Published in Probe Volume 2(2): Summer 1992
Dr. Duane Acker is the new Assistant Secretary of Agricultural
for Science and Education. He was sworn in June 10 by Secretary
of Agriculture Edward Madigan. President George Bush nominated
him to the post in March. His nomination was confirmed June 9 by
the U.S. Senate.
As assistant secretary, Dr. Acker will oversee four U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies responsible for agricultural research and education involving production and use of animals and plants, development of new products, and the use and conservation of soil, water, forest, and air resources. Those agencies are USDA's Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative State Research Services, Extension Service, and the National Agricultural Library.
Prior to his appointment, Dr. Acker was administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)and Office of International Cooperation and Development (OICD). He was appointed administrator of OICD in February of 1990 and of FAS in January of 1991.
"Duane has done a superb job as administrator of FAS and OICD" Madigan said. "With his exceptional leadership qualities and his extensive experience in agricultural research and university administration, I know he will be successful with his new responsibilities as head of Science and Education."
Before joining USDA, Dr. Acker was director and then assistant to the administrator for food and agriculture at the U.S. Agency for International Development for 1986 to January 1990.
Dr. Acker served as president of Kansas State University from 1975 to 1986. Before that he was the associate dean of agriculture for instruction at Kansas State, dean of agriculture and biological sciences and director of extension and the experiment station at South Dakota State University, and vicechancellor for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Acker worked as a county extension 4- H agent during the summer of 1950. He was an animal science instructor at Oklahoma State University from 1953 to 1955 and at Iowa State University from 1955 to 1962. He also worked as a consultant to the feed industry while at Iowa State University.
Dr Acker has reviewed food and agricultural programs in more than 20 countries. He served from 1983 to 1986 as an appointee of President Ronald Reagan on the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development.
He is a member of numerous professional and honorary organizations, and has published a number of works on agriculture-related topics, including a widely used animal science textbook.
Dr. Acker has been a director of the U.S. Council on Agricultural Science and Technology, chair of the U.S. Deans of Agriculture, chair of the agriculture section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, president of Gamma Sigma Delta, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Commission on Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Dr. Acker is a native of Atlantic, Iowa. He received his Ph.D. in animal nutrition from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, in 1957, a B.S. degree in animal science and a degree in animal nutrition from Iowa State University in 1952 and 1953, respectively.