Robert Burdett Retiring From Extension System After 35 Years of Service

Auburn, Dec.17, 2003---Dr. Robert A. Burdett will retire from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System Dec. 31 after 35 years of service.  He has spent his entire Extension career working in seed technology with the Alabama Crop Improvement Association.  He was appointed as an Extension agronomist in 1968.

Before coming to Extension, Burdett was an agronomist with the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation.

“Robert Burdett’s 35 years of service are part of the almost 1,900 years of expertise that our organization and the people of Alabama are losing at the end of 2003,” said Dr. Gaines Smith, interim director of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

“Burdett’s successes helped build the heritage of achievement on which our current and future programs are built. His achievements in seed improvement and technology have enabled farmers in Alabama, the nation and the world to grow healthier crops. I personally thank him for his dedication to effective programs and wish him the very best in retirement,” Smith said.  

Burdett says he feels one of his greatest achievements is helping get the seed technology building built on the Auburn campus.

“People from all around the world have come here to see the great work done at this facility,” Burdett said. 

Burdett earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural science and his master’s degree in agronomy from Auburn University.  He earned his Ph.D. in seed technology from Mississippi State University.

As for retirement, Burdett says he will continue to work on a temporary basis with the Alabama Crop Improvement Association. 

 Article in MS Word

 Article in Text