Kuttruff promoted to department head

The LSU College of Agriculture has named Jenna Tedrick Kuttruff as the head of new Department of Textiles, Apparel Design and Merchandising.

Kuttruff has served as interim department head since it was established last fall. Prior to that, the department was a division in what was the School of Human Ecology, where she served as division head for two years. She holds the Doris Lasseigne Carville and Jules A. Carville Jr. Professorship.

“I want to help the department focus on the needs of the students and provide them with the education and skills that will allow them to contribute to and prosper in the textiles and apparel industries today and in the future,” Kuttruff said.

Kuttruff received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Southern Illinois University in the Department of Clothing and Textiles with double majors in apparel design and merchandising. At the graduate level she received a minor in higher education. She earned her Ph.D. at Ohio State University.

Kuttruff subsequently taught textiles and apparel at Tennessee State University in Nashville and joined LSU’s faculty in 1988 as the first curator of what is now the LSU Textile and Costume Museum.

“Dr. Kuttruff is committed to improving the profile of this newly formed unit while growing both its undergraduate and graduate programs and supporting faculty in their pursuit of teaching, research and service,” said Bill Richardson, LSU vice pres ident for agriculture and dean of the LSU College of Agriculture.

The fashion design and fashion merchandising programs within the department were recently ranked among the best in the nation by Fashion-Schools.org. ?


College of Ag offers first dual enrollment class

Two high school agricultural science teachers spent a week at LSU preparing to teach a college-level course. Kelly Becnel and Danielle Newsom will teach Renewable Natural Resources 1001, which is the first course to be offered as part of the LSU College of Agriculture’s dual enrollment program.

Students who take the course will get both high school credit and college credit.

Becnel will teach the course at Walker High School in Livingston Parish, and Newsom, who teaches at Abbeville High School in Vermilion Parish, will teach the course at the LSU AgCenter Vermilion Parish extension office to students from several high schools in the parish.

Becnel and Newsom worked with William Kelso and Reagan Errera from the college’s School of Renewable Natural Resources. Kelso and Errera both teach Renewable Natural Resources 1001 at LSU. Kelso will be the professor of record for the college side of the class, but Becnel and Newsom will give all the instruction in the classroom.

Leslie Blanchard, assistant dean of the college, who is overseeing dual enrollment, said this program will serve as a valuable recruiting tool.

The class will run for one semester. Blanchard said the College of Agriculture is planning to offer another dual enrollment course, Agriculture 1005 – Science and Society, at these schools in the spring of 2015.


Conerly named FFA executive secretary

Kathy Conerly has been named executive secretary of Louisiana FFA. In her new position, she hopes to expand programs and use FFA to promote agriculture to Louisiana’s next generation.

Conerly succeeds Ronald Mayeux, who passed away in April and was the executive secretary for seven years. FFA is affiliated with both the LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture.

Conerly holds bachelor’s degrees in horticulture and agricultural education and a master’s degree in agricultural education, all from LSU. She taught agriculture for more than 30 years at Zachary High School.

FFA has great potential for growth in Louisiana, Conerly said. Many school officials are interested in improving or even starting agriculture programs, she said, because they provide unique experiential learning and career development opportunities. High school agriculture curricula cover a wide range of topics, exposing young people to career opportunities from agribusiness to veterinary science.

High schoolers enrolled in agriculture programs can join FFA, which is a national organization that promotes leadership and career development. FFA participants can attend conferences and compete for awards. ?


These articles were published in the 2014 summer issue of Louisiana Agriculture Magazine.