— Editor's Roundup —
USDA people in the news

Hilda Legg was sworn in as the administrator of the Rural Utilities Service.

Before joining USDA, from 1994 until her swearing-in Legg served as executive director and CEO of The Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Ky. The Center is considered a state-of-the-art facility and a national model for economic development in rural areas and for related educational, cultural and job creation purposes. In that position she was responsible for the management of the facility as well as program development and outreach. She also assisted in the development and implementation of a telecommunication program designed to maximize technology hardware in rural communities throughout Kentucky.

Legg was appointed as alternate federal co-chair for the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, DC, from 1990-93, where she represented and promoted economic policies and assisted in the management of a $190 million budget for job creation, building infrastructure, education and work force training, as well as research programs for economic development.

From 1987-90 Legg served as the director of admissions for Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Ky. She worked as a field representative in the Bowling Green, Ky., office of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) from 1985-87. From 1981-83 she served as the acting executive director of the National Council on the Handicapped with the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC. She taught junior and senior public high school social sciences in Adair County, Ky., from 1974-81.

A native of Adair County, Ky., Legg holds a B.S. degree in sociology from Campbellsville College in Campbellsville, Ky., and an M.A. degree in education from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky.

Chris McLean, the previous RUS administrator, held that position from July 2000 until January 2001 and now works for National Strategies Inc., a Washington, DC-based consulting firm which specializes in telecommunications and public policy. •