and Home Economics as well as director of the NMSU Agricultural Experiment Station. He was head of the Department of Biology from 1984-90, after having started as an assistant professor in that department in 1968.

A native of Tucson, Ariz., Cunningham holds a B.S. degree in secondary education in biology and an M.S. degree in botany, both from the University of Arizona, plus a Ph.D. degree in botany from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Colien Hefferan, the previous associate administrator in CSREES, served in that position from August 1996 to October 2000, when she became the agency’s administrator. •