Morgan Assumes International Office Auburn, August 6, 2003 -- Dr. Virginia Morgan, Alabama Cooperative Extension System co- leader for communications, recently was elected vice president of the Association for Communications Excellence. After completing her term as vice-president, Morgan will serve as the organization’s president- elect from 2004 to 2005, then as president from 2006 to 2007. ACE, formerly known as Agricultural Communicators in Education, is a professional organization composed of more than 640 print and electronic communicators and information technologists serving in land-grant universities, government agencies and research organizations in the United States and throughout the world. As vice-president, Morgan will focus on working with the organization’s 13 different interest groups and serving as their liaison to the ACE board of directors. The interest groups are varied, ranging from academic programs, distance education and instructional design to publishing, research and writing. She also will be intimately involved in planning for the 2006 international meeting, which she will host as president. As president, she will also be responsible for leading the organization in its primary role: helping ACE members enhance their professional skills so they will be better equipped to serve the needs of their clientele. As co-leader of Extension Communications, Morgan works with clients to ensure the production of high-quality educational materials. These include printed materials, videotapes and related products. She also oversees efforts to accommodate the growing need among Extension agents, specialists and clientele for Web streaming and satellite uplinking. In addition to her administrative duties, Morgan also provides in-service training and workshops on leadership skills, including interpersonal communications and public speaking, as well as on instructional and learning styles. She has also worked on the Southern Region Program Leader Committee’s Cooperative Extension curriculum project and the e-Extension national initiative, a national network working to provide clientele with greater access to online educational materials. Recently, she was named as the Alabama liaison for Extension Disaster Education Network. EDEN works to ensure educational materials are more readily accessible to natural disaster victims regardless of their location or circumstances. A native of Kentucky, Morgan has lived in Auburn most of her life. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Auburn University, a master’s degree in educational technology from Appalachian State University and a doctorate in human resource development from Vanderbilt University. After working for a mass merchandiser as a trainer and buyer, Morgan joined the Extension Communications department as a specialist and coordinator of the Visual Resources Unit. She was appointed co-leader for Extension Communications in 1999.