Leopold Center - Q&A with the Interim Director - Introducing Jerry DeWitt -- Winter 2005 newsletter

Q. You joined the Leopold Center staff November 1, 2005, but are not new to sustainable agriculture. What can you tell us about yourself?

I am and remain the son of an Illinois farm family. We still own 160 acres in east central Illinois (Iroquois County) that has been in our family since 1947. In my early days, I remember our farm having a mixed rotation of corn, beans and small grains, a registered Black Angus cow-calf herd, sheep for 4-H projects, eggs for the hatchery, a few hogs and Christmas trees. My father was an experimenter and tried many new things. He always had ideas and was willing to try – and to fail if need be. I guess my father instilled some of those traits in me, too.

My formal education was in zoology, botany, ecology and entomology, from Eastern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The first hint of my ultimate vocation came during graduate school when I learned about the Cooperative Extension Service. I started working in Entomology Extension and traveled across Illinois, visiting farms and talking to a lot of farmers. I found my life’s work and have never looked back. I came to Iowa State University in 1972 for my first job as an Extension Entomologist. It was the right choice and the right location – Iowa.

One of my earliest recollections as a small child in the late 1950s was observing the relationships between humans and their environment. Although I never made the connection then, I finally was able to put the pieces together in graduate school.

One of my Saturday morning tasks on the farm was to pick up dead robins from our lawn, a regular occurrence during the summer months. Later, as I read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, I learned that Iroquois County and the towns of Donovan (where I went to school) and Sheldon were ground zero for the massive Japanese beetle eradication program that included widespread aerial spraying of the chlorinated cyclodiene pesticides aldrin and dieldrin. Although the impacts were there, not many people made the connections at the time.

Luckily, a few including Rachel Carson (and of course, the robins) sensed what was going on. It took me another 12 to 15 years to make the connection and understand what we had lived though in Iroquois County. Even today, the connections between people and their environment drive how I view and assess what’s going on around me. I sense these connections and try to illustrate them in one of my avocations, photography.

Q. What experiences have you had at Iowa State University?

I really enjoy change and challenges. My career at ISU has been marked by many opportunities inside and outside of Iowa. All of my university work has been in Extension – a passion that has driven my career and fulfills me daily.
I have worked as an Extension Entomologist and coordinated the Pest Management and Environment Program with both the Integrated Pest Management and Pesticide Applicator Training programs. I continue to serve as the Iowa Extension Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator. I also have taken on administrative roles in Extension and the College of Agriculture, serving as State Agriculture and Natural Resource Leader for Extension. And I have been called to Washington, D.C. on three occasions to lead the USDA’ s National Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE) program.

Q. What did you bring to Iowa from your formal education?

I have found that my formal education provided the framework but not all of the answers for today’s problems. Sometimes exposure to a variety of disciplines leads to the assumption that a person knows how to think, but that can be very misleading. I often say that my early education gave me the ability to understand and apply ecological principles and a systems approach. This works with people and can be practiced daily. I also still use, appreciate and practice skills acquired in my poetry and ornithology classes. What I learned in graduate school was experiential, and prepared me for my extension work in Iowa. This knowledge did not come from a book.

Q. What have you learned about the Leopold Center during your first few weeks on the job?

First, the Leopold Center has been a long-time part of my career and a known, trusted and valued organization in my circle of work. I was one of the first ISU representatives appointed in 1988 as a founding advisory board member for the Center. I served 10 years in that position and have worked closely with Leopold Center staff on issues related to ecology, marketing, food systems, hoop houses and sustainable agriculture as the Iowa Extension Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator.

My initial impressions as Leopold Center interim director are these:

These traits should resonate well with all Iowans and our namesake, Aldo Leopold.