By ANDREA McCANN
Indiana Correspondent

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For 35 years, Dave Petritz has been the epitome of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service (PUCES), delivering to Indiana communities research-based programs residents can apply in their everyday lives.

But after 17 years as an extension specialist and 18 years as an administrator, Petritz, who served as associate dean and director of the extension service for the last nine years, retired June 30.

His areas of specialization when he began his career at Purdue included beef cattle, sheep, forages and farm management.
“I’m a full professor in ag econ,” he explained. “My academic home is in the ag econ department.”

After 10 years of working as an extension agricultural economist, in 1982 Petritz was appointed as assistant department head for extension.

In 1989, he became assistant director of Purdue extension and Agriculture and Natural Resources (AgNR) program leader. He and former PUCES director Hank Wadsworth worked together for 10 years before Wadsworth’s retirement in 1999.

At that time, Petritz was named associate dean and director. In 2004, associate vice provost for University Engagement was added to his responsibilities.

“The first big thing I remember was Dave accepting the responsibility for ram-rodding our programs to reach farmers affected by the drought of 1988,” Wadsworth said. “I was called away because of a family emergency, and Dave took over. He got people organized, set up calling centers, pushed publications and media work, interacted with state officials, held briefing sessions, et cetera.

“Over the years, he upgraded training programs for staff, emphasized quick and direct response to clientele, strengthened the relationships with state government and agricultural organizations. He also played a strong leadership role with the AgNR program leaders of the north-central states.”

The drought response effort in 1988 also is one of the career highlights Petritz recalls, as is the Family and Agricultural Resources Management (FARM) program. FARM was put together to assist families during the farm disaster of the 1980s, according to Petritz. He said “portable” computers – which weren’t quite as portable then as they are now – were taken directly to farms, where the family’s information could be input. Calculations were made on the spot to assist the family with important decisions.

As program leader, some of Petritz’s key career memories include conducting frost response meetings throughout the state, addressing low hog prices, building partnerships with other organizations and focusing more on rural development.

“I accepted that, in administration, you make sure what needs done gets done, and let other people do it,” he said, adding his chief role was to make sure those people had the resources to do their jobs.

“Since I’ve been director, the key thing I’ve accomplished is maintaining the core of extension and support by county government. We survived the ‘02 budget cuts and maintained a strong organization. In the last four years, we’ve hired 100 new educators – we have a very young staff, when you look statewide.”

Much of that staff already had an extension background going into their jobs, thanks to the summer intern program, which was re-energized in 2002. Petritz said many of those interns went on to complete the extension graduate program and join field staff in Indiana’s county offices.

He said some of those individuals already are moving up in the extension ranks and becoming well-recognized. The enthusiasm of those new hires, Petritz said, blended with the wisdom of the experienced staff, makes for a strong program.

“I couldn’t be more pleased,” he said. “We’re getting calls from other states from students who want to be in the graduate program. We’re finally getting peer recognition.”

It might be hard for some people to let go of that success after working so hard for so many years to get there.

But Petritz has adopted a philosophy from one of his retirement cards: Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.
“I have a lot of great memories, a lot of great friendships,” he said. “I leave comfortable of a bright future (for PUCES.)”

An extension newsletter lists the four candidates for his position as: Sally Thompson, professor and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics; Charles Hibberd, district director, Panhandle Research and Extension Center at the University of Nebraska; Kristina Boone, professor and head of the Department of Communications at Kansas State University; and Michael Schmitt, associate dean and senior director of Financial Affairs in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources at the University of Minnesota.

In the meantime, Randy Woodson, the Glenn W. Sample dean of Agriculture, will serve as interim director.

He intends to handle extension faculty business, while assistant directors handle field staff and some campus staff matters and the daily running of the director’s office.

“I have a lot of help with Peggy Titus and Dan Stewart assisting me in this capacity,” Woodson said. “My goal is to keep extension moving forward as we search for the next director.”

As for Petritz, he’s sure he’ll find plenty of projects around the house that he’s neglected in the past 35 years, and he’s been asked to sit on a committee – as a citizen – to look at the 2009 Indiana State Fair schedule. He said five days will be added to the fair at that time, so the schedule will need to be revamped.

“I love the fair, and it’s a way to stay involved,” he said. “What else develops remains to be seen.”

There will be a celebration in Petritz’s honor at this year’s fair on Purdue Day, Aug. 15.