Urban Affairs Gearing Up for Urban-Rural Interface Conference
Normal, AL, March 22 – On Thursday, April 24, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Urban 
Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs unit will host the Urban-Rural Interface Conference in the 
Dawson Building & Auditorium on the campus of Alabama A&M University in Normal, AL from 8:00 a.m. 
to 3:00 p.m. This year’s theme is "Research & Education Respond to Current Community Issues.”
The conference will feature keynote speaker Michael Mullen, director of the Center for Environmental 
Research and Service at Troy State University. Other speakers will include County Extension Agent Mark 
Mayeske; Mark Sterns, Harvest director for Madison County Commission; Kevin Atwell, market 
development representative, Monsanto Company; Jim Call, director of CASA Community Garden; Gloria 
Mims, deputy director for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management in 
Huntsville; Extension Water Quality Coordinator Dr. James Hairston; Dr. Lawrence Robey, Madison 
County Health officer; Dr. John Will, Biotech outreach coordinator, South AgBiotech Consortium for 
Underserved Communities at AAMU; and distinguished farmer William Bridgeforth of Tanner, AL. Panel 
discussions will be moderated by AAMU Professors Dr. William McAllister and Dr. Govind Sharma.
“This year researchers and educators will cover topics that hit close to home – community gardening, the 
safety and risks of genetically modified foods, and water and air quality,” said event coordinator Dr. Dony 
Gapasin. “We hope that students, faculty, Cooperative Extension personnel, and the public will make 
every effort to join us.”
This event coincides with “Ag Week” sponsored by the School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 
at AAMU, which will run from April 21-26.
Registration (includes lunch) for the Urban-Rural Conference is only $10.00. For more information, please 
contact Dr. Dony Gapasin at (256) 372-4965. To register, please visit our Web site at 
http://www.aces.edu/urban or contact Susan Glover at (256) 372-4946.
Source: Dr. Dony Gapasin, Extension CRD specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, 
Alabama A&M University, (256) 372-4965.