Artwork by
Dennis Murphy

For the students, by the students

Cummins leaves MU; Ag J Coordinator search begins
Adam Buckallew and Katie Molloy

November 13, 2003 – The University of Missouri announced Wednesday, November 5th 2003, Marilyn Cummins, agricultural journalism coordinator, will be leaving her position as department coordinator effective June 1, 2004. Cummins will be pursuing opportunities in the private sector.

Dr. Michael Nolan, CAFNR Social Sciences Unit Leader, made the announcement at 1:00 p.m. to a classroom of students enrolled in the Agricultural Journalism 160 class. Nolan chose to make his announcement to this class because the 160 class is the introductory course in agricultural journalism, and he did not want any of the freshmen students to panic.

“ I wanted to let them know that there are still lots of things to keep the program going,” Dr. Nolan said. “I don’t want to make light of the situation or the coordinator, but a program is more than just its coordinator.”

Later, Cummins said, "I did it for personal and family reasons. It was time for me to make a choice." Cummins felt that her seven-year-old son, William, deserved more of her time than she is able to give him. They hope to take a trip to New York City this coming summer together.

Dr. Nolan reassured students that the agricultural journalism program would be preserved, and that the paper work to begin a search for Cummins’ replacement has already been filed. The official search process should begin prior to Thanksgiving. Dr. Nolan said that he would like to see interviewing for potential candidates begin in February.

“ With the recent budget cuts, there have been positions similar to this one that had opened up, but were not refilled,” Dr. Nolan said. “The decision to fill the position and move on is important. I think it shows how much we value our agricultural journalism program.”

Cummins has a great love for the agricultural journalism program and says that she wants to "keep a great thing going." Her contract was on a year-to-year basis and she decided not to renew her appointment so that they could find someone as quickly as possible.

Cummins will be pursuing opportunities in the private sector. Before coming to CAFNR, Cummins ran her own company called Cummins Consulting, and after teaching, Cummins will return to those endeavors. Cummins Consulting includes everything from marketing and consulting, to free-lance writing. She said, "I'm going to go back to doing something I love to do, almost as much as I love teaching."

An email was also sent to all students enrolled in agricultural journalism to explain the situation. If everything goes according to plan, the new agricultural journalism coordinator should be ready to go by fall 2004.

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