Dr. Woods Provides Steady Servant Leadership As Acting Dean of VSU's College of Agriculture
At Virginia State University's (VSU) College of Agriculture (COA), "Greater Grows Here" is more than a slogan. It’s an ethos that permeates the exceptional work of students, faculty and staff, and a reflection of the college's commitment to helping students, research efforts, Cooperative Extension work, and communities grow and thrive. COA has seen growth and change in its leaders recently. In the first six months of 2025, COA saw its dean and subsequent interim dean take different roles that offered new leadership opportunities. In August, former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, will return to the college where she once served as dean from 2011 to 2015. Until then, Dr. Janine P. Woods has assumed yet another leadership role as acting dean of the College of Agriculture to provide steady, servant leadership during a time of change.
Dr. Woods has now been named the Associate Dean along with her title of Associate Extension Administrator for VSU's COA and holds several additional leadership positions in different Cooperative Extension and Agriculture Research professional associations across the United States. In every role, she embraces the spirit of "Greater Grows Here," tending to the needs of faculty, staff, students and the communities COA serves. "This role is only for a short amount of time until Dr. Bronaugh can join us," says Dr. Woods. "I see that my chief responsibility in this role is ensuring nothing falls through the cracks, especially during summer's many transitions." Dr. Woods' many years of experience in Cooperative Extension reinforces her "servant leadership" ideology. Cooperative Extension's purpose is to serve communities where they are and improve well-being through proven solutions. "Our job in Cooperative Extension is to serve the community, whether that community is people of the Commonwealth, students here on campus, or our faculty and staff," says Dr. Woods. "It's all in the same ethos of serving others."
While university campuses may seem sleepy during the summer, it's one of the busiest seasons for VSU's COA. In addition to preparing for students' return, it's a time when new staff and faculty are onboarding, and the work of Cooperative Extension specialists and Ag researchers is going full speed. Without the pressures of the academic seasons, it's also a season with countless conferences, leadership gatherings and national meetings in which Dr. Woods represents COA. Dr. Woods explains, "My role in Cooperative Extension is more operational leadership, moving to more strategic leadership. But as acting dean, I'm responsible for ensuring the whole college is running smoothly, and that leaders in every section know they have my support."
Dr. Woods is looking forward to Dr. Bronaugh continuing the college's work of establishing a more integrated approach where research, academics and Extension have more opportunities to collaborate and work together. In the meantime, across the college, faculty, staff and leaders are following the college's and university's strategic plans to move long-term goals forward. "We look forward to Dr. Bronaugh’s leadership as we continue to expand the land-grant mission across Virginia State University.”
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